The number of mobile connections worldwide reached 5bn in the first week of July, according to research from mobile analysis firm, The Mobile World. Q1 2010 saw net additions of 168m, taking the total to 4.82bn, and the Q2 gain is likely to have surpassed this figure, with China and India adding 50m in April and May alone.
These two markets are the world’s largest, and they accounted for almost 28 per cent of the global total at the end of Q1, but their contribution to the net quarterly gain in connections was double this at 56 per cent. In absolute terms, the two markets added 94m in the three months ending 31 March 2010.
By contrast, the G7 nations accounted for just 4.6 per cent of the Q1 gain. If the US is excluded, the figure falls to just 1.7 per cent. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) made up 59.2 per cent of the total net additions, and the so-called ‘Next Eleven’, which includes Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico and Iran, contributed 20.1 per cent. 
With the world population at around 6.8bn, the global mobile penetration rate stood at just under 71 per cent at the end of Q1. The Q2 figure is likely to be around 73 per cent, while the 100 per cent threshold will be reached before the end of 2014.
