Africa and the Middle East will lead the world in terms of the percentage of mobile broadband subscriptions through 2012, according to a new report from Pyramid Research, the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network.
Although Africa and the Middle East generated 10% of global mobile revenue in 2008, the region contributed only 3% of global mobile data revenue, said Dearbhla McHenry, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report.
However, the region will double its share of global mobile data revenue by 2014 due to its growing popularity of mobile broadband in the region, in rich and poor markets alike.
“We expect mobile broadband adoption in Africa and the Middle East to grow faster than the global average over the next five years, with the subscriber total increasing at a CAGR of 33 percent to reach 32.2 million by 2014,” said McHenry.
The region’s great unmet demand for internet access, combined with its generally inadequate fixed networks, means that from 2008 through 2012, Africa and the Middle East will lead the world in terms of the percentage of broadband subscriptions that are mobile.
Broadband information service Point Topic recently increased its forecast for the number of fixed broadband lines in the world by the end of 2009 from 493 million to 496 million.
Its five-year forecast for the end of 2013 went up from 683 million to 695 million (see Global broadband lines to reach 496m by end of 2009).
In March, research from Informa Telecoms & Media found that global fixed broadband subscriptions stood at 422 million at the end of 2008, adding nearly 68 million subscriptions in the year and 16 million in the final quarter (see Global fixed broadband subscriptions hit 422m in 2008).
