| 28 January 2004 - GSM is on target to achieve an historic
milestone during the first quarter of 2004. With more
than 970 million users at the end of December and an average
of 15 million new users a month throughout 2003, the GSM
Association, the global trade association representing
GSM operators worldwide, confidently expects the billionth
GSM user to be connected during the first quarter. The
approach of the milestone will be a major theme at the
3GSM World Congress, the annual gathering of the global
GSM community, taking place in Cannes, France, between
23 and 26 February 2004.
During 2003, more than 180 million new users joined
the global GSM community representing 80% of the 227
million new digital mobile phone users connected worldwide.
Rob Conway, Chief Executive of the GSM Association
and Member of its Board said, “By taking 80% of
growth in 2003, GSM outperformed the market and reinforced
its position as the global standard for mobile communications.”
For the second year running, GSM added as many new
customers during the year as the second most successful
mobile technology (CDMA) had in total at the year-end.
In absolute terms, members of the Association’s
Asia Pacific regional interest group drove GSM’s
growth during the year adding more than 70 million new
users. China maintained its position as the world’s
largest mobile market: China’s two GSM operators
added 42.8 million – 21% more than the year’s
global growth for CDMA.
Europe contributed 42 million new users, with strong
growth recorded in central and eastern Europe. The GSM
Association’s Russian members added 16 million
users while both India and North America each added
more than 10 million new users. Growth in both Africa
and the Arab World exceeded 9 million.
The extent to which the migration of Latin American
TDMA and CDMA operators to the global GSM standard is
gaining momentum is vividly illustrated by the fact
that this region recorded growth of more than 130 per
cent to finish the year with 16.5 million users. Russia
and India both recorded annual growth of around 100%.
“With a user base approaching one billion, solid
foundations are in place for the successful migration
to 3GSM. As we entered 2004, 25 operators were already
delivering 3GSM services to customers in 17 countries.
Improvements in the supply of dual-mode handsets capable
of delivering seamless inter-operability between GSM
and 3GSM will provide the catalyst for the launch of
at least another 40 3GSM services in the year ahead,”
concludes Conway.
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