THE internet—and with it the world—is rapidly going mobile. That is the main message of the annual “Facts and Figures”

report

of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Although prices have dropped sharply, fixed-broadband subscriptions have grown only slowly over the past 15 years, to 11% of households. By contrast, the share of individuals who use the internet and households with an internet connection has risen to 43% and 46% respectively. Yet their growth rate pales compared with that of mobile-broadband subscriptions, which will reach 47% of the population globally. If the figure stays on its current trajectory, mobile broadband will reach saturation even faster than the mobile phone before it. But this won’t mean that every Earthling will have a smartphone in his pocket. The ITU estimates that four billion people in the developing world still remain offline. And of the nearly one billion people living in the least-developed countries, 851m do not use the internet.