30 Nov, 2007
Worldwide mobile subscriptions have hit 3.3 billion, equivalent to 50% of the global population, according to research firm Informa Telecoms & Media.
As of the end of September 2007 there were operational networks in 224 countries around the globe, a figure that has increased from 192 in 1997 and 35 in 1987, noted the research firm.
Informa estimates that mobile networks covered 90% of the global population by mid-2007. This means that some 40% of the world's inhabitants are covered by a network, but not connected, and leaves just 10% with neither coverage nor connection.
Although global mobile subscriptions have reached the equivalent of 50% of the world's population, this does not mean that half of the 6.6 billion or so people in the world now have a mobile phone.
A large number of more mature markets worldwide already have in excess of 100% mobile penetration, as users increasingly sign up for more than one subscription, while emerging markets increasingly provide the bulk of new additions, noted Informa.
As of the end of September, 59 countries had mobile penetration of over 100%, while almost half that figure, 27, had penetration under 10%.
The economic difference between the more mature markets and those in developing countries is highlighted by the vast differences in operator average revenues per user (ARPU).
Kuwaiti operator Zain brings in the highest blended ARPU in the world at the equivalent of US$71 per month. But it is followed closely by Hutchison Whampoa's 3 UK operation with an ARPU of US$70.55 and Qatar operator Q-Tel with US$69. Japanese operator KDDI brings in US$67.65 per user per month, while Hutchison's Austrian operation records an ARPU of US$66.84.
But at the other end of the scale, Hutchison's Sri Lankan operator only counts revenues of US$2.83 per user per month, beaten narrowly by Bangladesh's PBTL, which operates under the CityCell brand and has an ARPU of US$2.98. Ukrainian operator Astelit counts user revenues of US$3, as does Pakistan's CMPak, while another Bangladeshi operator, Sheba Telecom, reports an ARPU of US$3.10, according to Informa.
