The mobile Internet use rate last year surpassed 70 percent for the first time as telecoms cut subscription fees, the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC, 台灣網路資訊中心) said.
The number of subscribers aged 12 or older who used mobile Internet was estimated at 16.37 million, pushing up the subscription rate to 77.3 percent, up 10 percent from a year earlier, a survey by the center showed.
If fixed-line Internet users are included, the number of Internet subscribers was estimated at 18.66 million, with an Internet use rate of 79.2 percent last year, the center said in a report.
An estimated 17.38 million subscribers aged 12 or older used the Internet through either mobile devices or fixed platforms, with the Internet use rate in that age group reaching 82.1 percent, it said.
The center said that about 7.05 million households in Taiwan had access to the Internet, or 80.9 percent of the total number of households last year.
Of the households with Internet access, 80.8 percent used broadband, it said, adding that more than 80 percent of Internet subscribers used social media and 60 percent shopped online.
The survey collected 3,088 valid questionnaires.
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