Mobile subscriber update: 3 Billion mark hit in July says Informa

This number came a bit earlier than I expected this year. We've already passed the 3 billionth mobile phone subscriber level. The timing is beginning of July 2007, according to Informa. This is up from 2.7 B at start of year.

Please remember, that does not mean the world has 3 billion mobile phone owners. Only 3 billion subscriptions. One in four mobile phone owners has two or more subscriptions, even in America the multiple subscription rate is already at 15%. So Informa also tells us that the total mobile phone user base is 2.3 billion (up from 2.1 B at start of year)

Still, the 3 billion mobile phone subscriptions means there are more than twice as many mobile phone subscrptions as TV owners and credit card users. And of the unique mobile phones users of 2.3 billion, it is almost twice as many as have access to the internet.

We're looking at a monster size industry indeed. IDC reports that last year 2006 we did reach 1.02 Billion mobile phones sold worldwide (some other sources say we were a few million short).

Informa says the mobile telecoms services industry was worth 646 B dollars last year, of which 111 B was data and the vast majority was voice revenues. Of data, 80 B was text messaging revenue and 31 B was value-add services.

This year we'll hit about 3.2 B mobile phone subscriptions and be over 2.4 B unique mobile phone owners, and the messaging revenues will hit about 105 B dollars and non-messaging data will pass 50 B dollars.

PS - if you want to understand the size of the industry, I'll be happy to send you my Thought Piece on Mobile Industry Size. Send me an e-mail to  tomi at tomiahonen dot com.  And if you want to understand mobile as the 7th mass media channel, please ask Alan for his White Paper on it - write to him requesting it  alanm at smlxtralarge dot com.