Mobile broadband
| 2007 | 2010 | 2014a | |
| World population | 6.6 billion | 6.9 billion | 7.2 billion |
| Fixed broadband | 5% | 8% | 10% |
| Developing world | 2% | 4% | 6% |
| Developed world | 18% | 24% | 27% |
| Mobile broadband | 4% | 11% | 32% |
| Developing world | 1% | 4% | 21% |
| Developed world | 19% | 43% | 84% |
| a Estimate. Source: International Telecommunications Union. |
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| Fixed subscriptions: | 2007 | 2010 | 2014a |
| Africa | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Americas | 11% | 14% | 17% |
| Arab States | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Asia and Pacific | 3% | 6% | 8% |
| Commonwealth of Independent States |
2% |
8% |
14% |
| Europe | 18% | 24% | 28% |
| Mobile subscriptions: | 2007 | 2010 | 2014a |
| Africa | 0.2% | 2% | 19% |
| Americas | 6% | 23% | 59% |
| Arab States | 0.8% | 5% | 25% |
| Asia and Pacific | 3% | 7% | 23% |
| Commonwealth of Independent States |
0.2% |
22% |
49% |
| Europe | 15% | 29% | 64% |
| a Estimate. Source: International Telecommunications Union. |
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Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access through a portable modem, mobile phone, USB wireless modem, tablet or other mobile devices. The first wireless Internet access became available in 1991 as part of the second generation (2G) of mobile phone technology. Higher speeds became available in 2001 and 2006 as part of the third (3G) and fourth (4G) generations. In 2011, 90% of the world's population lived in areas with 2G coverage, while 45% lived in areas with 2G and 3G coverage. Mobile broadband uses the spectrum of 225 MHz to 3700 MHz.
Mobile broadband is the marketing term for wireless Internet access delivered through mobile phone towers to computers, mobile phones (called "cell phones" in North America and South Africa), and other digital devices using portable modems. Although broadband has a technical meaning, wireless-carrier marketing uses the phrase "mobile broadband" as a synonym for mobile Internet access. Some mobile services allow more than one device to be connected to the Internet using a single cellular connection using a process called tethering.
The bit rates available with Mobile broadband devices support voice and video as well as other data access. Devices that provide mobile broadband to mobile computers include:
Internet access subscriptions are usually sold separately from mobile phone subscriptions.
Roughly every ten years new mobile phone technology and infrastructure involving a change in the fundamental nature of the service, non-backwards-compatible transmission technology, higher peak data rates, new frequency bands, wider channel frequency bandwidth in Hertz becomes available. These transitions are referred to as generations. The first mobile data services became available during the second generation (2G).
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