Mobile communication

 

Mobile Communication

Number of Mobile Cellular Subscriptions 2012–2016, World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Global Report 2017/2018

According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates, by the end of 2017, 48% of personal users were regularly connected to the Internet, up from 34% in 2012. Mobile Internet connectivity has played a major role in expanding penetration in recent years, particularly in Asia and the Pacific and Africa. The number of unique mobile cellular subscriptions rose from 3.89 billion in 2012 to 4.83 billion in 2016, accounting for two-thirds of the world’s population, with more than half in Asia and the Pacific. The number of subscriptions is expected to increase to 5.69 billion users in 2020. As of 2016, about 60% of the world’s population had access to a 4G broadband cellular network, up from about 50% in 2015 and 11% in 2012. The limitations that users face in accessing information through applications coincide with the broader process of fragmentation of the Internet. 

Fragmentation restricts access to media content and affects poor users more.

Zero-rating, the practice of Internet service providers allowing users a free connection to access certain content or applications at no cost, has offered opportunities to overcome economic barriers but has been accused by its critics of creating a two-tiered Internet. To address the problems with zero-rating, an alternative model in the concept of ‘equal rating’ has emerged and is being tested in the Mozilla and Orange experiments in Africa. Equal rating prevents prioritization of one type of content and zero-rates all content up to a specified data cap. 

A study published by Chatham House found that 15 of the 19 countries surveyed in Latin America offered some form of hybrid or zero-rated product. Some countries in the region (among all mobile network operators) have a handful of plans to choose from, while others like Colombia offer 30 prepaid and 34 post-paid plans.

A study of eight countries in the Global South found that zero-rate data plans exist in every country, although a higher range in frequency is offered and used in each. The study looked at the top three to five carriers by market share in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru and the Philippines. Another study covering Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa found Facebook’s Free Basics and Wikipedia’s ero to be zero-rated content in general.

Internet Protocol Suite:

Internet standards describe a framework known as the Internet Protocol Suite (also known as the TCP/IP based on the first two units).