ABI Research has forecast there'll be over five billion mobile subscriptions by the end of 2010. It estimates we reached 4.8 billion connections at the end of the year’s first quarter.
Developing markets will see much of the growth: Africa remains the fastest-growing mobile market with year-on-year growth of over 22%. Mobile penetration in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 65% by the end of 2010, driven by growth in India and Indonesia. These two countries together have added over 150 million subscriptions in the past twelve months.
Countries that have exceeded 100% penetration are also adding subscriptions as users acquire mobile-connected computers and USB dongles. ABI Research says the introduction of 4G data networks is expected to see even more consumers choose mobile broadband connections.