DIGITAL TRENDS AND STATS OF INTERNET AND MOBILE USERS IN BERMUDA

• In Bermuda, 99% of the population, or about 60.3 thousand people are internet users and 53.3 thousand people, or 87% of the population are active mobile users.
• Excluding social media usage, the internet surfers of Bermuda conduct maximum google searches around search queries related to Bermuda (100%), weather (10%), Royal Gazette (8%), Bernews (8%), and Google (7%).
• Compared to males, more than 50% of females are more active users of the internet, especially social media.
• According to WorldBank data, the mobile cellular subscriptions in Bermuda has been steadily rising. In 2017, about 106 thousand subscriptions were active compared to 62 thousand in 2015.
• In 2017, about 93.5% of the businesses surveyed in Bermuda reported the use of computers for business operations, registering an increase of +4.8% points from the year 2016.

• According to the Hootsuite's "The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report", about 76.7 thousand people or 126% of the Bermuda population have mobile subscription.
• For 2019, it is expected that mobile phone subscriptions in Bermuda would increase by 1.6% and the internet users will increase by 0.4%, adding another 217 people.
• About 22% of mobile connections in Bermuda are prepaid, while 78% are postpaid subscriptions.
• A large population of digital audience on Bermuda, comprising adults aged 13+ can be reached with adverts on social media including 73% on Facebook, 48% on Instagram, 41% on Twitter, and 93% on LinkedIn.
• The overall percentage of population using internet in Bermuda has increased from 84.2% in 2010 to nearly 98.37% in 2017.

INTERNET AND GENERAL BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY IN BERMUDA

• According to the Internet Word Stats nearly 100% of population in Bermuda or about 60.1 thousand individuals are active internet users and more than 73% users have access to broadband, 3G, or 4G connections.
• In Bermuda, the preference to opt for fixed-line broadband connections have been dropping lately, i.e., from 40,100 connections in 2013 to just 22,808 subscriptions in 2017.
• The Internet usage penetration has largely increased in Bermuda from 39.2% in 2000 to about 98% in 2018. The internet cost has been on a sharp decline since 2004, which has led to increase in the number of internet cafes and local Internet Service Providers (ISP).
• To cater the growing demand for the high speed internet access in Bermuda, the government initiated a community portal program aimed at senior citizens. The community centers are operated by government and provide internet access in public places like post offices, libraries, and other public buildings.
• It is noted that about 54.9% of businesses in Bermuda used an internal network in 2017, which increased from 53.2 5% in 2016. The most commonly used network was a local area network at 35.6% followed by a private internal network (intranet) used by about 30.0% of businesses in Bermuda.

• The Hootsuite's "The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report states that 60.3 thousand people in Bermuda use internet, i.e., about 99% of the population.
• According to the report, in 2018-19, the active social media users across any device in Bermuda would decrease by 2.3%, and the number of people that used social media on mobile devices would increase by 2.7%, adding nearly +1000 people.
• In Bermuda the number of secure internet servers per 1 million people have increased from 7,875 in 2017 to 8,145 servers in 2018.
• The estimated cost of a DSL broadband in Bermuda is in the range of $29.95 for 128K connection to $99.95 for 512K connection. The cost of a slower dial-up service is about $19.95.
• Around 75.7% of businesses in Bermuda use WiFi enabled devices for their daily operations. The top uses of WiFi enabled devices were sending e-mails (92.6%), internet banking (88.4%), and getting information about goods and services (84.0%).

SOCIAL MEDIA STATS

• In Bermuda, nearly 71% of the population is active on social media and 62% use social media specifically on mobile devices, i.e., about 38 thousand people.
• According to the Google trends report 2019, the top social media queries by internet users in Bermuda include YouTube (9%), Google (7%), Facebook (6%), Amazon (4%), and Yahoo (2%).
• In Bermuda, the number of monthly active users on social media include — 38 thousand on Facebook, 25 thousand on Instagram, 21.2 thousand on Twitter, and 45 thousand on LinkedIn.
• The quarterly social media audience growth is expected to be as follows — Facebook (-5%), Instagram (0%), Twitter (+8.2%), and LinkedIn (0%).
• The top YouTube queries in 2019 are music (100%), Bermuda (53%), movies (52%), fortnite (47%), drake (41%), and NBA (30%).

