How much does people outside a mobile-broadband signal cost?
people outside a mobile-broadband signal (% of people) · % of people · measured 2015–2025 · fitted live from 4 observations by the Many Minded cost-curve engine.
The last measured value is 4.0% (2025, ITU Facts and Figures (2015, 2020, 2025 editions)). Over the fitted window the series falls 18.5% a year (80% interval −26.8% to −9.3%) — a halving every 3.4 years (80%: 2.2–7.1). Carried forward on that fit, 2030: 1.4% (80%: 0.6%–3.6%).
Estimate-grade series. This one is constructed, not read off an authoritative sheet — share of the WORLD population NOT covered by any 3G-or-better mobile network (100 − ITU mobile-broadband population coverage) — coverage, not use, not subscriptions. Treat the level as an estimate and the slope as the claim.
Thin series — n=4. Under six observations the interval is carried by the Farmer–Lafond drift-volatility prior rather than by this series' own measured volatility. The band is wide because the evidence is thin, and that is the correct response.
the curve
what this series measures
share of the WORLD population NOT covered by any 3G-or-better mobile network (100 − ITU mobile-broadband population coverage) — coverage, not use, not subscriptions.
the gate — what crossing this threshold changes
Central fit: ~2028. 80% window: 2027–2033 · est-grade · n=4. That is 1.0 halving away at today's value.
what the fit says
| quantity | value | how it is computed |
|---|---|---|
| fitted rate | −18.5%/yr (80%: −26.8% to −9.3%) | Farmer–Lafond drift over the trailing window · n=4 points, 10 years |
| halving time | 3.4 years (80%: 2.2–7.1) | implied by the fitted drift |
Not shown for this curve, because the machinery returns nothing: Wright's law (no cumulative-deployment series for this technology); the accelerating/decelerating check (needs ≥8 observations, this has 4); a regime break (needs ≥12 observations).
the projection, with its interval
Log cost as a random walk with drift: the forecast variance grows with horizon (τ + τ²/m), which is why these bands widen instead of staying parallel. The middle column is the least useful number on this page; the interval is the claim.
| year | central fit | 80% interval | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.3% | 2.3% to 4.6% | near horizon |
| 2027 | 2.7% | 1.6% to 4.5% | near horizon |
| 2028 | 2.2% | 1.1% to 4.2% | near horizon |
| 2029 | 1.8% | 0.8% to 3.9% | the band is already wide here |
| 2030 | 1.4% | 0.6% to 3.6% | the band is already wide here |
| 2031 | 1.2% | 0.4% to 3.3% | the band is already wide here |
| 2032 | 1.0% | 0.3% to 3.1% | far horizon — read the interval, not the middle |
| 2033 | 0.8% | 0.2% to 2.8% | far horizon — read the interval, not the middle |
Projected to 2033, the horizon the whole engine uses.
questions this page answers
How much does people outside a mobile-broadband signal cost?
4.0% as of 2025, the latest measured value in the series (ITU Facts and Figures (2015, 2020, 2025 editions)). The fitted trend has it falling 18.5% a year, with an 80% interval of −26.8% to −9.3%. This is an estimate-grade series: the level is constructed, so read the slope as the claim.
How fast is people outside a mobile-broadband signal falling?
−18.5% a year over the fitted window, an 80% interval of −26.8% to −9.3% — a halving every 3.4 years (80%: 2.2 to 7.1 years). Fitted from 4 observations spanning 10 years.
What will people outside a mobile-broadband signal be in 2030?
The central fit says 1.4%, inside an 80% interval of 0.6% to 3.6%. The interval is the forecast; the middle number is only its midpoint. Bands widen with horizon because shocks accumulate — a constant-width band would be overconfident.
When will people outside a mobile-broadband signal reach ≤ 2% of people outside a 3G+ signal?
The central fit says ~2028, with an 80% window of 2027–2033, on an estimate-grade series from 4 observations. Crossing it is what the engine calls "nearly everyone under a 3G+ signal", firing: coverage only — context, it gates no milestone. Treat the window, not the year, as the claim.
Where does this data come from?
ITU Facts and Figures (2015, 2020, 2025 editions). 4 observations spanning 2015–2025. The series is estimate-grade — constructed from vendor sheets and practitioner reports, and labeled as such wherever it appears. Both the observation ledger and the fitting code are public, and the engine publishes its own calibration score and its misses.
the raw numbers
Every observation behind the fit, unrounded by us and unsmoothed. This table is here on purpose: graphs make people underestimate exponential change, and the raw series beside the curve is the one correction shown to work.
| year | % of people | change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 31.0% | — |
| 2018 | 10.0% | −31.4%/yr |
| 2020 | 6.8% | −17.5%/yr |
| 2025 | 4.0% | −10.1%/yr |
where this comes from
- Source: ITU Facts and Figures (2015, 2020, 2025 editions).
- Basis: estimate-grade. The series is constructed from vendor sheets and practitioner reports, labeled as such everywhere it appears, and never presented as a measured benchmark.
- Observations: n=4, spanning 2015–2025. Ledger last updated 2026-09-07.
- Fit: the Farmer–Lafond stochastic model — log cost as a random walk with drift over a 10-year trailing window, Student-t tails, and (for series under 15 points) a volatility floor at their drift-volatility prior. The code is readable source; the observation ledger is public JSON.
- Reuse: this compiled series and the numbers on this page are published under CC BY 4.0 — take them, cite the page. The underlying source keeps its own terms.
- Accuracy: the engine grades its own intervals in public — every feasible hindcast re-fitted on data as it stood, scored for whether the actual landed inside the 80% band. The calibration score is on the engine page, misses included.
the rest of the graph
Other CONNECTION curves:
- people still offline (% of people) % of people
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