The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: March 8, 2009

Official News page 8


REAL LIFE NEWS: MOBILE PHONES NOW USED BY HALF OF HUMANITY

by Hazed

A new report from the UN shows just how ubiquitous mobile phones are now: more than half of the global population now pay to use one. By the end of 2008, there were an estimated 4.1 billion mobile subscriptions. This is an astonishing rise, from only 1 billion in 2002. It represents 60% of the world's population, although it is hard to be precise about how many people use phones (since some people may have more than one sub, for various reasons).

The place where mobile phone use has grown the fastest is Africa. Use has rocketed from just one in 50 people at the turn of the century to 28%. Much of this is thought to be driven by using phones to transfer money. People without bank accounts can send money speedily and safely using text messages, which the recipient can then cash in at the other end. In Kenya, the M-Pesa money system launched by Vodafone in 2007 now has 5 million users.

Clearly, mobile phones also bring communications to developing countries where landlines don't exist. Many people are bypassing the older technology altogether. Poorer people can also share handsets, and sometimes owners rent them out, to allow far more people access to telephone services.

While on the subject of mobile phones, Italians have been told by the Catholic Church to give up texting for Lent. Well, if it's a choice between giving up texting and giving up chocolate, I know which one I'd prefer to do without!


Fed2 Star index Previous issues Fed 2 home page