For all intents and purposes, since there is virtually 100 percent overlap between fixed and mobile internet access connections, mobile internet access--globally--IS internet access.
That is not to discount differences in cost per bit on fixed and mobile networks, which mean the two are not fully-functional substitutes. But it is fair to argue that mobile internet access--globally--is synonymous with internet access.
At the end of 2017, 53 percent of the world’s population (four billion people) were Internet users, with 43 percent of the world’s people (3.3 billion) relying on mobile networks to gain access to the Internet, according to the GSMA.
There are also about one billion fixed broadband connections worldwide, but these mostly duplicate mobile data coverage in advanced developed economies, according to the ITU.
Still, some 44 percent of people globally could buy mobile internet service, but do not.
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