Mobile Internet Access
Understanding Context for Globally Inclusive UX
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If you’re sitting in an office where global technology products are built, chances are the affordability and speed of your mobile internet are not the same as many of the global users you want to reach.
Affordability and speed matter.
To build globally inclusive products, it’s critical to consider how mobile internet affordability and speed affect users' experience with your product.
As of 2022, 85 countries have not met the target for mobile internet affordability, 2% of monthly income (GNI per capita) for 2 GB of mobile broadband internet. [1]
For people on pay-as-you-go and data-limited mobile internet plans, the standard in most low- and middle-income countries, managing the cost of using a product is an ongoing calculation. [2][3]
Many countries don't have affordable mobile internet.
Mobile internet has gotten faster, but the web has also gotten more complex and requires more data to load. The average mobile internet speeds increased by 60% globally. [4] But during the same period, the median mobile web page transfer size increased by 57%. [5]
For users with a slower rate of improvement in mobile internet speed, the increase in internet complexity, and so data to download, is outweighing progress in mobile internet speed.
Many countries can't keep up with mobile data demands.
Note: Only countries with both speed test and 2GB cost data visualized. Sources: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Alliance for Affordable Internet 2021 Mobile Broadband Affordability
Let's look at mobile internet in a few countries.
Affordability and speed vary widely. To get a sample of the contrasts, we'll focus on 5 countries that cover different regions, different income groups, almost 30% of the world's population, and growing markets for mobile internet use. [6]
🇺🇸
The United States
North America
High Income
🇧🇷
Brazil
South America
Upper-Middle Income
🇮🇳
India
Asia
Lower-Middle Income
🇳🇬
Nigeria
Africa
Lower-Middle Income
🇪🇹
Ethiopia
Africa
Low Income
How well do you know the mobile internet conditions of these countries?
Guess the country based on its Mobile Connectivity Index scores for mobile ownership, affordability, 4G coverage, and mobile download speed.
Affordability: Is your product worth the cost?
Users with pay-as-you-go or data-limited plans are paying for each additional kilobyte your product uses. It's important to consider mobile internet cost in relation to local income to understand the tradeoffs users have to make.
Note: Because of the data usage amounts below, 1 GB price is used here.
How many hours of internet data is affordable?
Explore the charts below to see how many hours people can use these apps before consuming their average daily income, or more.
To buy 1 GB, Indians spend 3 times, Nigerians spend 5 times, and Ethiopians spend 9 times as much of their income as Brazilians.
Watching ~4.5 hours of Netflix would cost 100% of the Ethiopian average daily income, that's like Americans paying $177.*
But not all apps are so costly. Can you even see the bars? Google Maps' core functionality is very cost efficient for users globally.
*Estimate based on US average GNI per capita per day, 2021
Note: Data usage varies depending on app activity, settings, and connection. Hourly data usage are estimates based on common usage. Because mobile internet per GB pricing is rarer in the United States, U.S. data is excluded here. Sources: Alliance for Affordable Internet 2021 Mobile Broadband Affordability, TechAdvisor, WhistleOut, Netflix Help Center, MyGPSTools
Speed: Don't keep them waiting.
The download speed in each country is important to consider when designing experiences for a global audience. Loading times greater than 1 second have the potential to negatively impact the user's experience. [7]
Long load times result in frustration and poor experiences
Explore the timeline and simulator cards to experience the effects of time delays.
To put mobile download times into perspective, here's how long it takes to download around 18 songs on Spotify.
How long does it take to download 18 songs?
Play the speed simulation and watch the bars to experience how long it takes to
download songs (audio data) in each country.
Sources: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, WhistleOut
Note: The 45MB estimate was calculated assuming normal bandwidth
conditions and an average song length of 3½ minutes.
When deciding on your next feature, don't forget to ...
Consider affordability. 💰
Consider affordability. 💰
How well does the value of using your product compete with its cost?
Are there more affordable ways to address the same need?
Are users satisfied with the cost of the data your product requires?
Consider speed. ⏱️
Consider speed. ⏱️
How long do users wait for features to load?
How often does the a feature fail to load?
Are users satisfied with the load time of your product?
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