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25 February 2004 - More than one billion people, almost
one in six of the world’s population, are now using
GSM mobile phones. This historic milestone has been
reached only 12 years after the launch of the first
networks.
Now adopted by more than 200 countries and territories,
GSM has become the only global standard for mobile communications.
As the choice of 80 per cent of all new mobile customers,
GSM has driven wireless take-up to the extent that mobile
phones now outnumber fixed telephone lines globally.
“Throughout its relatively short history, GSM
has regularly beaten growth forecasts,” said Rob
Conway, CEO of the GSM Association and member of its
Board.
“As recently as the turn of the year, we thought
we would hit the billion landmark sometime in March
– but GSM has not lost its capacity to surprise
and delight. Operator connections are running faster
than anticipated and we actually passed the milestone
earlier this month.
“GSM was born out of the revolutionary vision
that mobile phones should keep customers connected anytime,
anywhere, even when crossing borders. That revolution
has gained currency and support faster than even the
most optimistic dreams of its founders,” he added.
Leading representatives of the GSM community, including
the GSM Association, Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia, Nortel
Networks, Motorola, Siemens, 3G Americas and UMTS Forum
have joined together to celebrate this historic milestone.
The billion GSM customers will be a central theme at
next week’s 3GSM World Congress, the annual gathering
of the global mobile industry in Cannes, France, and
will also be commemorated at events worldwide over the
coming months.
Industry support:
"GSM market maturity is rapidly approaching in
the more established mobile markets that have already
reached significant penetration level. In these regions,
the focus is now on introducing richer end-user services.
The lion's share of the GSM family market growth is
now in the lower-penetration markets, primarily China,
but also some other Asian Countries, as well as India,
Russia, Africa and South America. In these markets,
GSM - and all the service-enabling capabilities it conveys
- is the number one choice for all users looking for
cost effective and value-added mobile services."
- Etienne Fouques, Alcatel Executive Vice President,
President Mobile Communications Group
"Signing one billion users shows beyond question
that GSM delivers services that consumers want across
the globe. We will continue to develop easy-to-use services
and solutions to bring mobile communication to even
more people in the future." - Carl-Henric Svanberg,
President and CEO of Ericsson
"This milestone speaks to the power and impact
of mobile innovation. From the beginning of the wireless
era, Motorola has been at the forefront, partnering
with mobile operators and helping fuel phenomenal market
growth in GSM. Together, we are transforming the way
people live, work, play and relate -- expanding and
evolving personal potential through technology. We look
forward to the celebration of 2 billion GSM subscribers,
which we expect will come in a fraction of the time
it took to get to 1 billion." - Ralph Pini, Chief
Technology Officer, Motorola's mobile communications
business
"We at Nokia warmly congratulate the GSM community
on the remarkable success of GSM. In 12 short years,
GSM has launched a tidal wave of mobile communication
that now touches one of every six people on the planet.
The unprecedented speed of this success has clearly
been driven by GSM's openness, sparking worldwide industry
collaboration and customer acceptance. The same strengths
that took GSM to the first billion -- open global standards,
choice, and innovation -- are propelling it towards
further growth in mobile multimedia as well as voice,
spawning new business models that will bring new uses
and new users together." - Sari Baldauf, Executive
Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Member
of the Nokia Group Executive Board
"Our children will grow up in a world where nothing
and no-one is ever out of reach, where friends and family
are always only a phone call away, and where a world
of knowledge and entertainment is instantly accessible
at anytime of the day or night. Nortel Networks is proud
to have delivered networks that enabled a billion people
to keep connected, and looks forward to delivering the
innovations which will provide the next billion people
with ever richer communications." - Pascal Debon,
President, Wireless Networks, Nortel Networks
“GSM has made communications truly personal for
a billion people on this
planet. It has also provided the foundations for a new
generation of mobile
multimedia services and devices that will transform
our lives over the next
few years - just as GSM has already done.” - Jean-Pierre
Bienaimé, Chairman, UMTS Forum
"Contributing to the achievement of this GSM milestone
are the multi-millions of Latin and North Americans
embracing the GSM technology. With GSM growing at nearly
a 100% rate in the Americas in 2003, the region will
continue to power the GSM market beyond the one billion
customer mark. The benefits of GSM now reach every country
in Latin America, North America, and nearly all the
Caribbean. EDGE third generation service is available
coast-to-coast in the U.S. and in Brazil, Chile and
parts of the Caribbean. Today, GSM is the number one
choice of all new customers in the Western Hemisphere."
- Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas
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