A new estimate of the wireless industry has pegged connections at four billion connections in December, according to the findings of Informa Telecoms & Media, reflecting 60 per cent global penetration of mobile usage.

3G Americas, a trade association representing the GSM family of technologies, called it a new milestone.

Other research estimates that mobile will grow worldwide by an annualised five to seven per cent over the next two to three years, whereas Latin America could grow by up to eight per cent.

By 2010, mobile is projected as a US$2.2 trillion industry, but within that mobile revenue which was last estimated at around US$770 billion worldwide, is forecast to remain below the trillion-dollar mark.

estimates

Informa estimates revenue may hit the US$1 trillion milestone in 2012, and reach US$1.03 trillion in 2013. Mobile usage would have grown to 5.3 billion connections by then, as projected by Informa, a forecasting and strategic advisory firm.

The Caribbean and the wider region remains a growth area for mobile, with telecoms adding 16 per cent to their customer base, year on year, according to the Informa survey.

At the end of 2008, mobile subscriptions climbed above 440 million in the Latin America and Caribbean region, "equating to 76 per cent penetration", said Marisol Gomez, Americas regional analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

Brazil netted 19 million more users, Peru 4.6 million, which for the latter reflected 33 per cent growth.

Within the region, big-name telecoms include Digicel, LIME, Telefonica and Claro.

business@gleanerjm.com