Policies for

Mobile

Broadband

ICT Sector Unit

World Bank

Broadband

Expansion and

Economic

Impact

Broadband has a Positive

Impact on GDP Growth

0.60%

1.00%

1.50%

1.80%

0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

Fixed Broadband Mobile Broadband

Low impact High Impact

Impact on GDP of 10% increase on

penetration

Source: Multiple sources – see references

Mobile Allows for Faster

Expansion of Broadband

Mobile and Fixed Broadband

Subscriber Growth

-

400

800

1,200

1,600

2,000M

ar-0

4

Dec

-04

Sep

-05

Jun

-06

Mar

-07

Dec

-07

Sep

-08

Jun

-09

Mar

-10

Dec

-10

Sep

-11

Jun

-12

Mar

-13

Mill

ion

s

Fixed

Mobile

Source: Telegeography (mobile broadband)

Some Countries are

Growing Faster…

Mobile and Fixed Broadband

Subscriber Penetration

60.09%

10.34%

2.79% 2.24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Egypt Morocco

Mobile

Fixed

Source: Telegeography

Policies to

Facilitate

Broadband

Diffusion

Economic Impact:

Supply- and Demand-Side

SUPPLY

DEMAND

ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY

Pulls

Demand Pushes

Supply

Supply-Side

Policies

Availability of Spectrum and

Removal of Restrictions

Brazil

Ecuador

Venezuela

2005 2006 2007 2010

Chile Uruguay

Paraguay

Egypt Saudi

Arabia

Tunisia

Jordan

Costa Rica

Expansion of Network vs.

Maximization of Proceeds

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5Ju

n-0

7

Oct

-07

Feb

-08

Jun

-08

Oct

-08

Feb

-09

Jun

-09

Oct

-09

Feb

-10

Jun

-10

Oct

-10

Feb

-11

Jun

-11

Oct

-11

Feb

-12

Jun

-12

Oct

-12

Feb

-13

Mill

ion

s

Claro Chile Entel PCS Telefonica Chile (Movistar)

Expansion of Mobile Broadband Coverage

with Reverse Auctions in Chile

Source: Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones (SUBTEL), Chile

Backbone Networks and

Infrastructure Sharing

Burundi national backbone

cooperative development

Demand-Side

Policies

Affordability of Devices

and Services

22%

37%

61%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Tablet

Netbook

Smartphone

4%

7%

14%

37%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Dongles

Tablets

Featurephones

Smartphones

Mobile Devices Used to Access

Internet (Past 12 months)

Mobile Devices Offered by LTE

Operators

Source: Accenture, Mobile Web Watch 2012 Source: Wireless Intelligence

Foster Development of

Broadband Applications

0 3

10

28

80

98

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

-

20

40

60

80

100

120

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012* Mar-13

Mill

ion

s

Bill

ion

s

Apps downloads Mobile broadband connections

Mobile apps as a driver of demand

Source: Telegeography (mobile broadband) and Apple and Google (Apps

downloads) through statista.com / * (Jan 2013)

Co-Creation of Services

and Applications

Thank you

Victor Mulas vmulas@worldbank.org

ICT Sector Unit

World Bank

References:

• Thompson, H. & Garbacz, C. (2011) Economic impacts of mobile vs. fixed broadband

• Deloitte, GSMA & Cisco (2012) What is the impact of mobile telephony on economic growth?

• World Bank (2011) Broadband Strategies Handbook