ONLINE TRANSACTIONS AND RELATED STATISTICS

• According to the recent google trends report, majority of the google queries related to transactions and banking on were conducted for HSBC (3%) and HSBC Bermuda (2%).
• Bermuda has been limiting the access and effectiveness of electronic commerce due to the protectionism legislation wherein the local laws do not allow foreign corporations to own more than 40% of a local business and the local owners do not have a bulk buying capacity like multi-national corporations.
• In Bermuda, internet banking (88.4%) is very popular with businesses; the cloud services are used by 48.6% of businesses in 2017, registering a rise of 7.1% points over 2016.
• Around 37.1% businesses receive orders via the internet, indicating the trend of rising e-commerce in Bermuda, an increase of 0.6 % points is noted for the year 2016-17, to reach 7.6% points in 2017.
• Online Banking and mobile banking apps are offered to customers by major banks in Bermuda comprising Butterfield Bank (38% market share in local banking market) and HSBC Bank of Bermuda Ltd (47% of market share in the local banking market).

OTHER INFORMATION

•  Paid report: The subscription based market report on an overview of the telecom markets in Bermuda and other Caribbean provides insights on the Bermuda mobile subscribers and penetration along with other related information on the digital users and statistics.

RESEARCH STRATEGY:

• To provide a comprehensive report that details the general trends, digital trends, and stats of internet and mobile users in the Islands of Bermuda; we initiated the search by studying the Hootsuite document provided in the strategy document along with other references related to insights from the World Bank data on internet users, broadband subscriptions, social media trends, and other stats on the internet users and mobile users in Bermuda.
• Additionally, we researched through the internet world stats market research report on Bermuda to get detailed information on the internet penetration, mobile, internet, broadband, and e-commerce usage trends for Bermuda. We also included in our report, the key information related to the broadband status and internet access programs being promoted by the government to meet the rising consumer demand for high speed internet access in Bermuda.
• Next, the news forums like bernews, gotobermuda, bermuda-online.org, gov.bm, among other were explored in depth to identify the additional insights on the trends and statistics of the business usage of internet, broadband, WiFi devices, ecommerce, online transactions, and other internet or mobile usage stats. Additionally, it was found that large banks in Bermuda which have more than 30-47% market share in local banking provide a broad range of online banking and mobile banking apps and transaction facilities to consumers.
• Through extrapolating all the relevant insights and corroborating with multiple credible sources from recent years all the required information related to the request has been detailed in the key findings section.
• A paid subscription based Telecommunications Reports for Bermuda was also identified, it features detailed statistics on the overview of the telecom market and its consumers usage in the country. The link to the report is mentioned under the 'Other Information' sub-header.

CURRENT DIGITAL AND MOBILE TRENDS IN THE BAHAMAS:

• There has been a 6% increase in mobile subscriptions in the Bahamas from 2017 to 2019.
• From January 2018 to January 2019 there has been a 4% decrease in active social media users.
• There was a 30% increase in mobile broadband penetration with four out of every five Bahamians using the product by year-end 2017.
• Mobile broadband penetration grew from over 50% to 80% at the end of 2017.

• There are about 220,000 mobile social media users as of 2019.
• About 85% of the population in the Bahamas had an active mobile subscription in 2019 as compared to 79% of the population in 2017.
• About 87% of mobile connections in the Bahamas are prepaid, 13% are post-paid, and 78% have broadband 3G and 4G connections.
• About 357,000 people (90% of the population) had mobile connections in 2018.
• Out of the total mobile connections in the Bahamas, about 86% of them were prepaid in 2017.
• In the year 2017, there were about 23,080 subscribers to mobile data-only services (3G/4G connectivity or a USB dongle).

