Internet access (global market)

Main article: Internet

Internet audience in the world

2023: The number of subscribers of wired broadband access Internet in the world increased by 5.4% and reached 1.5 billion

As of the end of 2023, the number of wired broadband Internet access (broadband access) subscribers on a global scale amounted to about 1.5 billion. For comparison, a year earlier this figure was estimated at 1.42 billion. Thus, growth was recorded at 5.4%. Market data is provided in a study by Statista, the results of which TAdviser got acquainted with in early December 2024.

The industry continues to demonstrate sustainable development. Over a ten-year period, the number of subscribers to wired broadband access Internet in the world has approximately doubled. So, in 2013 their number was 692 million, and in 2014 - 731 million. The figure of 1 billion was overcome in 2017, when the number of subscribers reached 1.03 billion.

Analysts point out that the benefits of broadband go far beyond revenue from subscription to relevant services. Broadband access network affect the lives of people around the world, ensuring social equality and well-being. In addition, such infrastructures support a huge number of industries - from manufacturing enterprises and research organizations to health and education institutions. Overall, the fixed broadband industry is one of the most important in the world.

It is estimated that FTTH/B (fibre to apartment/home or building) share of total fixed broadband connections reached 69.5% by the end of 2023. Broadband connections based on other technologies showed a reduction in market shares. Among the twenty largest broadband access markets at the end of 2023, all but two showed an increase in the number of subscribers. The reduction was noted only in Italy and Canada. At the same time, India demonstrated the highest positive dynamics on an annualized basis.^[1]

2022: The number of subscribers of wired broadband access Internet in the world has grown to 1.36 billion subscribers

At the end of 2022, the number of wired broadband access (broadband broadband) subscribers to the Internet on a global scale increased by 6.65% compared to 2021, reaching 1.36 billion. Such data are given in the report of the analytical company Point Topic, published on April 20, 2023.

Among various regions, the fastest growth of broadband access connections was observed in Africa and Asia (2.6% and 1.8%, respectively), not least due to the low penetration rate of high-speed wired connections and a significant increase in the number of subscribers in the largest markets - in India, Vietnam, Turkey and Thailand.

The share of FTTH/B technology (fiber to home/building) in the total volume of fixed broadband access connections continued to grow in 2022 and amounted to 65.7%. The second most common type of connection is cable networks with a 16.3% share. Then there are ADSL and FTTx technologies with a result of 8.8% and 6.8%, respectively.

Overall, the results of the study demonstrate a steady trend towards the use of advanced high-speed broadband solutions such as FTTH/B, while older technologies, particularly copper cable-based broadband, are experiencing a decline. This suggests that the broadband landscape is constantly changing amid growing traffic consumption and the emergence of new resource-intensive services.

VDSL subscribers grew in thirteen countries in 2022 and declined in at least nineteen markets as consumers switched to FTTH/B. By the end of 2022, the highest growth rates in the number of broadband access subscribers connected to the Internet through FTTH/B technology were recorded in Germany, Peru, Argentina, India and Britain.

East Asia dominates globally with a share of approximately 49.1% of the total number of broadband access subscribers in 2022. This is explained primarily by the large size of the Chinese segment. Other Asian regions account for about 10.82% of the total number of fixed broadband access connections. The indicator of Eastern Europe is 5.26%, of other European markets combined - 13.58%. North America accounts for 10.67%, other American markets - in the amount of 8.04%. Africa was recorded at 1.75%, Oceania - 0.77%.

Demand for broadband connections continues to grow globally, the report noted. This is due to factors such as remote work and online training, as well as the growing proliferation of new technologies and applications that require high-speed Internet access. Africa and other Asian countries still have the lowest broadband access penetration: on the one hand, this indicates weak development of information technology, and, on the other hand, indicates significant growth potential.

In all the largest broadband access markets, by the end of 2022, there was an increase in the number of subscribers. At the same time, a decrease in growth rates was recorded in Germany, the Republic of Korea, France and Spain, while a slight increase was noted in Italy, Thailand and Indonesia. In general, the data obtained demonstrate various trends in the growth of the number of fixed broadband subscribers in different countries. This is explained, among other things, by the different level of penetration of the corresponding service. In Russia, by the end of 2022, the number of broadband access users increased by 1.19% compared to the end of 2021. In China, the growth was 1.95%, in the United States - 0.5%, in Japan - 0.64%. One of the highest rates was recorded in Argentina - 2.22%, and one of the lowest - in Italy, 0.09%.^[2]

2019

The number of Internet users has exceeded 4.1 billion people

Russia is the eighth in terms of the number of Internet users

Currently, there are 109.5 million Internet users in Russia, making it the eighth largest country in the world. Such data are given in the report on new approaches to protecting competition in the digital economy, presented yesterday by the BRICS Antimonopoly Center within the framework of the VI Conference on Competition under the auspices of BRICS^[3].

The report of the BRICS Antimonopoly Center includes recommendations for antimonopoly agencies to work with new challenges of the digital era. According to one of them, regulators should be more active in limiting the growth of the economic power of digital platforms, in particular, by limiting their appetites to absorb competitors and penetrate neighboring markets. The report also gives an analysis of the competitive dynamics in the context of the large-scale digitalization of the global economy, and an analysis of the problems of antimonopoly regulation in digital markets around the world and the latest experience of the BRICS countries. Specialists of the BRICS Antimonopoly Center have identified regulatory gaps in those jurisdictions where the development of the digital economy is ahead of legislation and law enforcement practice. In addition, they compared the approaches of the BRICS antimonopoly regulators.

