Global mobile penetration is poised to hit 50 per cent, says Informa Telecoms & Media.
Just over 26 years since the first cellular network was launched, subscriptions have passed 3.3 billion – around half of the world’s population. However, because penetration in some mature markets is over 100 per cent mobile penetration, this doesn’t mean that half of the world actually has a mobile phone. Instead, millions of people have two or more connections.As of the end of September, 59 countries had mobile penetration of over 100 per cent, while almost half that figure, 27, had penetration under 10 per cent.
As of the end of September there were operational networks in 224 countries, up from 192 in 1997 and 35 in 1987. Informa estimates that these networks cover 90 per cent of the planet, leaving 40 per cent of people with coverage but no subscription and 10 per cent with neither.
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