With more than 5.3 billion mobile connections across the globe, the wireless industry continues to chase worldwide saturation.
To the surprise of few, the world’s most populous nations – China and India – are also the world’s largest mobile markets. China continued to lead the world with nearly 907 million mobile customers at the end of the second quarter, and is also home to the world’s single largest wireless operator China Mobile, which counts more than 600 million subscribers. (Look for a listing of the world’s top wireless operators in the near future.)
India has seen dramatic growth over the past several years and is now a close second to China in total subscribers counting nearly 852 million at the end of the second quarter. The United States is No. 3 in the world with just over 320 million mobile customers at the end of the second quarter, with its most recent growth spurt coming from so-called “connected” devices.
Rounding out the top five are Russia and Brazil, both with in excess of 200 million customers and still plenty of head room to grow.
(1) China: 906.8 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 65%
Top carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom
(2) India: 851.7 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 71%
Top carriers: Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone Essar
(3) United States: 320.2 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 102%
Top carriers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel
(4) Russia: 222.1 million cellular connections (May 2011)
Mobile penetration = 155%
Top carriers: MTS, VimpelCom, MegaFon
(5) Brazil: 217.3 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 113%
Top carriers: Vivo, Claro, TIM
(6) Indonesia: 178 million cellular connections (Q4 2010)
Mobile penetration = 75%
Top carriers: Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
(7) Japan: 121.9 million cellular connections (July 2011)
Mobile penetration = 95%
Top carriers: DoCoMo, Au (KDDI), Softbank
(8) Germany: 111 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 135%
Top carriers: T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus
(9) Pakistan: 108.9 million cellular connections (Q2 2011)
Mobile penetration = 62%
Top carriers: Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone
(10) Mexico: 93.7 million cellular connections (Q1 2011)
Mobile penetration = 84%
Top carriers: Telcel, Movistar, Grupo Iusacell
Figures are from various sources, including government agencies, analyst reports and company information. All results should be considered estimates.
