Global mobile penetration reaches 85% with 180 million addition in last quarter

Telecom Lead India: Global mobile penetration
reached 85 percent with the estimated 180 million net additions in Q4 2011,
taking total subscriptions to around 6 billion, according to Ericsson Traffic
and Market Data Report.

Though, the study said that the actual number of
subscribers is about 4.1 billion, as many subscribers have numerous
subscriptions.


World’s two biggest markets-India and China now account
for 35 percent of 4.1 billion active mobile services users worldwide, according
to Ericsson Traffic and Market Data Report.


The study found that mobile subscriptions grew around 13
percent year-on-year and 3 percent quarter-on- quarter.


The report added that the number of mobile subscriptions
is equal to around 60 per cent of the world’s population.


GSMA mobile services rule the global industry with 75
percent market share, while CDMA and HSPA (3G) accounted for 15 per cent market
share.


On the other hand, the study found that global mobile
broadband subscriptions grew around 60 percent year-on-year and have reached
close to 1 billion mark.


In 2011, approximately 30 percent of all handsets sold in
2011 were smartphones, as compared to around 20 percent for the full year
2010.



The report added that only around 10 percent of the worldwide installed base of
subscriptions use smartphones, which means there is substantial room for
further uptake.

 

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