Prospective milestone: Online video devices outnumber people by 2017

A report from the Broadband Technology Service at IHS predicts that the explosive growth in smartphone and tablet ownership will result in over 8 billion Internet-connected video devices in the world by 2017.  The projected world population in 2017, in contrast, is 7.4 billion.

“In practice, ownership of Internet-connected hardware will be concentrated among users whose homes are equipped with broadband connections,” said Merrick Kingston, senior analyst for Broadband Technology Service, in a press release.
“We’re quickly approaching a world where the average broadband household contains 10 connected, video-enabled devices. This means that each TV set installed in a broadband-equipped home will be surrounded by three Internet-connected devices.”

The growth in 4G mobile services will fuel expansion of basic levels of broadband access, particularly in rural areas and in developing countries.  That's also a key component in the expansion of online video access.

Source - More Internet Video Hook Ups Than People in the World by 2017, VidBlog

Goin' Mobile- Global Stats

I was doing some data collection for a piece on broadband last week, and ran across some interesting statistics, courtesy of the ITU.  All results are for 2011.

• Globally, there's almost five times the number of mobile/cellular subscriptions (5.972 billion) as there are fixed-line telephone subscriptions (1.204 billion).  The ratio is higher in developing areas than in developed areas.
• For (basic) broadband subscriptions, the differential is less, although there are still more active mobile broadband subscriptions (1.1 billion) than fixed-line broadband subscriptions (589 million).
• In developed countries, ICTs and Web access are widespread.  Looking at households, 74.2% have computers, and 70.3% have Internet access.  Among individuals, 70.2% are Internet users, about half have mobile broadband subscriptions, and a quarter have fixed-line broadband subscriptions.
• Penetration in developing countries is much lower (with wider variations in reported levels).  On average, fewer than one in four households have a computer, and about 1 in 5 have Internet access.  Regional differences in household ownership of computers ranges from 6.4% in Africa to 31% in Arab states, to 75.3% in Europe (somewhat fewer homes have Internet access).  The proportion of Internet users run from 12.4% in Africa to 68.4% among Europeans.

Source:  Key ICT indicators for developed and developing countries and the world, ITU (2012)