The report also contains statistics indicating the development of digitalization in the countries of the world. For example, data on the number of Internet users in the largest countries of the world are given. The first place in such an indicator, according to the report, as of March 2019, is occupied by China, numbering 829 million Internet users. India is in second place with 560 million such users. The third place belongs to the United States of America, in which there are 293 million Internet users. Russia in the ranking presented in the report belongs to the eighth place - there are 109.5 million Internet users in it.

2018

World Map for Internet Penetration

Half of the inhabitants of the Earth go online

In December 2018, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) presented a report in which it reported that 3.9 billion people or 51.2% of the world's population access the Internet.

The fact that more than half of the earthlings first gained access to the Internet, ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao called an important step towards a wider, global information society.

Over the past 13 years, the degree of Internet access penetration has grown the fastest in African countries: in 2005, only 2.1% of the region's residents used this service, and in 2018 the figure increased to 24.4%. However, this share is still significantly lower compared to developed regions. For example, in Europe, 79.6% of the population has access to the Network by the end of 2018.

In general, in the developed countries of the world, the share of residents using the Internet increased to 80.9% (in 2005 it was 51.3%), in developing countries - to 45.3% (it was 7.7%). In the CIS countries, the average level of Internet penetration reached 71.3%.

At the same time, the majority of Earth's inhabitants have technological access to the Network: 96% live in the mobile cellular zone, and 83% of families in developed countries and 36% in developing countries have computers.

The number of working SIM-cards has already exceeded the population of the planet. At the same time, the number of landline users continues to fall. By the end of 2018, there were 942 million people left, which is 12.4% less than a year earlier, ITU calculated.

Most Internet users prefer to access the Internet using mobile devices - in 2018, the number of mobile broadband access connections reached 5.3 billion against 268 million in 2007. The share of this type of connection per 100 people in the world increased from 4% in 2007 to 69.3% in 2018. By the end of 2018, 1.1 billion connections to wired Internet were recorded.^[4]

4 billion Internet users

At the end of January 2018, the global media agency We Are Social and the developer of the social media management platform HootSuite presented a report according to which more than four billion people around the world use the Internet.

The number of Internet users by the end of 2018 amounted to 4.021 billion (53% of the world's population), which is 7% more compared to the same period in 2017.

Thus, more than half of the world's population is connected to the network, and, judging by the latest data, almost a quarter of a billion new users first joined the Internet in 2017. Despite the fact that Central Africa and Central Asia still have the lowest network connection rates, the same regions have the fastest growth rates. The maximum growth rate of network connections was observed in African countries, where the number of Internet users increased by more than 20% in 2017.

Most new users appeared on the network due to a decrease in the cost of smartphones and mobile plans, which have become available to the wider population. In 2017, more than 200 million people first purchased a mobile device. Thus, more than two-thirds of the world's population has acquired mobile phones (mainly smartphones). The number of mobile phone users in 2018 is 5.175 billion people (68%), which is 4% more compared to the same period in 2017.

Social media use continues to grow rapidly. More than three billion people worldwide now take to social media at least once a month, with nine in 10 users accessing it via mobile devices. The number of users of social networks in 2018 amounted to 3.196 billion (42% of the world's population), which is 13% more than in 2017.^[5]

2017: 4.1 billion people in the world by 2020 will be provided with the Internet

In five years, the number of Internet users in the world will grow by almost 20%. If in 2015 the 43% of the world's population (3.2 billion people) had access to the Network (in 1995 this figure was 1%), then by 2020 the Internet will be available for 60%. Such data led the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)^[6].

According to ITU experts, in 2016, 65% of the population of the American continent had the opportunity to use the Internet. In the CIS countries, this figure was 66%, in Africa - 25%, in Europe - 79%, in Asia and Oceania - 42%, in the Arab world - 41%.

For Central Asian countries, the following data are provided: in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, 51-75% of the population did not have access to the Network, in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Mongolia this figure was 76-100%. In Kazakhstan and Russia, the Internet was not available only from 0 to 25% of residents.

2016

In Turkmenistan, only 15% of residents use the Internet

Among the Caspian countries, Azerbaijan is the leader in terms of the number of Internet users, and Turkmenistan is the outsider.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) presented in the fall of 2016 a detailed study by The State of Broadband on the development of mobile and wired broadband Internet in the world for 2015.

The report describes the situation with Internet access in 191 countries. Analysts ranked the positions of states by various indicators. So, in terms of the number of individual Internet users in the top three - Iceland (98.2%), Luxembourg (97.33%) and Andorra (96.91%). In last place is Eritrea (1.08%).

Among the countries of the Caspian Five, Azerbaijan is the leader in this criterion. It ranks 36th with a 77% rate. Russia is in 43rd place (73.41%), Kazakhstan is in 45th (72.87%). Iran and Turkmenistan failed to get into the top hundred of the rating. Iran has 103rd place (44.08%), while Turkmenistan has 160th (15%).

According to the study, it is estimated that by the end of 2016, 3.5 billion people will use the Internet in the world, compared with 3.2 billion last year, which is 47% of the total population of the world.

What happens on the Internet in 1 minute (INFOGRAPHICS)

The Ukrainian company Domo, specializing in data visualization, made an infographic that demonstrates what volumes of information from social networks, e-commerce sites, instant messengers and other resources are broadcast on the Internet within just one minute.

