Nokia Siemens Networks

Access to broadband just a start: report

New statistics reveal challenges, opportunities for broadband providers across the world.

You may have noticed. Every day it gets a little bit easier to access broadband – on busses and trains, on laptops and mobile phones.

A comprehensive study commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks goes further to examine this trend towards universal access to broadband in great detail – studying both developed and emerging economies.

The study started with nearly ten thousand interviews, which were conducted in July and August, 2008, in five developed countries – France, Italy, Germany, the UK and US – and six emerging countries – Brazil, Morocco, India, Croatia, Romania and Russia.

Numbers reveal huge potential for growth

In developed countries, more than half of the population uses the internet, with the USA leading at 71%.  Meanwhile, emerging markets show a huge untapped potential for growth. While penetration has exceeded the 30% mark in leading countries like Croatia (35.3%) and Romania (31.4%), penetration is still is quite low in countries like Brazil (22.4%), Russia (20.8%) and Morocco (18.1%).

High-speed home access (DSL, ADSL, VDSL or Cable) is the dominant access method in both developed (77%) and emerging countries (36%). In public places, users in developed countries still prefer WLAN (15% of users) over mobile access (6%). However, when travelling or commuting, the number of mobile network users is catching up on those who use WLAN (9% versus 12%).

Taking it to the street using a laptop or a mobile phone

People most often access the internet at home or in the office, and as you may expect the personal computer is still the device of choice in these places – 79% of users in developed and 59% in emerging countries favor it. But laptops are also gaining popularity: 49% of users in the developed markets use them at home, while16% use them in public places and 14% when travelling or commuting.  

Interestingly, internet access via mobile phone is nearly nonexistent in those emerging economies studied. However, in developed countries, mobile devices are used in public places or while travelling and commuting by 8% and 9% respectively of those interviewed. 13% of respondents even used it at home.

In many emerging countries, connectivity from internet cafes via a PC provides an important channel for access; on average it is employed by 26% of all internet users. For India, the figure is as high as 38%; for Morocco 33%; and for Brazil 29%.

Browsing and e-mail lead in usage, high-bandwidth services growing

The internet is used primarily for browsing and e-mail traffic, by 93% and 95% of subscribers respectively in the developed countries. In the emerging countries, 85% of the users have adopted either service.

However, high-bandwidth services are clearly on the rise, putting more strain on network capacity. 8% more users in developed and 14% more in emerging countries are looking to start downloading videos on either daily or weekly basis, while 8% more in developed and 14% more in emerging markets expect to start watching TV streaming at least once a week. Other services on the rise include downloading and uploading music/photos, and IP telephony. 

High satisfaction for fixed, lower for mobile

The satisfaction in the fixed internet connection is high in both developed and developing countries. The time needed to open web site and the stability of the connection were the key criteria mentioned, with users in emerging countries putting an even stronger emphasis on web page access time.

On a scale from 1 (very satisfied) to 5 (very dissatisfied), users gave relatively high ratings of 1.86 in developed markets and – even higher – 1.72 in emerging markets for their service.

In the developed markets, speeds higher than 4 MBit/s were greeted with ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ ratings. In emerging markets, speeds up from 64 kbit/s received similar marks. This goes to show that existing fixed technologies (DSL, ADSL, VDSL or Cable) are still sufficient to fulfill the needs of today and the near to mid-term future.

The subscribers are, however, much less satisfied with their mobile connections. In the developed markets, usage via mobile phone received lower ratings than with fixed for all key services – the gap was the widest for browsing at 17% and narrowest for video downloading at 11%.

Bandwidth needs are increasing

In the near future, 44% of the online users in developed countries and 54% in emerging countries are “very likely” to increase their existing fixed bandwidth by technical upgrades at home – a hugely important consideration for CSPs making both short- and long-term plans for the future.

Converged bundling of services generates interest

On average, users in developed countries spend 105€ per month on communications and entertainment; whereas this figure for emerging countries averages 41€ per month.

Of the users in developed countries, 52% have a double-play contract including internet and fixed-line telephony, while 29% had a triple- or quadruple-play contract including fixed phone, mobile, internet and/or IPTV in various combinations. 87% of the users have a flat rate internet tariff.

In emerging countries, the fixed telephone and internet package is used by 36% of consumers, whereas 30% of the users have a triple or quadruple play bundle. Flat rate internet access has been adopted by 67% of the users.

 
Nokia Siemens Networks shares full results of this survey with its customers in order to determine the best broadband strategies moving forward. Does your company have the information it needs to help you make the most informed decisions about the future of broadband?

Register here and share your opinion.