Global gigabit Internet reaches 5.8% of the population, over 413 million
2020/4/17 9:50:53
According to the latest data from VIAVI Gigabit Monitor (as of April 16, 2020), gigabit Internet now reaches 413 million people in 61 countries around the world, an increase of 11 countries and 58.63 million more people covered, compared to November 26, 2019, and the global population coverage rate has increased from 5.0% to 5.8%.
By country, the United States continues to have the largest gigabit Internet population coverage, with more than 80.48 million people now having access to gigabit broadband. This was followed by South Korea with 46.92 million, China with 41.25 million, Germany with 38.82 million and Spain with 32.45 million. There are currently 11 countries with tens of millions of people covered. In addition to the top five, there are the UK, Canada, Italy, France, Japan and India.
While the 5% global gigabit Internet penetration rate is significant progress, it is in stark contrast to the fact that 50 per cent of the global population still does not have access to any form of Internet access. In the past 12 months, only two countries, Bahrain and Malaysia, have rolled out gigabit Internet for the first time, slowing the pace of deployment this year compared to last year's eight new gigabit Internet countries.
This trend is expected to continue over the next two years as 5G networks become more widespread. That said, fiber is still the backhaul infrastructure of choice for most cellular networks, cables and telecom networks, so for most gigabit Internet providers, fiber will still play a key role in network deployment.
