September will see the five billionth wireless subscription equalling 73.4% of the world’s population, says iSuppli.
Wireless communication become a basic staple like food, clothing and shelter," Wireless now represents the biggest stage that any technology market has ever played on, offering unlimited opportunities for members of the mobile communications supply chain," says said iSuppli’s Jagdish Rebello.
Each of the 5bn subscriptions represents a recurring payment for wireless services delivered to a device, ranging from an Ultra Low-Cost Handset (ULCH) to a high-end smart phone.
The global installed base of wireless devices will amount to 4.9bn at the end of 2010. The remaining subscribers will be accounted for by additional Subscriber Identification (SIM) modules used in mobile handsets and services to Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications systems.
The penetration of wireless subscriptions varies widely by regions. At the low end is the combined Africa and Middle East region, where penetration amounts to 50%.
On the high side is Western Europe, where there are more subscriptions than citizens, with penetration amounting to 157.6%. Europeans frequently have multiple subscriptions and phones, allowing them to maintain communications while travelling in different nations that use varying service providers and air standards.
Preloaded software applications are a $4.4bn market expected to rise to $7.7bn by 2014.
The wireless IC market is worth $60.9bn and is expected to rise to $80.2bn in 2014.