tistics provided by Internet World Stats (www.internetworldstats.com) show that the greatest penetration (i.e., the percentage of the population with access to the Internet) is in North America, with 68.1% of the population online, followed by Oceania/Australia at 52.9%, and Europe at 35.9%. After these regions, the penetration drops off dramatically, with Chapter 8 The Internet and IP Infrastructures Telephone Radio Technology Figure 8.1 Internet pace: Years to reach 50 million users worldwide Latin America/the Caribbean at 14.3%, Asia at 9.9%, the Middle East at 9.6%, and Africa at 2.5%. However, the picture isn't complete without also looking at the actual usage rates (i.e., usage as a percentage of world traffic). Here Asia leads with 35.7%, followed by Europe with 28.5%, North America with 22.2%, Latin America/ the Caribbean at 7.8%, Africa with 2.2%, and the Middle East and Oceania/Australia with 1.8% each. Statistics also show that usage growth continues to be strong. For the period from 2000 to 2005, the percentage of growth was 454.2% in the Middle East, 403.7% in Africa, 337.4% in Latin America/the Caribbean, 218.7% in Asia, 176.1% in Europe, 132.2% in Oceania/Australia, and 108.9% in North America, with a global average of 182%. In general, the rate of Internet backbone growth has varied dra- matically by region. Mature Internet markets in the United States and Europe have seen relatively slow growth, just 30% to 40% in 2005. Asian network backbones have grown much more rapidly-over 70% in 2005-and show no signs of slow- ing. (Although it is indeed very useful to have a reference to such statistics, remem- ber that there can be a wide variety of research results, and any such statistics are not cast in stone; rather, they should be considered as a simple guide to general usage trends.) The Internet is very useful and easy to use, and for a growing number of people, it is now the first place to look for information. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is also increasing, in both the business-to-consumer an