Global mobile phone use to pass record 3 billion
By the end of July, global mobile phone use will for the first time pass the 3 billion mark–equivalent to half the world’s population–as cell phone demand booms in China, India and Africa, a survey said on Wednesday. From African farmers to Chinese factory workers, mobile operators will have notched up more than 3.25 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide by the end of the year. Along with the Internet, the mobile phone has revolutionized communication. The mobile phone has spread from city whiz kids to Brazilian slum dwellers. More than 1,000 new customers are effectively signing up for mobile phones every minute around the world, the survey showed. Analysts have forecast that 65% of all handsets made this year will be sold in emerging markets as manufacturers, such as Nokia of Finland and Motorola of the United States, push out low-cost phones and mobile phone operators cut call charges. The figures cited in the survey take account of multiple mobile subscriptions by customers. Penetration in Europe has topped 100% of the population, with 666 million mobile connections. A record 240 million handsets were sold and 135 million new customers signed up to mobile phone networks in the quarter to the end of March, the report said. In terms of connections, the last quarter was the third strongest in the industry’s history after the fourth quarters of 2004 and 2006, when 142 million and 163 million, respectively, signed up.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Stumble it!
