The line chart compares the number of people making use of various communication services around the world, namely landline service, cellular phone service, internet service, fixed broadband, and mobile broadband between 1998 and 2008.
Overall, throughout the 10-year period, all of the surveyed communication services witnessed an upward trajectory, with the introduction of fixed broadband and mobile broadband from the year 2002 and 2004, respectively. In addition, the number of cellular phone service users registered the most substantial growth, becoming the service with the most users among the five categories.
Cellular phone service, landline service, and internet service were more widely used. In 1998, landline service attracted the most users at around 14 individuals per 100 inhabitants, followed by cellular phone service and internet service at approximately 5 users per 100 inhabitants and 4 users per 100 inhabitants, correspondingly. In the subsequent years, while the figure for landline service indicated a mild increase throughout the timeframe and ended the period at nearly 20 users per 100 inhabitants, the number of users favoring cellular phone service observed a noticeable surge to approximately 63 users per 100 inhabitants by 2008, far surpassing the remaining services. Meanwhile, the number of internet service users increased gradually to roughly 11 users per 100 inhabitants in 2004, before demonstrating a significant rise to around 23 users per 100 inhabitants by the end.
In contrast, until 2002 was there the birth of fixed broadband, after which the number of its users rose modestly to about 6 users per 100 inhabitants in 2008. Similarly, mobile broadband was first introduced in the year 2004. The figure for this communication service then experienced an upward trend, slightly rising to around 5 users per 100 inhabitants by the end of the period.