By 2015, approximately 3.6 billion people – 50 per cent of the world’s population – will be able to access broadband services, according to a report.

In two new reports UK-based Ovum, a leading independent telecoms analyst, has unveiled research conducted on the future of the broadband market, which also shows that by 2015, 1.4 billion people globally will access both fixed-line and mobile broadband as usage grows rapidly and services converge.

“Broadband access is now as important as other essential utilities such as gas, water and electricity,” said Michael Philpot, Ovum analyst and co-author of the reports.

“In the developed world it has become a basic requirement and penetration is above 60 per cent of households in many markets.”

In 2015, the majority of users (1.4 billion) will access both fixed-line and mobile services, showing a trend towards convergence of services. These ‘dual access subscribers’ will mainly be in the developed markets of North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific, where 84 per cent will have dual access.

Charlie Davies, Ovum analyst and report co-author, said: “This convergence of services will see operators growing the revenues they generate from users by offering service bundles.”

“However dual access use will not only happen in the developed world. Rapidly growing urban areas in the emerging markets where there is a larger proportion of high-value customers will also see growth in this area,” he added.

Mobile broadband will continue to grow rapidly and by 2015 one billion people will use it as their only form of Internet access, which is 28 per cent of all users globally or 13 per cent of the world’s population.

This will mainly be driven by emerging markets in Eastern Europe (where 38 per cent of broadband users will be mobile only in 2015), South and Central America (35 per cent) and Asia Pacific (34 per cent).

Steven Hartley, Ovum principal analyst and report co-author, commented: “The primary reason for the strength of the mobile broadband market in the emerging markets is a lack of fixed-line infrastructure.”

“However the areas that see the greatest penetration are those where there are affordable devices and sufficiently capable mobile networks. For this reason the strongest markets for mobile broadband will be Eastern Europe, where 38 per cent of broadband users will be mobile only in 2015, South and Central America with 35 per cent, and Asia Pacific with 34 per cent,” Hartley concluded. – TradeArabia News Service