The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have announced the creation of a high-level Broadband Commission for Digital Development aimed at speeding the roll out of high speed broadband globally.

The number of mobile phone subscribers is on track to increase from 4.6 billion to five billion globally by the end of 2010, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU says the increase is driven by advanced services and handsets in developed countries and growing adoption of mobile health services and mobile banking in the developing world.

Global mobile subscriptions are on track to reach 4.6 billion by the end of the year, and mobile broadband subscriptions are set to surpass 600 million in 2009, according to a new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

More than a quarter of the world’s population is online and using the Internet, as of 2009. Increasing numbers are opting for high-speed Internet access, with fixed broadband subscriber numbers more than tripling from 150 million in 2004 to a projected 500 million by the end of 2009.