ccess to the Internet. Mobile broadband services and access of the same through smartphones continue to be critical profitability factors for operators. The proportion of Internet users across the world gives us a good idea about where the penetration is already at a high level. Markets that have high Internet penetration tend to be more mature in their use of the Internet. Also, they have a higher demand for advanced value-added services in comparison to more developing areas, where primary access to the Internet is still developing. The statistics presented in Figure 3-4 from Internet World Stats provide a good picture of the proportion of Internet users across the world by the end of 2013. Internet Users in the World Distribution by World Regions - 2013 Q4 11.4% 10.8% Asia 45.1% Europe 20.2% 20.2% North America 10.7% Lat Am / Caribb 10.8% 45.1% Africa 8.6% Middle East 3.7% Oceania / Australia 0.9% Source: Internet World Stats - www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Basis: 2,802,478,934 Internet users on Dec 31, 2013 Copyright © 2014, Miniwatts Marketing Group Figure 3-4. Internet use by the end of 2013 It is clear from Figure 3-4 that bigger demographies have a larger presence in the Internet. Asia dominates as a highly populated region and hence it is more interesting to see the proportion of population that has access to the Internet. As illustrated in Figure 3-5, from the same period we see a worldwide total penetration of Internet at only 39%. CHAPTER 3 DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGES IN EVOLVING 4G World Internet Penetration Rates by Geographic Regions - 2013 Q4 North America 84.9% Europe 68.6% Australia / 67.5% Oceania Latin America / 49.3% Caribbean Middle East 44.9% World, Avg. 39.0% 31.7% Africa 21.3% Penetration Rate Source: Internet World Stats - www.internetworldststs.com/stats.htm Penetration Rates are based on a world population of 7,181,858,619 and 2,802,478,934 estimated Internet users on December 31, 2013. Copyright©2014, Miniwatts Marketing Group Figure 3-5. Worldwide penetration of the Internet Also, t