Metric: Global mobile penetration hits 50%

According to a recent report from Informa Telecoms & Media, worldwide mobile penetration has hit 50 percent today. The report claims that as of today there are 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide. At the end of September there were mobile networks operating in 224 countries, which is up from 192 countries in 1997 and 35 in 1987. Even though there are now an estimated 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions activated currently, Informa cautions that some countries have a mobile penetration rate of more than 100 percent, meaning some users have more than one subscription.

Interestingly, the report claims that Kuwaiti operator MTC brings in the highest ARPU in the world with about $71 streaming in each month from each user.

For more on the report:
- read this article from Telecoms