Mobile, internet usage growing fast in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the five dynamic economies of developing Asia in terms of increased penetration of mobile phones, internet and broadband, says the Information Economy Report, 2009 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

Among the five countries in terms of mobile penetration, Pakistan is placed at number three followed by Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Iran and Maldives remain at the top positions, respectively.

In the area of internet penetration, Pakistan is placed at the third position and for broadband penetration the country is at the fourth position.

The report sees the mobile industry as a ‘cash cow’ in some countries noting that Pakistan was experiencing significant macroeconomic problems, yet the mobile market steams ahead as the effects of the global economic recession on the global mobile network are so far limited.

The number of fixed lines in the world has essentially been frozen at around 1.2 billion since 2006 and even saw a slight decline in 2008. Since 2004, developing countries have accounted for just over half of all fixed telephone lines.

Global fixed line tele-density (fixed telephone subscriptions divided by population and multiplied by 100) stood at 18 in 2008. In developed countries, tele-density was 47, while in developing countries it was 12.

At the end of 2008, there were an estimated 1.4 billion Internet users around the world. The growth rate of 15 per cent was slightly lower than in 2007. In developing countries, the number of users grew by a quarter, or almost five times faster than in developed countries. As a result, developing countries now account for more than half of the world’s Internet users.

China hosted the largest number of users with 298 million, followed by the United States (191 million) and Japan (88 million). A little over one fifth of the world’s population used the Internet in 2008.

Public Internet facilities such as Internet cafés, educational establishments and digital community centres are also important for boosting Internet usage in developing countries.
The number of fixed broadband subscribers around the world was an estimated 398 million at the end of 2008. Developing countries accounted for almost 40 per cent of these, making broadband one of the few ICTs where developed countries still represent the majority of users. Global average broadband penetration stood at 5.9, with striking differences between developed and developing economies.

Compared with most other industries, the mobile sector in developing countries should have a good chance of weathering the storm. According to the latest available data, growth continued in the two largest developing country mobile markets — China and India — also in 2009.

The report estimated that the value of exports of information and communication technologies (ICTs) goods rose from $813 billion to $1.73 trillion between 1998 and 2007, representing 13 per cent of all merchandise trade.

The increase was almost entirely attributable to developing Asia. Other developing regions as well as economies in transition remain marginal exporters of ICT goods.While exports of ICT goods such as computers and consumer electronic devices have been hit hard by the global recession, IT and ICT-related services appear to have been more resilient, the report notes.

According to market analysts, the global market for the off-shoring of IT and ICT-enabled services was estimated to be worth around $90 billion in 2008, of which IT services accounted for 60 per cent.

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