According to International Data Corp. estimates, 3.2 billion people, or 44% of the world's population, will have access to the Internet in 2016. Of that number, more than 2 billion are expected to use mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to do so.
Growth in Internet access is taking place around the world, but some countries are seeing particularly rapid growth, IDC says. China, India, and Indonesia lead the way and are expected to account for almost half of the gains in access globally over the course of the next five years. The combination of lower-cost devices and inexpensive wireless networks are making accessibility easier in countries with populations that could not previously afford them.
The total number of mobile Internet users is forecast to rise at a pace of 2% annually through 2020 unless significant new methods of accessing the Internet are introduced. Efforts by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), SpaceX, and Facebook among others to make the Internet available to the remaining 4 billion people via high altitude planes, balloons, and satellites are underway. However, it remains unclear how successful these endeavors will be and when they will be operational at scale.
"Over the next five years, global growth in the number of people accessing the Internet exclusively through mobile devices will grow by more than 25% per year while the amount of time we spend on them continues to grow. This change in the way we access the Internet is fueling explosive growth in mobile commerce and mobile advertising," wrote Scott Strawn, IDC's program director, Strategic Advisory Service.
