Around the world, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users — and more than 1,000 new customers are added every minute (as of July 2006).

(Washington Post)

Text messaging generated $49.4 billion in revenues for cell phone companies worldwide in 2005 — and is expected to yield $76.5 billion by 2010. (Pyramid Research)

What is the outlook?

By the end of 2007, there are projected to be three billion mobile phone subscribers.

(Nokia)

What is remarkable about the mobile phone phenomenon?

With 59% of users in developing countries, cell phones are the first telecommunications technology in history to have more users there than in the developed world.

(Washington Post)

What do people in the developing world stand to gain economically?

An extra ten mobile phones per 100 people in a typical developing country leads to an additional 0.44 percentage points of growth in GDP per person.

(London Business School)

How quickly did cell phones take off?

Back in 1980, the number of cell phones in the world was a mere 11.2 million — or just two cell phones per 1,000 people.

(Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

With India adding more than six million cell phone subscribers a month, analysts expect that nearly half of India’s 1.1 billion people will be connected by cell phone by 2010. (Washington Post)

Over the last few years, where has the spread of cell phones been most dramatic?

The number of mobile telephone lines in Africa rose from 15.6 million in 2000 to 135 million in 2005. That represents a compound annual growth rate of almost 54% — compared with 24% globally.

(Financial Times)

What about China?

China has 461 million cell-phone users, accounting for 35% of its population. In comparison, the United States has 219 million cell-phone users, representing 73% of its population (as of 2007).

(Time)

How does Latin America stack up?

Nearly 32% of Latin America's population has mobile phone service (as of 2006).

(World Bank)

And India?

India has 125 million mobile phone users — three times the number of landlines in the country (as of 2006).

(Washington Post)

The number of mobile telephone lines in Africa rose from 15.6 million in 2000 to 135 million in 2005. That represents a compound annual growth rate of almost 54% — compared with 24% globally. (Financial Times)

Is that number growing quickly?

With India adding more than six million cell phone subscribers a month, analysts expect that nearly half of India’s 1.1 billion people will be connected by cell phone by 2010.

(Washington Post)

Where else is significant growth expected?

The forecast for average annual growth in mobile-phone penetration rates in Asia from 2005 to 2010 ranges from 80.1% in India, 38.5% in Pakistan, 21.9% in China, 19.5% in Indonesia and 16.9% in the Philippines to 5.8% in Malaysia, 4.2% in Japan, 2.1% in Korea — and 2.1% in Singapore.

(Business Monitor International)

What is notable about the mobile phone market in India?

Mobile phone rates in India are about one cent a minute — the lowest in the world. Companies have figured out how to stay profitable even selling telecom services at a penny a minute — opening the market to a base of consumers who are often not part of the formal financial system.

(Infosys)

But cell phone companies aren’t hurting for revenues, are they?

Text messaging generated $49.4 billion in revenues for cell phone companies worldwide in 2005 — and is expected to yield $76.5 billion by 2010.

(Pyramid Research)

With 59% of users in developing countries, cell phones are the first telecommunications technology in history to have more users there than in the developed world. (Washington Post)

What is the net effect?

Under the agreement, the price of making a call while abroad will be capped at €0.49 per minute, before VAT. While existing roaming charges vary widely, they are generally significantly higher — usually at least double.

(Financial Times)

What is notable about cell phone penetration in Europe?

In some European countries — including Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden — cell phone penetration exceeds 100%, meaning there are more cell phone accounts than there are people.

(Merrill Lynch)

How often do people buy new cell phones?

On average, a person in the United States buys a new cell phone every 18 months, in Europe every 15 months — and in Japan every nine months.

(Fonebak)

How quickly did cell phones spread in the United States?

It took mobile phones 14 years to reach 50% of U.S. households — compared with 56 years for the telephone, 20 years for the personal computer, ten years for the Internet, nine years for radio and just five years for television.

(U.S. Department of Commerce)

Around the world, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users — and more than 1,000 new customers are added every minute (as of July 2006). (Washington Post)

Where does the United States stand in terms of cell phone penetration?

The United States ranks 42nd worldwide in the percentage of people with cell phones (as of 2006).

(Economic Strategy Institute)

Which company is a leader in cell phone production?

Of the 900 million mobile phones that were sold in 2006, 320 million of them were made by Finland-based Nokia.

(The Economist)

And finally, in which country should you leave your camera phone at home?

The Saudi government banned cell phones equipped with cameras in 2004, decrying them as an assault on women's modesty and privacy after photos of women without their veils, snapped with cell phone cameras, were circulated on the Internet.

(Washington Post)