It is a staggering figure even though the numbers are inflated by the more affluent parts of the globe where there are more mobile phones than people.
Nevertheless think of these figures in terms of the developing world where in 10 years they have jumped from no communication to unlimited mobile communication.
What effects will that have on their society?
Over at media shift,one of its consequences is discussed in the potential and the challenges for mobile media by John West in his report,the promise of ubiquity.
more than 20 million people in the 50 least developed countries have a mobile phone but no television. He also notes that mobile phones are a classic "Bottom of the Pyramid" industry and he even goes so far as to call them "poor-centric" -- in that they work by collecting small subscription fees, that poorer subscribers can more easily afford, from a huge customer base. This makes mobiles a good way to reach an audience often shut out of the media landscape.
The potential for mobile media is great but there are also threats that come with this technology,especially in areas where democracy is not established
new technologies could enable new forms of surveillance and censorship.
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