By 2016, 3.2 billion people, or 44% of the world's population, will have access to the Internet with more than 2 billion using mobile devices to do so, according to a forecast by IDC. This is expected to lead an explosive growth in mobile commerce and mobile advertising, said IDC.
According to the report, China, India, and Indonesia are leading the internet growth and is expected to account for almost half of the gains in access globally over the course of the next five years. The combination of lower-cost devices and inexpensive wireless networks are making accessibility easier in countries with populations that could not previously afford them, said IDC.
The total number of mobile Internet users is forecast to rise at a pace of 2% annually through 2020 unless significant new methods of accessing the Internet are introduced. IDC believes that efforts by Google, SpaceX, and Facebook among others to make the Internet available to the remaining 4 billion people via high altitude planes, balloons, and satellites are underway.
In 2015, more than $100 billion will be spent online on each of the following categories: travel, books, CDs and DVDs, downloading apps, and online classes. These purchases are enabled by online payment platforms that are making payments, online and off, easier and more secure.
Scott Strawn , Program Director, Strategic Advisory Service
Over the next five years global growth in the number of people accessing the Internet exclusively through mobile devices will grow by more than 25% per year while the amount of time we spend on them continues to grow.
