Global mobile phone use to hit record 3.25 billion

A woman speaks on her phone outside an office building in Beijing in a file photo. Global mobile phone use will top 3.25 billion -- equivalent to around half the world's population -- in 2007 as cell phone demand booms in China, India and Africa, a survey said on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Global mobile phone use will top 3.25 billion -- equivalent to around half the world's population -- in 2007 as cell phone demand booms in China, India and Africa, a survey said on Wednesday.

From African farmers to Chinese factory workers, mobile phone subscriptions will pass the 3 billion mark in July and exceed 3.25 billion by the end of the year, according to a report by UK-based telecoms analysis company The Mobile World.

The world's population is forecast to hit around 6.6 billion in July, according to U.S. figures.

Along with the Internet, the mobile phone has revolutionized communication. The mobile phone has spread from city whiz kids to Brazilian slum dwellers.

More than 1,000 new customers are effectively signing up for mobile phones every minute around the world, the survey showed.

"It took over 20 years to connect the first billion subscribers, but only 40 months to connect the second billion," said The Mobile World Co-Founder John Tysoe. "The three billion milestone will be passed in July 2007, just two years on."

Analysts have forecast that 65 percent of all handsets made this year will be sold in emerging markets as manufacturers, such as Nokia of Finland and Motorola of the United States, push out low-cost phones and mobile phone operators cut call charges.

The figures cited in the survey take account of multiple mobile subscriptions by customers. Penetration in Europe has topped 100 percent of the population, with 666 million mobile connections.

"With handsets and services becoming ever more affordable, the prospect of a fully connected mobile world is becoming ever more real."

A record 240 million handsets were sold and 135 million new customers signed up to mobile phone networks in the quarter to the end of March, the report said.

In terms of connections, the last quarter was the third strongest in the industry's history after the fourth quarters of 2004 and 2006, when 142 million and 163 million signed up respectively.