In particular, users of photo services on Instagram like about 2.5 million posts in a minute, on the social network Twitter manage to send 9.7 thousand tweets with emoji, in the YouTube video hosting - to post 400 hours of new video, and on Facebook Messenger - to share more than 216 thousand photos.

In addition, Snapchat users manage to watch 6 million videos within one minute that they spend on the Web; 570 thousand new GIFs appear in GIF services; Dropbox The cloud file sharing service downloads 830 thousand new documents; Siri manages to answer 100 thousand questions.

Forecast for 2016-2020 - 5 billion

On June 13, 2016, Dmitry Kuznetsov, Marketing Director of Google Russia announced the company's forecast, according to which in 2020 the number of Internet users in the world will reach 5 billion people^[7]As of June 2016, over 3.2 billion people have access to this service, and in 2000 this figure was 0.73 billion users.

In Russia, according to various sources, by the end of 2015, the number of adult users ~ 84-85 million people. The Internet audience of young people aged 16 to 29 years is almost completely (by 97%) provided with access to the worldwide network.

As of June 2016, the service is available to almost everyone, over time, the customer base will continue to grow due to the influx of new users. Dmitry Kuznetsov noted: "For most of them, the first device to access the network will be a smartphone."

Google Think Performance, (2016)

According to Google, about 200 thousand smartphones are sold every hour in the world, which means that the share of potential mobile Internet users is increasing by the same number. If we proceed from these judgments, in 4 years more than 6 billion smartphone users will be added in the world (if you do not take into account the change of the device by the same user), which means that the audience of the Internet will change qualitatively. In China, ~ 90% of users access the network via mobile devices.

The potential audience of mobile Internet includes residents of developing countries, 4 billion of which do not yet have access to such services. In particular, in the so-called "least developed countries," about 85% of residents do not use the World Wide Web. Kuznetsov noted that soon people who cannot read and write will "come" to the Internet, so search engines and other services will have to change the algorithms for working with such users in order to ensure the relevance of issuing search queries.

2015: 3.2 billion users or 43% of the population

In December 2015, it became known that the number of Internet users worldwide reached 3.2 billion people. Such data are cited by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized UN agency, in its latest report on the development of information and communication technologies^[10].

According to ITU experts, the number of users of the global network has exceeded 3 billion people. This indicator was announced a year earlier. This means that the Internet penetration rate among the world population is 43.4%. In 2020, 53% of the world's inhabitants are expected to be online users.

This growth is facilitated by developing countries, where the number of Internet users has doubled in five years. 34.1% of households in such regions have access to the network, while in developed countries this share is 81.3%.

In addition, experts note that in 2015 the number of connections to mobile networks reached 7.1 billion. This allows us to say that more than 95% of the world's population is already within reach of the cellular signal.

Earlier, in September 2015, the United Nations Broadband Commission provided a report according to which the growth rate of the number of people constantly using the Internet is gradually slowing down. At the same time, more than half of the planet's inhabitants still do not have access to the network.

In 2015, the growth rate of Internet users on a global scale was measured at 8.1% against 8.6% a year earlier. Until 2012, this figure grew in double digits for many years. Taking this into account, the number of Internet users is unlikely to exceed 4 billion by 2020, experts predict.

By December 2015, approximately 57% of people on Earth (over 4 billion people) do not use the network regularly or actively. This situation is due to the reluctance of operators to spend a lot of money on the development of telecommunications infrastructure in remote regions of countries, as well as a sharp decrease in the growth rate of the number of mobile cellular subscribers.

The growth of the global Internet audience has recently been carried out mainly at the expense of developing countries. In such regions, for most people, smartphones and inexpensive tablets have become the first and only means of accessing the network. Smartphones are gaining popularity, especially inexpensive models. The premium tube market is almost saturated.

Many are interested in an early coverage of the entire Earth's surface with high-speed and inexpensive Internet. IT giants offer to solve the problem using various aircraft.

2013

According to data from the analytical company ABI Research, in 2013 the number of broadband subscribers to the Network (DSL, cable, fiber optic) increased by 6%. Thus, the total number of households in the world connected to the Internet through broadband lines has crossed the milestone of 665.4 million. The number of households connected via fiber optic cable grew by 29% over the year, reaching 126.6 million. According to analysts from ABI Research, by 2019 there will be up to 265 million subscribers worldwide who access the Network through a fiber optic connection. At the same time, the average annual growth rate will be 11.7%.

It is reported that in 2013, 161 million subscribers used broadband access services to the Network using cable modems in the world, which is 7% more than last year, while the number of Internet users accessed using DSL technology decreased by 1%, dropping to 378 million subscribers. The ever-growing number of subscribers preferring broadband access services to the Network provided through fiber-optic networks is contributing to the slowdown in growth in the DSL segment in Asia-Pacific and North America.

The global revenue of Internet service providers providing broadband access services to the Network through DSL technology decreased by 2% in 2013, mainly due to a decrease in the subscriber base and a decrease in the average income of operators per subscriber in the Asia-Pacific region.

The total revenues of operators providing broadband access services through fiber in 2013 increased by more than 15%, amounting to $46 billion. The British operator British Telecom and the Russian VimpelCom see this increase in revenue as their great merit.

As revenues from traditional services, such as voice calls and messaging, decline, operators are trying to maintain revenue growth rates through innovative services and content delivered on high-speed networks. ABI Research predicts that in 2019 the volume of the market for broadband access services based on fiber optic networks in monetary terms will reach $100 billion.

