Ben Kudria » Weblog

Today, in December 2007, of the 6.6 billion people living on our planet, around three billion have access to cellular service (1).  In contrast to the relatively staid growth of fixed telephone lines (fig. 1), the growth in cellphone and Internet service subscribers is staggering.  This growth is evident not only in the United States and Europe, it can also be seen in second- and third-world countries such as China, India, those in Africa (2), and those in the Arab world.  Although these countries are not as wealthy as the US, and certainly not the center of technological developments and innovation, their governments are finding that cellular and Internet service are basic and vital infrastructure that their populations highly demand.  Almost half the population on Earth is connected somehow to a telecommunications network, either the Internet or the local cellular network.  Furthermore, this proportion is on a strict upward trend.