Telco: the emerging countries internet market

Today one third of the world's population uses the Internet and 45% of users is under 25 years. The development of the web, as per a ITU (UN agency for telecommunications) research, certifies that Emerging Countries have excelled Developed Countries (62% of total). The increase of mobile phones has not stopped, we have now 5.9 billion mobile phones for a global population of 7 billion and broadband also is growing fast (as described in the previous post, "Telco: the future is increasingly mobile").

The research "The world in 2011" on the telco sector, is based on estimated data for the end of last year and shows the figures of the Web's role in emerging markets, as seen clearly in the course of the riots in North Africa and the Middle East. A striking example is that of Nigeria, a country far behind as regards the traditional infrastructure, but it is experiencing a significant recovery on new technologies. According to data from the Nigerian Ministry of Telecommunications, in fact, the country ended 2011 with 45 million Internet users, while the rate of Internet penetration has reached 60% of the country thanks to, as the ministry explained, public and private companies’ investments (local and international), very active on one of the world's most promising markets in the field of telecommunications. Just five years ago, in fact, emerging countries accounted for 44% of the total, compared to 62% today: China gets the lion's share, despite difficulties and censorship, with 25% of total and 37% of emerging countries. The web enables everyone, and in particular young people, to exploit the potential and the offered services.