In terms of the number of broadband access subscribers on the Network, the championship belongs to the Chinese operators China Telecom and China Unicom - 100 million and 64 million subscribers, respectively. As of the end of 2013, the two companies account for 53% and 34% of China's total subscriber base .

According to the results of 2013, the number of broadband Internet subscribers in the private segment in Russia amounted to 27.3 million. The volume of the Russian broadband access market in the household segment in 2013 amounted to 110 billion rubles. (which is 10% higher than the same period in 2012). According to iKS-Consulting estimates, by the end of 2013, the penetration of broadband Internet access in Russia reached 49%.

The penetration rate in the Russian Federation is higher than the global average (in 2013, according to the ITU forecast, the global average penetration of household broadband access was 39%), but significantly lower than the average level of developed countries (in the United States, for example, this figure is 70% according to Pew Research Center). This lag is due to the uneven development of telecommunications infrastructure throughout the country. In large cities, this figure is usually higher than 70%, while in rural areas and hard-to-reach settlements the percentage of people using broadband Internet access is quite low (for example, in the Republic of Dagestan this figure does not exceed 11%, in the Republic of Ingushetia - 5%).

In 2013, the growth of the subscriber base was 7%, which is significantly lower than the growth indicators of previous years. Under these conditions, operators solve the problem of maintaining the growth rate of profitability by providing subscribers with additional services and package offers. In their marketing initiatives in 2013, federal and large regional operators continued to focus on package offers of pay TV along with broadband and telephony, while abroad the service offer is already much wider and includes, for example, cross-platform solutions - the ability to view content on all devices (TV, computer, tablet, laptop, smartphone), solutions for smart homes, etc.

2012: 2.3 billion Internet users (+ 11% for the year )

The number of Internet users in the world increased by 11% last year, reaching 2.3 billion people. This is stated in the report of the International Telecommunication Union "Measurement of the Information Society" (autumn 2012).

According to ITU data, the number of Internet users in 2011 grew three times faster than in developed countries. The number of people using the Internet from home is growing. Over the past year, their number increased by 14%. The Internet has become available to 600 million households out of 1.8 billion worldwide. Another important aspect of ITU experts is that last year the number of active mobile broadband subscribers increased by 40%, reaching almost 1.1 billion people by the end of 2011.

• In Russia April 2009, comScore counted 31.3 million web users. In terms of the number of unique users Internet Russia , it became the fourth in. The first place To Europe in terms of the size of the Internet audience still occupies Germany with an indicator of 40 million people. Next come (Britain 36.8 million) and (36.3 France million).

• According to comScore, at the end of 2008, there were more than 1 billion Internet users in the world. Their largest share is in the Asia-Pacific region - 41% of the total number of Internet users worldwide. This is followed by Europe - 28% of the global number of users, North America - 18%, Latin America - 7%. Africa and the Middle East account for 5% of the global global network.

2010: 1.97 billion users

According to the results of the Pingdom study, according to data for June 2010, there were 1.97 billion Internet users in the world, which indicates an increase of 14% over the year. Most Internet users are Asia in - 825 million. They are followed by (Europe 475 million), North America (266 million) and Latin America (204 million). The smallest number of Web users in the region Australia and Oceania is 21 million.

The cost of broadband access in the world

2023: Ministry of Digital Development - Internet in Russia is 2 times cheaper than in China

Internet in Russia is significantly cheaper than in China and developed countries. This is stated in the Strategy for the Development of the Communications Industry of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2035, which was published in August 2023.

Digital communication services in our country are among the cheapest in the world. The availability of communication services is determined primarily by the price factor. The cost of Internet access in Russia is 1.5-2 times lower than in the PRC and the CIS countries, and 3-4 times lower than prices in developed countries, the document says, excerpts from which are quoted by RIA Novosti.

According to the authors of the strategy, the low cost of Internet access has become one of the competitive advantages of the Russian economy, providing an audience for new digital services (online media, taxi and car sharing, delivery, marketplaces, social networks, direct user interaction services - OTT services), contributing to the development of the economy as a whole.

The document notes that by the beginning of 2023, the total number of connected Internet of Things devices in Russia reached 70.1 million units, excluding wearable devices. The leaders in the implementation of this technology were the sectors of power and housing and communal services, construction and transport.

The authors of the strategy point out that the rapid development of the IT sector and the modernization of the financial sector would also be impossible without reliable and high-quality communication. In addition, the industry plays a significant social role: in particular, thanks to the developed telecommunications infrastructure, it was possible to make a quick and smooth transition to telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the document emphasizes that netizens in Russia are sensitive even to a short-term decrease in the quality of service. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly maintain a high level of services provided, the strategy says.^[11]

2022: Russia ranked sixth in the world in Internet accessibility

In September 2022, Surfshark, which develops the VPN service of the same name, presented a rating of the countries with the most affordable and expensive Internet. Russia took sixth place in it.

According to the results of the study, in order to pay for the tariff of the home Internet, Russians need to work 34 minutes, and to pay for a mobile - 2 minutes 18 seconds. For comparison, the average figures for the world are 6 hours 31 minutes and 13 minutes 8 seconds, respectively.

The most affordable stationary Internet in Armenia and Israel, where you need to work 18 and 19 minutes to pay, respectively. In Israel, very cheap and mobile Internet: it takes 5 seconds to pay the most affordable tariff.

