Wireless broadband penetration has reached nearly 70 percent in the 34 nations that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and mobile wireless broadband subscriptions outnumber wired broadband's by more than 2.5 times.
According to June 2013 data from OECD, mobile broadband subscriptions saw year-over-year growth of 16.63 percent, reaching a total of 851 million and resulting in more than two wireless subscriptions for every three OECD-nation inhabitants. Fixed wired broadband subscriptions in the OECD area were only 332 million as of June 2013.
In terms of sheer numbers, the United States has the most wired as well as wireless subscriptions of any OECD nation. OECD's numbers reveal that as of June 2013, the United States had 91.34 million fixed wired broadband subscriptions and more than three times that number--299.45 million--of mobile wireless broadband subscriptions.
The United States has achieved 29.3 percent penetration for wired broadband and 96 percent penetration for mobile wireless broadband.
Six countries--Australia, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Japan and Sweden--have surpassed the 100 percent penetration threshold for wireless broadband. "Australia has edged into first place after a 13 percent surge in smartphone subscriptions in the first half of 2013," said the organization.
Average wired broadband penetration in OECD nations is 26.7 percent. Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark have the most wired broadband penetration, registering 43.8 percent, 40.0 percent and 39.7 percent, respectively.
For more:
- see this OECD release and this webpage
- see this Telecompetitor article
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