250 million additional people came online in 2012

"250 million additional people came online in 2012
Republic of Korea tops ICT ranking for 3rd year in a row
By end 2013 40% of the world will be online – but 1.1 billion households – or 4.4 billion people – remain unconnected
Mobile broadband is now more affordable than fixed broadband
Almost the whole world is now within reach of mobile cellular service
30% of the world’s young population are ‘digital natives’
Broadband is getting faster; 2Mbps now most popular basic package
Telco operator CAPEX peaked in 2008; despite economic upturn investment levels have not returned"

Source:  Press release from the ITU, October 2013