In, Germany which took the "bronze," the operating time is 26 minutes and 1 hour 47 minutes, respectively. The top ten leaders in the availability of home Internet also included,, Singapore,, and Japan France. Lithuania Denmark Australia

In Kot-d, which is located on the last line of the rating, you need to work for almost an hour to pay 1 GB of mobile traffic at the cheapest tariff. On average, this figure is 13 minutes worldwide.

The Internet accessibility rating is an integral part of the study of the digital quality of life in different countries. For evaluation, Surfshark experts measured the ratio of the cheapest tariffs for broadband fixed and mobile Internet and the average hourly salary in the country.

Published in September 2022, the rating reflected the overall dynamics of the availability of communication services around the world. Over the past year, the average Earth resident has to work 6 minutes longer to pay for fixed broadband, but 2 minutes less to buy mobile internet.^[12]

2020: Russia ranked third cheapest internet in the world

In January 2020, the consulting company BDRC Continental and the cable.co.uk portal, specializing in the selection of communication tariffs, published the results of a joint study in which they listed the countries with the cheapest wired Internet. Russia in this list is in third place against fourth in 2019. The average cost of connecting to fixed Internet access in the Russian Federation was $7.35 (almost 453 rubles at the exchange rate as of January 20, 2020), which is $2.42 less than a year earlier.

According to experts, wired Internet in Russia is cheap, and it is fast, and ADSL and FTTH technologies are available in all major cities. ISPs offer services at speeds mostly up to 700 Mbps.

Among the countries with the lowest Internet tariffs, the second place went to Ukraine, where such a service costs residents about $6.64 per month. Compared to 2019, the average grew by $1.64.

Broadband Internet in Ukraine is fast and cheap, although coverage is still relatively low - about half of the population has access to the Internet compared to 90% in the UK, the study says.

The cheapest Internet in 2020 was in Syria ($6.6 per month), and in just a year the country rose in the ranking from seventh place to first. On the fourth line is Romania ($8.15), on the fifth - Belarus ($9.87).

The most expensive internet in the following countries:

• Eritrea (Africa) - $2,666 per month;
• Yemen - $2,466 per month with an average Internet access speed of 0.4 Mbps;
• Mauritania - $694 per month at 0.6 Mbps.

In total, 206 countries are represented in the ranking. The study included data from 28 Nov 2019 to 8 Jan 2020. At the same time, the researchers analyzed more than 3,000 tariff plans.^[13]

2017: The countries with the most inexpensive broadband access named

At the end of November 2017, it became known that Russia and five other countries of the former USSR are among the ten countries with the most inexpensive broadband Internet in the world. The cheapest high-speed access to the Global Network costs Iranians, and the most expensive - residents of Burkina Faso.

After analyzing and streamlining the data by the research company BDRC Continental for the 8-week period up to October 12, 2017, observers of the British portal Cable.co.uk compiled a rating of states on the affordability of broadband Internet.^[14]

Russia is in third place on the list. According to the interactive map showing prices in terms of the exchange rate at the end of November 2017, the average monthly fee for BROADBAND ACCESS the Russian Federation is $9.82. According to the cheapness of the Internet Russia in the world, only two are ahead - Ukraine and, Iran residents of which pay an average of $5.52 and $5.32 per month for broadband Internet.

The top ten in terms of prices included four more closest neighbors of the Russian Federation -,, and Moldova Georgia, Belarus where Kazakhstan high-speed Internet costs $10.71, $12.77, $13.61 and $16.65, respectively.

Western European countries have a very different price order. So, the cheapest Internet in the region in Italy ($28.89), Germany ($34.08), Denmark ($35.93) and France ($36.36). For comparison, in the UK, which ranks 62nd in the global ranking, the average payment for broadband access is $40.44.

Even higher prices in North America: Canadians and Americans pay $54.9 and $66.17 for the Internet. However, even they are far from anti-leaders of the rating, in which prices are measured in hundreds of dollars. For example, in the third country from below - Namibia - for the opportunity to join the Global Network, you need to pay about $432, in the following Papua New Guinea, this pleasure will cost almost $600, and in Burkina Faso - $965.

Cost of mobile broadband access in Russia and the world

2019

Russia has the cheapest unlimited Internet among developed countries

Content Review, an information and analytical agency, published in June 2019 the results of a study of tariffs for mobile Internet services in 50 countries around the world. In the course of the study, tariff offers of 136 telecom operators were analyzed and the cost of one gigabyte in Russian rubles was calculated. For the first time, the cost of tariffs with unlimited mobile Internet was also recorded. The cheapest unlimited mobile Internet in Russia, in the rating of the cost of 1 Gb, Russia took 4th place, improving its performance compared to 2018.

