We all know that the mobile industry is big business in South Africa, in every country in the world, for that matter, but who would have thought that an estimated 90% of the world’s population would enjoy mobile phone coverage by 2010? Of course the people in the know, the leaders of the mobile industries, have known that and have said all along that one day the cell phone will be more commonly used than the old landline telephone. By now we know that that has already happened. Here are a few more statistics that might also astound you: 

Cell phones operate the world

According to Informa, leading provider of specialist information to the global academic and scientific, professional and commercial communities, the total number of mobile phone subscribers by the end of 2006 was 2.7 billion. The total domination of the telecommunications market by cell phones becomes even more evident when this figure is sub-divided by country: 

As of 2007, several countries, including the UK, have more mobile phones in operation than people,
There are over five hundred million active mobile phone accounts in China,
At 164%, Luxembourg has the highest mobile phone penetration rate in the world,
At present, Africa has the largest growth rate of cellular subscribers in the world, mainly fueled by the availability of prepaid services and is expanding nearly twice as fast as Asian markets,
On a numerical basis, India has the largest growth market, adding about 6 million cell phones every month, but is expected to reach 500 million subscribers by 2010
And South Africa

As you have just read, Africa has the largest growth rate of cellular subscribers in the world and although South Africa is regarded as a leader on the continent, the following might still come as a bit of a surprise to you:    

A staggering 10.2 million adults use cell phones in South Africa - 85% of which are on pre-paid,
Almost two thirds of all cell phone owners in South Africa use a Nokia handset making it the next most popular make of handset; Motorola is second on 14%,
While the average monthly spend on pre-paid deals amounts to approximately R95, contract subscribers spend an average of R390 per month.
Cell phone users over the age of 50 spend about R145 on cell phone calls; younger users on the other hand, spend closer to R135.
60% of households in South Africa own a cellular telephone, only 20% own a landline and on average, people spend 3% of their incomes on cell phones.
Gauteng has the highest amount of cell phones in operation by adults, at 48%.
Next is the Western Cape with 43% and the lowest penetration is that of the Eastern Cape, at 24%.
Only 22% of those aged over 50 have a cell phone; for younger adults (under 50), the penetration is 37%.
14% of all cell phone users have a contract (i.e. not prepaid).
22% of Cell C users are contract subscribers making it the highest proportion among all of the cellular providers; Vodacom is on 14% and MTN on 12%.
Compared to Cell C and MTN, Vodacom subscribers – prepaid and contract - have the highest monthly cell phone bills. 
And the winner is …

Integrat has undertaken an opinion poll to find out what users are looking for in a handset and why handsets can be classified as the most popular. According to AMPS 2005, the most popular brand of handset in South Africa is Nokia and our research proves that this is still the case.

Most popular phone over all: Nokia E90. Features: HSDPA provides a faster connection speed, video calling and document viewer.

Most popular budget phone: Samsung U700.Features: HSDPA provides a faster connection speed and it has a 3.15 mega pixel camera.

Most popular business phone: Nokia E61.Features: Blackberry connectivity and QWERTY keyboard.

Most popular camera phone: Nokia N95.Features: Powerful 5.0 mega pixel camera.

Most popular entertainment phone: Sony Ericsson W850.Features: Video calling and a walkman music player  

Sources

- Amps 2005

- Wikipedia 

- GSM Arena