2009: 50% will use a mobile phone

A market study from Portio Research predicts that 50% of the world’s population will be using a mobile phone by the end of 2009, and Africa now boasts the fastest growth rate in the world, forecast to add 265 million new mobile subscribers over the next 6 years.

‘Worldwide Mobile Market Forecasts 2006 – 2011’ is a substantial piece of research spanning over 480 pages to provide an overview of the world’s major regions plus detailed analysis of 55 individual key country markets. Each country section includes a mobile market overview with discussions on subscriber growth and penetration and takes a look at the competitive landscape highlighting any recent developments.

In addition the report considers current mobile technology status, assesses the growth of 3G, discusses value-added service provision (VAS) and mobile messaging. Full contact details of each country’s mobile network operators are also provided.

Among the top 25 growth markets ranking list there are a few surprises. India wins the top spot, just ahead of China, and almost equally in 3rd place are Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, but the real surprises start in 6th place with the US mobile market tipped to grow by almost 66 million net additions from the start of 2006 to the end of 2011.

The study also provides a worldwide 3G summary with a snapshot of the progress of 3G adoption across the world to date and predictions for future growth. While Western Europe and the US will see 50%+ subscriber penetration of 3G by 2011, the Asia Pacific region will see only 35%, albeit with 1.06 billion subscribers by 2011, making this the largest regional 3G market in the world.