More than half a billion GSM mobile phones are now in use worldwide, according to figures released today by the GSM Association - the mobile/wireless industry`s worldwide body - and the wireless research organisation EMC World Cellular Database.
GSM technology - which allows mobile users to roam to more than 168 countries making and receiving calls on one handset and with one global number - now accounts for more than 70 per cent of the world`s digital mobile phones. The three other digital technologies combined account for the remaining 30 per cent. This market share is expected to grow even more with 3G systems, as more than 85 per cent are expected to be 3GSM/ W-CDMA.
Nearly 40 per cent of all GSM customers are outside of Europe, reflecting the increasing globalisation of GSM. In fact, the largest single country GSM population is now China with some 82.4 million customers - China alone has almost as many GSM customers as any other digital standard.
GSM in the Americas is also expanding at an exponential rate. There are already more than 10 million GSM phones in North America. AT&T Wireless, Rogers Wireless` and other major operators recent decision to overlay digital TDMA network with GSM services is expected to lead to a surge in GSM usage across the USA. Meanwhile in Latin America, decisions by countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Mexico to adopt GSM are predicted to see a tenfold increase in GSM users in Latin America during the next 12-18 months.
Commenting on the figures, Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association, said: "These numbers speak for themselves and are a testament to the incredible value of the GSM system. Consumers care about services, convenience and roaming.
"They care that the phone they have works seamlessly in another city or country. They care that they only need one number, virtually worldwide. And they care that GSM offers incredible variety in choice of handsets and economies of scale to enable affordable handsets loaded with features."
"The GSM approach - of operators, manufacturers, and organisations like ours working together - is the approach that delivers on the things users care about," said GSM Association Chair, Scott Fox. "That is the secret of the success, the technology is successful because the approach is successful - and it is the approach that we are already repeating with the evolving GSM family via GPRS, EDGE and 3GSM."
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The GSM Association is the world`s leading wireless industry representative body, consisting of more than 535 second and third generation wireless network operators and key manufacturers and suppliers to the wireless industry. Membership of the Association spans 168 countries of the world.
The GSM Association is responsible for the deployment and evolution of the GSM family of technologies (GSM, GPRS, EDGE and 3GSM) for digital wireless communications. The Association`s members provide digital GSM wireless services to more than 500 million customers (as of end April 2001). The GSM system accounts for approximately 70 percent of the total digital cellular wireless market.
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