According to a new report compiled by Informa Telecons and Media, a leading provider of business intelligence in the telecommunications realm, global cell phone subscriptions have reached an unprecedented 3 billion. The report declares that the actual number of users is far less than the number of subscriptions, which suggests that many people have more than one phone. The estimated number of users is about 2.3 billion worldwide, which translates into 1.32 subscriptions per user (there are about 6.6 billion people in the world today). As we approach 2009, the actual number of users will hit 3 billion, whereas number of subscriptions will have exceeded 4 billion.
Experts believe that the number of multiple-phone users to increase as second phones are offered with better bargains, including cheaper call rates, data services, and others. The trend is forecasted for countries like Ireland, whereby market penetration has surpassed the 100% mark at 4.7 million subscriptions.