Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

m-commerce and m-banking. Mobile telephonyenables users to access information and creative content,especially that relating to news, education,health, jobs, culture and family life. There are goodreasons for developing countries to prioritize broadbandconnectivity in their development strategies.Although every user may not need broadband, thereare many applications that do not operate withoutsufficient bandwidth. Improved broadband connectivitycan help to achieve education and health targetsset out in the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). Therefore, monitoring the diffusion ofvarious ICTs, in particular telephony, Internet andbroadband, is crucial to evaluate trends in worldwideconnectivity and to estimate its potential for the creationand marketing of creative goods and services.While fixed telephone subscriptions are declining,mobile and Internet usage continues to expandrapidly in most parts of the world.7.2.1 The mobile revolutionIn 2008, the number of mobile subscriptionsworldwide reached 4 billion, while the number offixed telephone lines has been stalled at around 1.2billion since 2006. The rise of mobile telephonyreflects the high cost of fixed infrastructure comparedto wireless solutions as well as limited accessto electricity, especially in rural areas of developingcountries. There are now an average of 60 mobilephone subscriptions for every 100 people worldwide.Between 2003 and 2008, the penetration ofmobile phones grew dramatically, even in the poorestcountries. 3 Developing countries account fortwo-thirds of all mobile subscriptions, as shown infigure 7.1. In Africa the average penetration ofmobiles was over one-third of the population. Indeveloping Asia the average is 45 subscriptions per100 inhabitants. In Latin America the regional averagewas 80. In the Caribbean, practically all of theAnglophone island states have already achieved apenetration rate of 100, while the overall regionalaverage is around 70 per cent. By the end of 2008,almost one out of every two persons in developingFigure 7.1Subscriptions per 100 inh.5,0004,0003,0002,0001,0000120100806040200Figure 7.21,5001,000Users per 100 inh.50006050403020100Global mobile telephone subscriptions by main country groupings,2003 – 2008 (millions and per 100 inhabitants)Developed Developing EIT % Change2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008World Developed Developing EIT2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Source: UNCTAD, based on ITU and national dataGlobal internet users by main country groupings, 2003 – 2008(millions and per 100 inhabitants)Developed Developing EIT % Change2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008World Developed Developing EIT2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Source: UNCTAD, adapted from ITU and national data30%25%20%15%10%5%0%20%15%10%5%0%7Technology, connectivity and the creative economy3 UNCTAD (2009). Information Economy Report 2009 – Trends and Outlook in Turbulent Times.CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010191