More mobiles than people

Study claims that the number of mobiles in use will exceed human population by year end

A new study has revealed that the number of mobiles in use will exceed the human population by year end. The study by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) concludes that the number of mobile phones will rise from 6 billion now to 7.3 billion by the end of 2014, compared to the global population of 7 billion, Silicon India reported.

"Every day we are moving closer to having almost as many mobile cellular subscriptions as the number of people on earth," said Brahima Sanou, director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.

"The mobile revolution is 'm-powering' people in developing countries by delivering Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications in education, health, government, banking, environment and business," he added.
The report also found that 2.7 billion people, almost 40 per cent of the world's population, are online.

"Mobile communications offer major opportunities to advance human and economic development – from providing basic access to health information to making cash payments, spurring job creation, and stimulating citizen involvement in democratic processes,” said World Bank vice president for sustainable development Rachel Kyte. “The challenge now is to enable people, businesses, and governments in developing countries to develop their own locally-relevant mobile applications so that they can take full advantage of these opportunities.”