Mobile Subscriptions to Reach 4 Billion
By: Jen Carpenter
If you're in the job space and need more convincing that mobile is the way to go when it comes to recruiting candidates, listen to this.
A new report from Bitkom found that there will be more than 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions throughout the world by the end of this year. Although there are more than 4 billion handsets, the number only refers to the amount of in-use numbers or connections.
Bitkom, a German industry association, took its research figures from the Berlin-based Information Technology Observatory. If you take into consideration that the world's population is currently estimated to be 6.8 billion, that means three out of every five people will have a mobile phone.
"The strongest growth in mobile phone usage now comes from emerging and developing countries," Bitkom's Friedrich Jousssen, who also heads mobile phone provider Vodafone's German operations, said.
For instance, in India alone, mobile phone usage is expected to increase by 32 percent this year to 457 million people. A 14 percent increase is anticipated in Brazil and a 12 percent increase is expected in China, bringing the number of people in that country using mobile phones to 684 million.
On the flip side, industrialized countries are seeing more modest growth rates.
The European Union already has more mobile phone contracts than citizens, causing the industry to focus on mobile internet provision via advanced UMTS technology, the fastest mobile-phone signal currently available. That technology is expected to grow by 36 percent to reach 172 million users in Europe, and could increase by 74 percent to reach 108 million American users.
A new report from Bitkom found that there will be more than 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions throughout the world by the end of this year. Although there are more than 4 billion handsets, the number only refers to the amount of in-use numbers or connections.
Bitkom, a German industry association, took its research figures from the Berlin-based Information Technology Observatory. If you take into consideration that the world's population is currently estimated to be 6.8 billion, that means three out of every five people will have a mobile phone.
"The strongest growth in mobile phone usage now comes from emerging and developing countries," Bitkom's Friedrich Jousssen, who also heads mobile phone provider Vodafone's German operations, said.
For instance, in India alone, mobile phone usage is expected to increase by 32 percent this year to 457 million people. A 14 percent increase is anticipated in Brazil and a 12 percent increase is expected in China, bringing the number of people in that country using mobile phones to 684 million.
On the flip side, industrialized countries are seeing more modest growth rates.
The European Union already has more mobile phone contracts than citizens, causing the industry to focus on mobile internet provision via advanced UMTS technology, the fastest mobile-phone signal currently available. That technology is expected to grow by 36 percent to reach 172 million users in Europe, and could increase by 74 percent to reach 108 million American users.