There will be more than four billion mobile phone subscriptions globally by the end of the year, according to figures published Wednesday. Whilst there are far more than 4 billion handsets around the world, the figure refers to the number of in-use numbers, or connections.
The research comes from theGerman industry association Bitkom - drawing on figures published by Berlin-based Information Technology Observatory (EITO).
With the world's population currently estimated at 6.8 billion, that means three out of five people will be using mobile phones.
"The strongest growth in mobile phone usage now comes from emerging and developing countries," said Bitkom's Friedrich Jousssen, who also heads mobile phone provider Vodafone's German operations.
In India alone, mobile phone usage is expected to grow by 32 per cent this year, to 457 million people. In Brazil, a 14-per-cent increase is anticipated, while China's usage is predicted to rise 12 per cent, to 684 million people.
Growth rates are far more modest in industrialized countries, where the market is more mature.
The European Union already has more mobile phone contracts than citizens, so the industry is focusing on mobile internet provision via advanced UMTS technology, the fastest mobile-phone signal currently available.
In Europe, UMTS technology is expected to expand 36 per cent, to 172 million users, while the improved signal could see a whopping 74-per-cent increase in the US, to reach 108 million users.
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Mobile phone subscriptions nudge 4 billion globally
Source: Earth Times
Date: 08/05/2009