INTERNET AND GENERAL BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY TRENDS IN THE BAHAMAS:

• There is about 83% Internet penetration in the Bahamas as of 2019.
• The Bahamas ranks as the world's 130th most expensive country for broadband Internet.
• In the Bahamas, business firms, as well as consumers, are using electronic options for payments.
• According to a survey report by the Central Bank of the Bahamas, the number of total users of residential, business, public, and other users increased by 15.9% to 105,273 accounts in 2018, compared to 90,838 accounts at end-2017.

• There was -1% decrease in Internet user penetration in 2019 as compared to 2017.
• The average monthly broadband Internet costs dropped by $4.46 to $72.77 in 2018 with an average cost per megabit per months pegged at $5.74.

SOCIAL MEDIA DATA

• There are about 230,000 people on Facebook in the Bahamas with 52% female and 48% male users.
• About 100,000 users have an account on Instagram with 56% of this total identifying as female.
•  65% of males have Twitter accounts out of 71,600 total accounts.
• The maximum quarterly growth in social media platforms was registered by Twitter with +33%, followed by LinkedIn with +8.3%, Facebook with +4.5%, and Instagram with +4.2%.
•  Top 5 Google search queries in 2018 were "Island," "Island Luck," "Island Luck Island Luck," "Bahamas," and "Facebook."
•  Top 5 YouTube search queries in 2018 were "Songs," "NBA," "Movies," "Music," and "NBA Youngboy."

DATA ON ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS

• In the Bahamas, business firms, as well as consumers, are using electronic options for payments.
• Between 2013 and 2017, there was and 138% and 203.2% increase in payment card usage under electronic payments.

RESEARCH STRATEGY:

• Information on how Internet and broadband usage is related to transactions (such as purchases, downloads, and general experiences) is not available.

Strategy 1:

• Our first strategy was to look for research reports on the Internet and broadband market in the Bahamas. We found various reports on Internet databases that contained information on digital and Internet statistics for the Bahamas. However, there was no information on how Internet and broadband usage in relation to transactions.

Strategy 2:

• Our second strategy was to look for information on the banking websites of the Bahamas, through which we found the survey report by the Central Bank of the Bahamas. This strategy worked to an extent as we were able to find information on electronic transactions in the Bahamas. However, there was no other information on purchases or transactions. We expected that this strategy may work because banks sometimes publish information on how consumers use Internet and broadband for purchases and experiences.

Strategy 3:

• Our third strategy was to look for media publications and articles hoping to locate this information. We looked for information in both Bahamian publications and international investment outlets. Through this strategy, we were able to find information on mobile data usage and Internet costs. However, there was no information on how Internet and broadband usage is related to transactions in the Bahamas. We expected that this strategy may work because these sites often publish information on financial trends in the region and thought they would have published information on this topic.

Strategy 4:

• Our fourth strategy was to look for articles and reports from Internet service providers (ISPs) in the Bahamas. This strategy did not work, though we were able to find information on ISPs and costs. We expected that this strategy may work because these sites provide Internet and broadband services in the Bahamas and publish information about usage and experience of their customers.

• There are no research reports or articles which have published information on the usage of Internet or broadband for purchases, downloads, or general experiences.
• One of the reasons for non-availability of the information is that the Bahamas is a very small country (population 401,000) and companies may not have conducted such research due to huge cost involved.

MOBILE DATA/INTERNET FOR TRANSACTIONS

• The mobile network infrastructure index is 49.61 out of a maximum possible score of 100.
• The affordability of devices and services index is 70.03 out of a maximum possible score of 100.
• The consumer readiness index is 84.90 out of a maximum possible score of 100.
• According to the government, "Barbadians are very Internet savvy and are accustomed to using the Internet for purchases". Most of the items purchased online are clothing, beauty supplies, electronic equipment, automobile parts, and accessories.
•  Internet-Based companies are on the rise. These companies primarily advertise and sell trendy women’s and men’s fashion.
• There has been an increase in mobile payment apps by startups, banks, tech companies, and telecom providers. This is due to the high number of people using the Internet on their phones.