Highlights:

• the average world cost of 1 gigabyte of mobile Internet amounted to 195.5 rubles, in Russia - 37.9 rubles (269.3 and 55.5 rubles in December 2018, respectively)
• the average world cost of a tariff with unlimited mobile Internet amounted to 2791.8 rubles per month

•# 2019:_.D0.92_.D0.A0.D0.BE.D1.81.D1.81.D0.B8.D0.B8_.D1.81.D0.B0.D0.BC.D1.8B.D0.B9_.D0.B4.D0.B5.D1.88.D0.B5.D0.B2.D1.8B.D0.B9_.D0.B1.D0.B5.D0.B7.D0.BB.D0.B8.D0.BC.D0.B8.D1.82.D0.BD.D1.8B.D0.B9_.D0.B8.D0.BD.D1.82.D0.B5.D1.80.D0.BD.D0.B5.D1.82_.D1.81.D1.80.D0.B5.D0.B4.D0.B8_.D1.80.D0.B0.D0.B7.D0.B2.D0.B8.D1.82.D1.8B.D1.85_.D1.81.D1.82.D1.80.D0.B0.D0.BD Russia ranked first in the ranking of countries with the cheapest unlimited Internet (see graph# 1), the corresponding tariffs are present in 26 out of 50 countries considered during the study

• Russia entered the top five countries with the cheapest mobile internet, moving to 4th place (see graph# 2)
• the cost of a gigabyte is influenced by the following factors:

• • increase of mobile traffic packets with simultaneous reduction of their cost
  • introduction of unlimited tariffs
  • volatility of national currencies
  • competition in the market
  • country size
  • 5G availability

In most countries of the world considered in the study, operators offer subscribers options that cancel the charging of traffic for a number of applications (social media, video, etc.). The division into "day" and "night" traffic is a thing of the past, but it is present in Asian countries. In a number of countries, operator sites already offer 5G services, but their cost is often higher than in LTE/3G.

Russia in 12th place, leader - India

Russia with an average cost of 1 GB of mobile traffic of $0.91 was on the 12th line of the rating of countries with the cheapest mobile Internet in the world, RBC reported in March 2019, citing data from a British research company Cable.co.uk. According to the results of the study, the cheapest mobile Internet is in India, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In India, 1 GB of Internet costs users $0.26, in Kyrgyzstan - $0.27, and in Kazakhstan - $0.49^[15].

The top ten countries with the most affordable mobile Internet also include: Ukraine, Rwanda, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the same time, the researchers Cable.co.uk noted that mobile Internet in the CIS countries is mainly cheap. Among the countries with high prices, only Turkmenistan was included, where 1 GB costs an average of $19.81.

The most expensive mobile Internet was in Zimbabwe, where 1 GB costs $75.2. In addition, high Internet prices were recorded in Equatorial Guinea, St. Helena, Falkland and Bermuda, Djibouti, Greece, Samoa, Tokelau and Nauru.

2018: Russia in 8th place out of 50 countries, leader - Romania

On December 26, 2018, the Content Review Information and Analytical Agency published the results of a study of mobile service tariffs Internet in 50 countries. The study analyzed the tariff offers of 136 telecom operators and calculated the cost of one gigabyte in. the Russian rubles The cheapest mobile Internet in Russia is Romania the 8th.

Highlights:

• the average world cost of 1 gigabyte of mobile Internet was 269.3 rubles, in Russia - 55.5 rubles (280.49 and 65.2 rubles in May 2018, respectively)
• Russia entered the top ten countries with the cheapest mobile Internet, retaining 8th place
• Russian operators entered the top 35 at the lowest cost of mobile Internet among 136 operators from 50 countries
• The following factors affect the cost of a gigabyte:
  • increase of mobile traffic packets with simultaneous reduction of their cost
  • introduction of unlimited tariffs
  • volatility of national currencies
  • competition in the market
  • country size

The cost of mobile Internet in the countries of the world, December 2018 (rub.)

To calculate the cost of a gigabyte, tariffs and options were taken with traffic on from 4 gigabytes and higher. In each of the countries, tariffs of up to four largest operators were considered, the final calculations used the average value of the cost of a gigabyte, translated into rubles at the rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of December 22, 2018. The list of countries has not changed since 2016, when the first study was released, and reflects the top countries in terms of GDP. The exception is Venezuela, which was replaced by Romania in this study due to the prolonged financial crisis.

author '= Sergey Polovnikov, head of Content Review and author of the study ' Mobile Internet has become the main service of mobile operators, which immediately affected the price of a gigabyte. At the same time, operators began to pay more attention to pricing and in a number of countries the cost of a gigabyte increased, while in markets with excessive capacity of LTE networks there was a reverse correction of prices. In Russia, traffic is getting cheaper, but already in 2019 this trend may change.

Unlimited tariffs are present in a small number of countries, while "unlimited" is limited both in the amount of traffic available at the maximum speed and in the speed of access.

In most countries of the world considered in the study, operators continued to offer subscribers options that cancel traffic charging for a number of applications, but also do not abandon the classic division into "day" and "night" traffic. In a number of countries, operator sites already contain information about the imminent launch of 5G.

2016: Data from RIA Novosti and Content Review

Mobile Internet has become the main service of mobile operators around the world. Throughout 2016, most of the operators left their data tariffs unchanged, but introduced new proposals with an increased traffic package. At the same time, in many countries, where the cost of 1 gigabyte of mobile data exceeded Russian tariffs tenfold, tariffs decreased. Compared to the tariffs of the Russian Beeline, the cost of one gigabyte of data in the UK (UK) is 7 times higher, in South Korea - 6 times, in the USA and Germany - 5 times. Cheaper than in Russia, mobile Internet in Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Egypt. These countries are united by the low development of mobile networks and the growing competition between operators, which affects the quality of services provided.

To calculate the rating, package options were taken, the volume of traffic in which was close to 2 gigabytes. According to Juniper Research, the global average traffic consumption of mobile subscribers is 2 gigabytes. Russian operators demonstrate the same figures in their reporting. The list of countries was formed by the size of GDP, in each of the countries one of the largest operators was selected. Russia is represented in the ranking by the Beeline operator, which increased the number of mobile Internet users by 5% in 2016. Tariffs of Russian operators for mobile Internet are in a single price corridor. In 2016, the cost of 1 gigabyte in Russia decreased to 100 rubles.

