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| Photo credit: © Alamy |
ITU predicts that mobile phone subscriptions will
reach 5 billion worldwide in 2010, up from an estimated
4.6 billion at the end of 2009 (see Figure 1).
Growth is expected across all regions and all major
markets, and is being driven by advanced services
and handsets in developed countries and uptake of
mobile health services and mobile banking in the developing
world.
Mobile broadband — which connects mobile users
to the Internet — is a key area for growth. ITU
predicts that mobile broadband subscriptions will
exceed 1 billion worldwide in 2010, having already
reached 600 million at the end of 2009. If mobile
broadband continues to grow at current rates, more
people will access the Internet via laptops and smart
mobile devices than from desktop computers within
the next five years, according to ITU projections.
Speaking at the GSMA World Congress in
Barcelona, Spain, in February 2010, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said that “even the
simplest, low-end mobile phone can do so much to
improve health care in the developing world.” He
cited the example of sending reminder messages to
patient’s phones when they have a medical appointment,
or need a pre-natal check-up. “SMS messages
too are being used to deliver instructions on when
and how to take complex medication such as antiretrovirals
or vaccines. It is such a simple thing to do,
saves millions of dollars — and can help improve and
even save the lives of millions of people,” Dr Touré
commented.
| Figure 1 — A decade of ICT growth driven by mobile technologies |
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Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database.
* Estimates. |
| Figure 2 — ICT at home |
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Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database.
* Estimates. |
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