MOBILE CALLING/TEXTING

• According to Hootsuite Digital report, about 74% of mobile connections in Barbados are prepaid and 26% are postpaid.
• About 337, 200 people use mobile subscriptions.
• Most local businesses have websites with catalog listing and clients can call with their requests, the transaction is completed offline.

ANALYSIS

CURRENT DIGITAL AND MOBILE TRENDS IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

• About 77.6% of households in the BVIs had an active mobile broadband subscription while just 18% of households had a fixed broadband subscription, according to a report by Global Rev Gen in 2017.
• As per Hootsuite's "The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report" in January 2019, around 168% of BVIs' population had a mobile phone subscription, based on the region's population of 32 thousand and 53.8 thousand mobile phone subscriptions, as per info on page 15 of the Hootsuite's report.
•  59% of the population in the BVIs use the internet in some way, 59% of the population are active social media users, and 56% use social media on mobile devices.
• Out of the total mobile connections in the BVIs, 74% of them are pre-paid, 26% are post-paid, and 26% are 3G and 4G broadband.
• From January 2018 to 2019, mobile phone subscriptions in the BVIs is expected to increase by 1.7%. Also, active social media users across devices is expected to grow by 46%, and the number of people using social media on mobile devices is projected to increase by 50%.
• Global Rev Gen's 2017 report observed that the BVIs is one of the countries in the world with lower mobile internet penetration, as well as lower internet advertising growth.
• In the BVIs, 25.4% of the population had fixed telephone subscriptions while 63.8% of households in the region had a computer, according to Global Rev Gen's 2017 report.

INTERNET AND GENERAL BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY

• According to a report by BVI News, the British Virgin Islands has one of the most expensive internet service cost in the world. As per the report, the average internet cost was US$146.05 per month, as of 2017, which placed the BVIs in fifteen spots behind the most expensive country for internet charges, Burkina Faso.
• Regarding internet speeds, the BVIs ranked 77 globally with its average internet speed of 5.49 megabits/second. Based on this speed, it took over three hours to download high definition movies in the BVIs in 2017, as per BVI News' report.
• An official report by the Government of the BVIs in 2017 observed that consumers' internet data needs were growing exponentially. Also, in the report, the three major internet providers resolved to step beyond LTE to connect homes and businesses in the BVIs with fast and reliable internet services.
• In April 2019, the BVIs Minister of Finance entered a partnership with LIFElabs to provide Rapid Cash Response to its population in case of emergencies, as well as creating an alternative blockchain-powered digital currency as a payment method in the region's bid to facilitate ongoing financial transactions within the networks of islands. This report also indicated that when this partnership comes into full force, most residents in the BVIs would easily make payments digitally via LIFElabs' iOS or Android apps.
• According to a report by BVI Newbie, the three communication companies in the British Virgin Islands, Digicel, Flow, and CCT, offer similar pre-paid and monthly plans to mobile phone consumers.
• People in the British Virgin Islands only pay for out-going calls; hence, in-coming calls or Skype connection, which the internet powers, from outside the region are free of charge, according to BVI Newbie's report.
• In the British Virgin Islands, most restaurants and bars offer WIFI access for customers, according to BVI Newbie.

RESEARCH STRATEGY:

Current Digital Trends and Statistics of Internet and Mobile Users

• According to World Bank data, "Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)" in the Cayman Islands is on a decline since 2009. In 2009, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people in the Cayman Islands was 200.26. This figure dropped to 157.01 in 2017.
• In 2019, the number further declined to 153 subscriptions per 100 people.
• However, between 2010 and 2016, the number of secure internet servers in the Cayman Islands has increased considerably from 95 to 740.
• Between 2008 and 2017, the number of fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people have increased from 33.12 to 50.74.
• Between 2009 and 2017, the percentage of individuals using the internet has increased from 64.5% to 81.07%.
• In 2019, the percentage of internet users in the Cayman Islands further increased to 89%.

