Number of Cellphones Now Equal To Half the Human Species

netbuzz writes "A major milestone was reached today, according to communications industry analysts: there are now some 3.3 billion mobile phone accounts worldwide. Of course, it doesn't really mean half the world's population has a cell phone, since users in 59 countries average more than one per person. '"The mobile industry has constantly outperformed even the most optimistic forecasts for subscriber growth," Mark Newman, head of research at Informa said in a statement. "For children growing up today the issue is not whether they will get a mobile phone, it's a question of when," Newman said. In recent years the industry has seen surging growth in outskirts of China and India, helped by constantly falling phone and call prices, with cellphone vendors already eyeing inroads into Africa's countryside to keep up the growth.'"

Comments

Re:Never had one, probably never will.

[Beardo the Bearded]

Why am I being modded as a troll? /. doesn't have a "Haha, u sld hv a fon lk m3!" option, so you opted for "troll" instead?

Most people have cellular phones. I'm not one of them. My post is a counterpoint to the article, stating that there are 3.3 BILLION cell accounts. Not everyone has one, and not everyone on /. has one. I choose not to pay hundreds a month to a phone company. I have never wanted one, and I have not encountered a situation where one was warranted. I went to classes and meetings while my wife was 9+ months pregnant - didn't miss a thing. When I was looking for work - I didn't miss a thing.

I'm not a luddite, either. I'm an Electrical Engineer who has done a fair bit of work "advancing our tech level." Some of the things I've worked on are Penokio, P25 radio, and Project Lifesaver. I've literally used my craft to save lives. That's probably more than that mod can say.

Also, it's nice to be first. I've been waiting for seven years.

Re:Better than landline infrastructure

[heinousjay]

I'm with you man, I can't believe it's still legal to talk in public. It's gotta be some sort of invasion of my rights as a human being to be forced to listen to other people talking, not able to ignore them, not able to mind my own business. If only I were allowed to choose what I paid attention to...