This article contains a sortable list of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions and penetration rates, using data compiled by the
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
.
List
The list includes figures for both fixed wired broadband subscriptions and mobile cellular subscriptions:
Definitions of World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators, March 2010
, International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 30 September 2011.
* Fixed-broadband access refers to high-speed fixed (wired) access to the public Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
at downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s. This includes satellite Internet access
Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high dat ...
, cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
, DSL
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...
, fibre-to-the-home/building, and other fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions. The totals are measured irrespective of the method of payment.
* Mobile-cellular access refers to high-speed mobile access to the public Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
at advertised data speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s. To be counted, a mobile subscription must allow access to the greater Internet via HTTP
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, ...
and must have been used to make a data connection using the Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
IP h ...
in the previous three months. SMS
Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
and MMS MMS may refer to:
Science and technology Network communication protocols
* Multimedia Messaging Service for mobile phones
* Microsoft Media Server, a content-streaming protocol (mms://)
* Manufacturing Message Specification for real time proces ...
messaging do not count as an active Internet data connection even if they are delivered via IP.
Penetration rate is the percentage (%) of a country's population that are subscribers. A dash (—) is shown when data for 2012 is not available. Non-country and disputed areas are shown in ''italics''. Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
is listed as a sovereign country.
Note: Because a single Internet subscription may be shared by many people and a single person my have more than one subscription, the penetration rate will not reflect the actual level of access to broadband Internet of the population and penetration rates larger than 100% are possible.
See also
* List of countries by number of Internet users
Below is a sortable list of countries by number of Internet users, for 2020. Internet users are defined as persons who accessed the Internet in the last 12 months from any device, including mobile phones.The statistics for numbers of Internet ...
* List of countries by number of telephone lines in use
This is a list of countries by number of telephone lines mostly based on The World Factbook accessed in September 2010.
See also
* List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions
* List of countries by number of Internet users
* ...
* List of countries by smartphone penetration
This is a list of countries by smartphone penetration. These numbers are based on the top countries by percentage of population owning a smartphone (so smaller countries are absent) and come from Newzoo's Global Mobile Market Report (the numbers we ...
* List of mobile network operators
For a more comprehensive list of mobile phone operators, see Mobile country codes.
Terrestrial
This is a list of the world's thirty largest terrestrial mobile phone network operators measured by number of subscriptions.
Satellite based
Thi ...
* List of multiple-system operators
A multiple-system operator (MSO) is an operator of multiple cable or direct-broadcast satellite television systems. A cable system in the United States, by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) definition, is a facility serving a single communi ...
* List of telephone operating companies
This list identifies the fixed line operators and the mobile operators for the top 200 most populous countries in the world.
The list of countries and their populations is from List of countries by population. The CIA World Factbook is cited ...
References
External links
"Internet Monitor"
a research project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society
The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is a research center at Harvard University that focuses on the study of cyberspace. Founded at Harvard Law School, the center traditionally focused on internet-related legal issues. On May 15, 2008, ...
at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to evaluate, describe, and summarize the means, mechanisms, and extent of Internet access, content controls and activity around the world.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Countries By Number Of Broadband Internet Users
International telecommunications
Broadband Internet users
Internet-related lists
*
IT infrastructure