Details on Mobile & Internet Usage and Adoption

• On the Cayman Island, in terms of mobile phone usage, providers such as "OneSimCard" whose international SIM card provides low-cost, prepaid cell phone service and international cell phone roaming in more than 200 other countries.
• While receiving a call or SMS text message through OneSimCard is free in Cayman Island, making a call can cost between $0.25-$0.65 and sending an SMS can cost between $0.15 and $1.10.
• The cost of internet data per MB is $0.25 while the same cost with a data plan is less than $0.04.
• The Cayman Islands has some of the region's best internet and telecommunications infrastructure.
• Although most of the access to the internet is provided using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology, more homes and businesses have the option to switch to fiber-optic connectivity.
• The internet speed varies from a minimum of 512Kbps to as high as 300 Mbps in some areas. As fiber-optic networks continue to grow, these coverage areas change every week.
• People on the move can stay connected through their phone’s mobile data (which makes use of4G LTE technology) or through MiFi (mobile WiFi) devices which act like wireless modems that can be charged and taken anywhere.
• Some internet providers in the region were installing fiber-optic cables, which meant that many residents could access the internet with consistent super-fast broadband speeds.
• Residents of the Cayman Islands, such as the islands' corps of taxi and minivan drivers, depend on cellphones for all telephone communications.
• The three cell phone service providers in the region are Cable & Wireless, Digicel, and Lime.

Online Transactions and Related Statistics

• All banks in the Cayman Islands offer online banking but the quality of services differs.
• All banks have online facilities for transactions such as paying monthly bills, school fees, and other expenses.
• According to the Managing Director of Scotia Bank in the Cayman Islands, Dwight Burrow, its customers in the Cayman Islands "continued to trend towards the convenience of [its] online and mobile banking platforms."
• For Scotia Bank, more than 35% of customers in Cayman made active use of online and mobile banking.
• In terms of household penetration rates of cell phones and internet, 65.2% of households have access to internet services and 98.5% of households have at least one cell phone.

Social Media Use and Search Queries

• In 2019, there were 50,000 Facebook users, 31,000 Instagram users, 31,200 Twitter users, and 37,000 LinkedIn users.
• The maximum quarterly growth registered on social media platforms showed that Twitter grew with +95%, followed by Instagram with +3.3%. Facebook and LinkedIn witnessed no growth at all.
• The top five Google searches in 2019 were Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, AFIYU, ECAYTRADE, and YouTube.
• The top five YouTube searches in 2019 were music, movies, fortnite, VYBZ Kartel, and Drake.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

1. CURRENT DIGITAL TRENDS AND STATISTICS OF INTERNET AND MOBILE USERS

• From 2014 to 2018, Turks and Caicos Islands' telecommunications industry have seen a 19.23% increase in mobile perpetration rate from 130% (2014) to 155% (2018), Fixed-line service decrease by 23.5% from 17% (2014) to 13% (2018) and broadband services have seen a penetration increase of 237.5% from 8% (2014) to 27% (2018).
• In 2017, there were 27,000 internet users and 25,000 mobile social media users.
• In 2018, there were 35,700 internet users and 25,000 mobile social media users.
• In 2019, there were 30,000 internet users and 28,000 mobile social media users.
• The number of internet users has fluctuated from 2017 to 2019.
• The overall mobile social media users have increased from 2017 to 2019.
• Thus, the current trend is of upward trajectory in terms of growth in the number of subscribers of mobile social media users as the number of subscribers grew by 12% from 2017 to 2109 [(28,000-25,000) / 25,000 * 100].

