There are certainly a lot of things in this world that people don’t have. But it looks as though a cell phone isn’t one of them.
On CNBC this morning, the news network reported that the wireless industry is reaching greater saturation in part because so many people are looking to cut expenses, and a land line is often the first thing to go.
To that end, an eye opening study conducted by Experian revealed that there are presently 2.7 billion mobile phones in use. Incredibly, from January 2001 to December 2010, our “global society will have transformed” from a place where only a miniscule 13% of the population carried a mobile phone, to one where 70% carry one.
By early 2006, thirty countries had exceeded 100% per capita cell phone usage. Also in 2006 there were about 241 million mobile phone users in the United States – or, approximately 80% per capita mobile phone penetration. According to industry estimates, it won’t be until 2013 that the US will top 100% per capita penetration.
The study also revealed that about two thirds of mobile phone users are “active users of SMS text messaging.” What does that translate to? Approximately 1.8 billion people are actively texting today.
Other noteworthy points discovered include:
- Globally, there are twice as many active users of SMS as are active users of email.
- In the U.S., roughly 300 billion text messages were sent in 2007.
- SMS is typically read within an average of 15 minutes after receipt and responded to within 60 minutes.
- While 65% of e-mail is spam, less than 10% of SMS is spam.
- 19% of text messagers say they use text messaging as a means of communication between themselves and colleagues
- 62% say they use text messaging to communicate with friends
- 55% say they use it to communicate with their significant others
