Developing countries now account for more than half of mobile subscriber growth worldwide, with the top 10 adding around 285 million new subscribers in 2006 alone. The world's top 10 mobile growth markets are all countries considered to be "emerging" in Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa, and Latin America.
Mobile growth in these countries has accompanied economic expansion, deregulation, and the need for communications infrastructure where there is a lack of fixed-line connectivity. Research has found that with every 10 percent increase in mobile phone penetration, a country's GDP increases by 0.6 percent.
As the table below shows, India and China are way ahead of the pack in terms of sheer volume: India added the most, more than 73 million new mobile customers, while China, in second place, added close to 68 million new users. The next country on the list, Pakistan, added 29 million. The U.S. added 23 million subscribers last year, which would have put it in fifth place.
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Here is a rundown of the top 10 emerging mobile growth markets that registered the largest increases in new mobile subscribers in 2006:
1. India
India emerged as the hottest mobile market in the world during 2006, overtaking China to claim the top spot. Indian mobile operators signed up 73.56 million new customers last year, a 97 percent increase, to reach 149.5 million in total. A combination of a growing middle class and the world's lowest mobile call rates (as little as $0.02 a minute) has sparked booming demand for telecom services in a country where the population exceeds 1.1 billion. Just 15 percent of the population has a mobile phone, leaving huge room for growth.
That potential has telecom companies scrambling to invest in the market and prompted a bidding war over India's fourth-largest operator, Hutchison Essar, which has Vodafone Group plc shelling out more than $11 billion for a majority stake.
2. China
China remains the world's biggest wireless market, boasting 461.08 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2006. Like India, China has a population of well over 1 billion people and a booming economy driving telecom growth.
China saw a 17.2 percent increase in new mobile users last year, smaller than in previous years as its urban markets reach saturation, but that still represented an addition of 67.68 million subscriptions.
