Skip to main content

Mobile Phone Penetration Over 100 Percent

From Aruba to Italy, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Kuwait, the list of countries where the number of mobile phone subscriptions exceeds the size of the population continues to grow. Latest research from Informa Telecoms and Media shows that 30 countries had reached this milestone at the end of the first quarter of 2006. In markets such as the UK, Sweden and Italy penetration has passed 110 percent.

"While the proportion of the population using mobile phones has stabilised in most developed-world markets at around 80-85 percent, the trend among many users for buying second or even third subscriptions shows no sign of slowing," comments Devine Kofiloto, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media. "Operators in these markets are actively encouraging the practice, selling prepaid SIM cards with $5 or $10 of preloaded credit in order to boost their subscription numbers, cut acquisition costs and promote value-added services," continued Kofiloto.

Multiple SIM card ownership may be having a negative impact on operator ARPU but it continues to help increase overall usage levels. This in turn is helping operators in developed markets to stabilise revenues in the face of competitive pressure on tariffs. The phenomenon of multiple SIM card ownership is not restricted to the developed world but is also common in developing markets such as China and Nigeria.

Popular posts from this blog

How WLAN Transforms Industrial Automation

The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...