In most countries of the world, among the offers of operators there are no tariff plans with unlimited data transmission traffic. The exception is some Scandinavian countries, where, due to the small geographical area and the small number of subscribers, operators can provide such a service without significant costs for the network and service. Among large developed countries, only in the United States unlimited tariffs were launched by all operators in February 2017, which was the result of increased competition. It is especially worth noting that unlimited tariffs of American operators assume a minimum subscriber ARPU of about $80 per month. For comparison, in Russia ARPU is about $6.

Tariffs for mobile Internet in Russia in 2016 decreased by 14%. The largest price decline in the countries in which the rating goes happened in Kazakhstan (76%), Egypt (63%), Malaysia (71%), Norway (51%) and Algeria (88%).

The estimated cost of broadband and mobile Internet access in Russia is one of the lowest in comparison with Europe, the United States and many developed countries. This conclusion was reached by RIA Novosti, comparing in 2016 broadband access tariffs with speeds of about 10 Mbps and the cost of 1 GB of mobile traffic in different countries^[16].

In Russia, the estimated cost of broadband access is 350 rubles per month. You will have to pay 120 rubles for a gigabyte of downloaded data on a mobile phone. Such prices are comparable only to Ukrainian prices, where the same gigabyte will cost 61 rubles. The publication calls the collapse of the ruble and hryvnia exchange rates the reason for such low prices. In most other countries, tariffs are several times higher.

In Europe, prices vary by country. Among the expensive countries are Belgium, Switzerland. More affordable communication in Poland, Sweden, Finland. Germany can also be classified as expensive, here you will have to pay monthly for the Internet from 20 euros - about 1380 rubles. A gigabyte of mobile data will cost 11-12 euros or 820 rubles. At the same time, outside cities, there are problems with coverage with 3G and 4G networks, and the speed in the broadband access network can be replaced by less than announced.

The most expensive mobile Internet of the countries considered by the publication is in China: 930 rubles per gigabyte and 1850 rubles per month for broadband access. China Unicom and China Telecom operate in the broadband access market, which are actually monopolists, controlling the northern and southern regions of the country, respectively. Moreover, the Internet in China is slow, often less than 10 Mbps, although this year the number of users with a speed of 20 Mbps can increase to one third. In addition, due to traffic tracking, loading of foreign sites is extremely slow.

The United States is the leader in the price of broadband access, users have to pay about 2,700 rubles a month, although many providers work in the country. Minimum fares are $30- $35. At the same time, ADSL technology is still common. According to the publication, the Internet from satellite operators is offered at similar tariffs. At the same time, mobile Internet is relatively cheap - only 470 rubles per gigabyte.

Australian gadget users pay the same amounts. Broadband access in this country is only slightly cheaper than in the United States - 2,200 rubles a month, although users complain about low speed at high prices. Satellite Internet is also available.

In third world countries, prices vary greatly. Thus, the most expensive Internet among the countries of the Mediterranean coast of Africa is in Algeria: 1100 rubles per month for broadband access and 870 rubles per gigabyte of mobile traffic. At the same time, in Egypt, communication will cost half the price. Relatively affordable Internet in Brazil, where social networks are very popular and many Internet providers work. They offer broadband access for 980 rubles a month and 660 rubles per gigabyte in mobile networks.

Broadband Quality and Speed

2022: Internet speed in Russia increased by 20%

In early February 2023, the updated Speedtest Global Index rating was released with indicators of the speed of mobile and fixed Internet access in various countries around the world. It is reported that in Russia the throughput of data transmission channels during 2022 increased by about 20%.

In particular, the median speed of mobile Internet access in the Russian Federation in 2022 increased by 21%, reaching 23.09 Mbps when downloading data. The rate of transmission of information from the subscriber towards the base station averaged 8.28 Mbps. Delay - 32 ms. In the global ranking, Russia ranks 85th in terms of mobile Internet speed.

In the segment of broadband fixed Internet access, the speed in Russia in 2022 amounted to 75.23 Mbps, which is 19% more than the result for the previous year. The throughput of the reverse channel reaches an average of 81.87 Mbps. Delay - 4 ms. In the world ranking with such indicators, the Russian Federation occupies the 52nd position.

The highest speed of mobile Internet access was recorded in Qatar - 169.51 Mbps. In second place are the United Arab Emirates with an indicator of 153.09 Mbps, and Norway closes the top three - 128.14 Mbps. On average, the global capacity of mobile data transmission channels towards the subscriber reached 36.74 Mbps. The worst figure in Afghanistan is 5.18 Mbps.

If we consider broadband fixed Internet access, then Singapore leads globally with an indicator of 225.71 Mbps. Next come China and Chile with 223.49 and 220.96 Mbps, respectively. The world average bandwidth of fixed Internet channels as of the end of 2022 was 75.18 Mbps. The lowest value was recorded in Cuba - 1.91 Mbps.^[17]

2016: Less than 2.5 Mb/s is the per capita rate of Internet access in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is 4 times behind the minimum high-speed threshold for Internet access from the CIS countries, which undoubtedly affects the economic development of the republic.

The speed of Internet access in Kyrgyzstan today is less than 2.5 Mb/s. The country is 4 times behind in the lowest speed indicator of Internet access.

