Worldwide mobile subscriptions will top 5 billion by the end of 2010, says an ABI Research study. Much of the growth will take place in developing markets in Africa and Asia-Pacific. “The implication for marketers is that there are a lot of people to reach on the mobile channel,” says Bhavya Khanna, ABI Research analyst. Africa continues to be the fastest growing mobile market with an annual growth of more than 22 percent. Driven by new subscribers in India and Indonesia, Asia-Pacific mobile penetration will reach 65 percent by the end of 2010. Although they’ve already passed the 100 percent penetration mark, countries in North America and Europe continue to add subscriptions due to new mobile devices and devices such as netbooks, tablet computers, USB dongles and e-book readers.
