Malta has ranked relatively high in a report about the use of internet broadband access around the world published by a commission sponsored by the United Nations.
Countries which fail to invest in broadband infrastructure risk being excluded from today’s online economy
The report, entitled “The state of broadband 2012: achieving digital inclusion for all”, placed Malta 16th in terms of fixed broadband penetration, 32nd for active mobile broadband, and 37th in the ranking for internet use among 172 countries.
The report also accounts for the rise of internet connectivity, saying that today’s mobile devices have more capacity than the most powerful computers of the 1980s and that by 2020, the number of connected devices may potentially outnumber connected people by six to one.
The study was published by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, established in 2010 by the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s call to step up efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The Commission comprises government leaders from around the world and the top level representatives and leaders from relevant industries and international agencies and organisations concerned with development.
In terms of fixed broadband penetration worldwide in 2011, Malta was ranked 16th with 30 lines per 100 inhabitants. It ranked just below Germany, the UK and Sweden, but managed to outplace Finland, the US, Japan, and Australia. Lichtenstein was first with 71.6 lines per 100 inhabitants, followed by Monaco with 44.2, and Switzerland with 39.2.
Malta was placed 32nd with 32.6 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in the list of active mobile broadband subscriptions. Although this placing is lower than the one for fixed broadband, it is still ahead of major European countries such as Italy, Norway and Belgium. Singapore, South Korea and Japan are in top three positions while the first European country is Sweden (fourth) with 91.5.
These two rankings reveal an interesting trend: while the top places for fixed broadband are occupied by European countries, the top rankings for mobile broadband are taken by Asian countries.
In the list with the percentage of people using the internet, Malta placed 37th with 69.2 per cent. Malta is ahead of European countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary and Cyprus. Scandinavian countries are at the top with over 90 per cent.
The Broadband Commission said in its report that high speed affordable broadband connectivity to the internet is essential to modern society, offering widely recognised economic and social benefits. However, the extension of broadband infrastructure, services and applications is challenging, especially in the current economic climate.
The report recognises a clear need for policy leadership to establish a strong vision among stakeholders and prioritise the deployment of broadband at the national level. More countries now have a national broadband plan, policy or strategy in place, with 119 countries having a policy in place by mid-2012. Broadband is becoming more affordable around the world, although it remains out of reach in many countries. Worldwide, countries are broadly on track to achieve the Commission’s target for household penetration. Additional growth in access is needed to achieve the targets for internet user penetration. Smartphones and mobile broadband may provide the much-needed impetus to achieve extra growth.
The report recognises that “the internet is changing. From narrowband to broadband, from kilobits to gigabits, from connected people to connected things – our networked world is changing in speed, size, scale, and scope. Our ultra-connected future will build on converged next-generation networks, while embracing broader concepts of embedded intelligence, automated machine to machine traffic, and the ‘Internet of Things’”.
Worldwide, mobile phone subscriptions exceeded six billion in early 2012, with three-quarters of those subscriptions in the developing world. As the price of handsets falls and their functionality increases, soon the vast majority of people on the planet will hold in their hand a device with higher processing power than the most powerful computers from the 1980s (as calculated by the World Bank this year). In 2011, networked devices surpassed the global population.
By 2020, the number of connected devices may potentially outnumber connected people by six to one, transforming our concept of the internet, and society, forever.
Today’s internet economy is large and growing fast by every measure. In 2009, the World Bank estimated that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration would yield a 1.21 and 1.38 per cent increase in GDP growth on average for high-income and low or middle-income countries respectively.
“IP-enabled broadband connections are not just about economic empowerment. Always-on connectivity can improve our lives in myriad ways by providing better access to health and education, enabling financial inclusion, facilitating m-payments, and creating transparency in government, as just a few examples. Broadband will also enable everyone to access data easily in the cloud, use video conferencing and voice-over-IP share updates over social networks, and outsource – or crowd-source – everything from housework to homework,” the Commission said.
The report concludes that “broadband is today a critical infrastructure in the growing global digital economy, and countries which fail to invest in broadband infrastructure risk being excluded from today’s online economy, as well as the next stage of the digital revolution and future internet.”