News
Mobile subscriptions to hit 4bn this year
Stuart O'Brien Sep 22 2008, 2:16pm
It will have taken just five quarters to amass the latest billion additions, says Informa.
There will be four billion mobile subscriptions globally at the end of 2008, according to the latest forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media.
However, the rise of global mobile subscription numbers is set to slow, with Informa suggesting the five billionth subscription will be signed up during 4Q 2011, with worldwide penetration reaching in excess of 70 per cent.
Only in Africa will penetration at the end of 2011 be below 50 per cent.
Nick Jotischky, a principal analyst at Informa, said: “It is clear that the mobile industry will see a slowdown in growth – it is simply untenable for the extraordinary growth witnessed over the last 18 months to continue.
"Even taking the fastest growing regions of Asia Pacific and Africa into account, where we will see well over 20 per cent year-on-year growth in subscription numbers this year, our forecasts suggest that this growth rate will slow to below 10 per cent in 2010.”