According to the World Bank, Internet bandwidth in Kyrgyzstan is thousands of times less than in Russia and Kazakhstan. The head of the ISOC Internet community in Kyrgyzstan, Talant Sultanov, also notes that in 2 years the republic has improved its indicators, but at the same time "if per capita there are less than 10 megabits, then this is bad for the country's economic development^[18].

2010: Broadband Quality Score

The Saïd Business School at Oxford University, together with Oviedo University, with the support of Cisco, conducted another, already the third, broadband quality study - Broadband Quality Score 2010. Based on 40 million real broadband access (broadband access) tests conducted in May-June 2010 using the speedtest.net Internet connection speed testing service, researchers were able to assess the quality of broadband access in 72 countries and 239 cities around the world.

The quality of broadband access was assessed by measuring the connection speed towards the user (download) and from the user (upload), as well as connection delay (latency) - the key characteristics on which support for various Internet applications depends: TelePresence systems, online video, social networks and other services. These criteria constitute the broadband access Quality Score (BQS) for each country. Combining it with broadband prevalence rates (i.e. proportion of households with broadband access, according to Point Topic data in 2010), the researchers were able to identify leaders - countries with the best combination of broadband quality and coverage.

Overall, the Broadband Quality Score 2010 study found that as different states prepare to use tomorrow's applications, the quality of broadband access is ubiquitous. Two-thirds of the countries covered by the study show full broadband compliance with the requirements of today's applications and even exceed these requirements. In general, thanks to investments in infrastructure, the quality of broadband access in the world has improved by 50% in just three years, and its penetration rate continues to increase. About half of households (49%) in the countries covered by the study have broadband technology, up from 40% in 2008.

Highlights Broadband Quality Score 2010 The quality of broadband access in the world continues to grow at a rapid pace:

• In general, the quality of broadband access has increased by 48% since 2008 (in some countries this figure is even higher):
  • The average data transfer rate towards the subscriber in just three years increased by 49% (3271 Kb/s in 2008, 4882 Kb/s in 2009 and 5920 Kb/s in 2010).
  • The average data transfer rate from the subscriber over three years increased by 69% (794 Kb/s in 2008, 1345 Kb/s in 2009 and 1777 Kb/s in 2010).
  • Average delay decreased by 25% to 142 ms. This is slightly more than in 2009 (140 ms), but significantly lower than in 2008 (189 ms).

• The quality of broadband access in 48 countries (66%) meets the requirements of all today's Internet applications (in the study they are defined as social networks, video streaming, basic video conferencing, sharing small files), as well as not so demanding applications (instant messaging, email, web surfing). There have been ten more such countries since 2009 and 18 since 2008, despite the fact that from 2008 to 2010 the volume of Internet traffic in the world increased by 166% (source: Cisco Visual Networking Index 2010).
• 14 countries are already ready to implement Internet applications of tomorrow, such as high-definition Internet television and high-quality video services (telepresence services for individual users), which are expected to become widespread in a few years. These countries include South Korea, Latvia, Japan Sweden Bulgaria,,, Lithuania, the Finland Romania Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany Portugal, Denmark and Iceland. In 2009, there were nine such countries, and in 2008 - only one (Japan). At the same time, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania have a low level of broadband access penetration compared to other countries.
• South Korea tops broadband rankings for second year in a row:
  • South Korea has the highest broadband quality, which is the benchmark for the rest of the world.
  • The average data transfer rate towards the subscriber is 33.5 Mb/s, which is 55% more compared to 2009, and the average data transfer rate from the subscriber is 17 Mb/s (430% more than in 2009). The average delay decreased by 35% compared to last year and is 47 ms.
  • broadband access penetration is 100%.

Top 10 leaders in broadband access in 2010

• 1. South Korea
• 2. Hong Kong
• 3. Japan
• 4. Iceland
• 5. Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore
• 6. Malta
• 7. Netherlands
• 8. United Arab Emirates, Qatar
• 9. Sweden
• 10. Denmark

A leap in development

Although some countries have been able to provide quality Internet access to the majority of the population, less developed countries are focused on investing in quality broadband access first only in cities. More developed countries, by contrast, typically set themselves the task of upgrading existing copper broadband access lines (DSLs) to provide broadband access to as much of the population as possible. As a result, many developing countries, including Eastern European states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary, were able to make a breakthrough and outstrip more developed countries in terms of broadband quality. However, although their broadband quality index is higher, the penetration rate in these states is lower, which affected their position in the ranking.

Broadband access by households

• Households that mostly use the internet for simple apps such as web surfing, instant messaging and social media communication consume about 20GB of traffic a month.
• Smart and connected households using the World Wide Web for high definition video, HD entertainment, remote learning and telemedicine, home security, etc., can easily consume up to 500 GB of traffic per month and require a channel with data transfer rates up to 18 Mb/s.
• The researchers also assessed the impact of broadband quality on the competitiveness of service providers in different countries. After examining the quality of broadband access in 25 countries, the project team confirmed the provision that operators providing a better connection have large market shares. In particular:
  • market participants who provide broadband access via fiber optic connections and have no competitors in this area have increased their market share to 13% in two years.
  • Cable network operators providing higher quality have shares ranging from 10% (existing market participants) to 60% (new market participants).
  • Alternative providers providing better broadband access services show the highest market share growth rates: up to 96% (taking into account that they started from a smaller subscriber base).