Mobile Overtakes Fixed: Implications for Policy and Regulation

Telecommunication Union (ITU) Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU). The paper, together with background resources on the topic, have been prepared in the framework of a research project on " mobile overtakes fixed ". The project is part of ITU's New Initiatives Programme and under the project management of Lara Srivastava . Information on all activities carried out under the ITU New Initiatives Programme can be found at: The opinions expressed in this study are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Telecommunication Union or its membership. 1 Introduction The year 2002 marked an historic turning point in the history of telephony, for it was the year when mobile subscribers overtook fixed-line subscribers worldwide (see Figure 1). The rise of mobile telephony to overtake fixed has brought with it a huge number of implications, but perhaps the most significant impact is on access, both to basic telecommunication services, and to information and communication technologies (ICT), as a tool for economic and social development. It is also noteworthy that the phenomenon of the mobile cross-over has taken place across geographic criteria such as countries, regions, and continents, across socio-demographic criteria such as gender, income, or age, and across economic criteria such as price premium for mobile (micro) or GDP per capita (macro). Figure 1: Mobile as the new global network Mobile and fixed telephone subscribers worldwide, 1982-2005 and Countries with more mobile than fixed telephone subscribers, 2001 0 500 1'000