• There are 42,800 unique mobile subscribers in the US.
• As per Internet World Stats, as of March 2017, there are 25,000 internet users with 70.5% penetration rate.
• As of January 2017, Turks and Caicos Islands have a population of 35,170. Out of the total population, 77% are active media users (27,000), 77% are internet users (27,000), and 71% are active mobile social media users (25,000).
• As of January 2018, Turks and Caicos Islands have a population of 35,710. Out of the total population, 78% are active social media users (28,000), 78% are internet users (35,700), and 70% are active mobile social media users (25,000).
• According to the Hootsuite's "The Global State of Digital in 2019 Report", Turks and Caicos Islands has 36,200 total population. Out of which, 83% are internet users (30,000), 83% are active social media users (30,000), and 77% are mobile social media users (28,000).

2. INTERNET AND GENERAL BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY TRENDS AND STATISTICS

• As per World Bank, in Turks and Caicos Islands, the secure internet servers for per 1 million people have decreased which is 743 in 2018, as compared to 754 in 2017.
• The current trend is of downward trajectory in terms of the number of internet servers as it has decreased from 754 to 743 per 1 million people.

• As of January 2017, there are 40,600 mobile connections which are 115% of the total population. Out of which, 92% of mobile connections are prepaid, 8% are post-paid, and 20% have broadband 3G and 4G connections.
• In 2017, The Hootsuite's report states that from 2016 to 2017, there has been 3% growth in mobile subscriptions, 35% growth in internet users, 35% growth in active social media users, and 39% growth in social media users.
• In 2019, Turks and Caicos Islands has 42,800 mobile subscribers which is 118% of the total population, out of which, 91% of mobile connections are prepaid, 9% are post-paid, and 34% have broadband 3G and 4G connections.
• In 2019, The Hootsuite's report states that from 2018 to 2019, there has been 2.2% growth in mobile subscriptions, 7.1% growth in internet users, 7.1% growth in active social media users, and 12% growth in social media users.

SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS

• As per the Internet World Stats, there are 25,000 Facebook users in Turks and Caicos Islands as of June 2016.
• In 2017, the top queries searched in Turks and Caicos Islands was Turks and Caicos (100), Facebook (60), YouTube (53), Providencales (41), Google (39), You (37), and Weather (28).
• In 2018, the top queries searched in YouTube in Turks and Caicos Islands was Movies (100), NBA (52), Fortnite (41), Drake (37), Peppa Pig (34), Cardi B (31), Haiti (29), Kodak Black (28), Roblox (25), Nicki Minaj (21), VYBZ Kartel (20), Minecraft (18), LIL Wayne (15), and Alkaline (15).
• In Turks and Caicos Islands, the total advertising audience in Facebook as of January 2019 is 28,000 (witnessed no growth at all), Instagram had 13,000 at a growth rate of 8.3%, Twitter had 13,600 at a growth rate of 48%, and LinkedIn had 15,000 (witnessed no growth at all).
• As of January 2019, of the 28,000 total advertising audience on Facebook, 95% are adults above the age of 13 years where 46% are female and 54% are male.
• As of January 2019, of the 13,000 total advertising audience on Instagram, 44% are adults above the age of 13 years where 53% are female and 47% are male.
• As of January 2019, of the 13,600 total advertising audience on Twitter, 46% are adults above the age of 18 years where 42% are female and 58% are male.
• As of January 2019, of the 15,000 total advertising audience on LinkedIn, 56% are adults above the age of 18 years where 39% are female and 61% are male.

DATA ON ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION

• All major local banks in Turks and Caicos Islands offer personal banking products with online banking and a MasterCard or Visa debit card for access of funds.
•  Bank accounts in the Turks and Caicos Islands are held tax-free, and there are no controls on currency exchange or international transfers out of the Turks and Caicos jurisdiction.
• In 2017, on the basis of E-Commerce assessment, Turks and Caicos Islands has been ranked at 144th as per the UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index.

RESEARCH STRATEGY: