According to iPass (NASDAQ:IPAS), there are now more than 50 million publicly available WiFi hotspots worldwide, up 80% since 2013. The number of global hotspots is expected to reach 340 million by 2018, which would be approximately one hotspot for every 20 people on Earth.

France has the most hotspots at more than 13 million, followed by the United States at 9.8 million and then the UK at 5.6 million. The United States is expected to take the lead by the end of this year with more than 32 million total hotspots. The United States' growth is due in large part to broadband operators converting residential customers to community hotspot providers at the rate of about 1 per second.