Mobile users in developing nations tend to more satisfied with their service despite lower bandwidth than people in developed countries, according to a new Global Bandwidth Index Report from Juniper Networks. The report explores differences between how people use mobile Internet connectivity in their day-to-day lives at work and at home and what they hope to achieve using their connected devices in the future.
Some highlights:
- Nearly twice as many people in developing countries regularly use connected devices for educational purposes as those in developed markets.
- 46 percent of respondents in developing countries use connected devices for professional development versus 27 percent in developed markets.
- 97 percent of people in emerging markets reported fundamental life changes due to connectivity, including a transformation in the way they complete a wide range of essential and everyday tasks, from banking to accessing local information, enjoying entertainment, receiving health care and engaging in civic life.
- 22 percent of consumers in developed markets who report that connectivity has not had a significant effect on their lives.
- 40 percent of respondents in emerging markets report that connectivity has improved their earning power, compared with just 17 percent in developed markets.
- 60 percent of consumers in emerging markets believe that connectivity has transformed their social lives, compared with 38 percent in the developed countries.
- 60 percent of consumers in emerging markets cited connection speed as the most common problem (compared with 27 percent in developed countries).
- 30 percent of people in emerging markets stated that simply finding a connection remains an issue (compared to just 13 percent in developed nations).
“Despite these connectivity challenges, the Global Bandwidth Index data shows that consumers in emerging markets are still significantly more satisfied with their networks than their counterparts in developed countries. The transformative impact of connectivity on peoples’ lives in the developing world is much stronger than the feeling that networks should be faster and more reliable. Meanwhile, in developed countries, high bandwidth connectivity is so commonplace that people are much more sensitive to interruptions in service,” Mike Marcellin, senior vice president, strategy and marketing, Juniper Networks.
