Number of Mobile Phones Exceed the Number of People Worldwide

By Aarti Dhapte , 27 April, 2023

April 3rd, the momentous phone call back in 1973 by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper marks the 50th anniversary of the mobile phone. His first phone call to this rival at Bell Labs, Joe Engel, was the first ever call on an actual mobile phone. This call was made on a prototype that later developed into Motorola DynaTAC, as recalled by Cooper.

According to the reports, Cooper's call on the very first mobile phone was a pivotal moment in the history of mobile communication. It also marked the beginning of new era. As the GSMA reports further added, mobile phones have earned a universal badge, with over 5.4 billion people worldwide having at least one subscription.

The reports found that there are currently more mobile phone subscriptions than people on the earth, as the former one overtook the latter in 2016. According to the news by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there will be more than 8.58 billion mobile subscriptions in usage worldwide in 2022 compared to a world population of 7.95 billion half its way through the year.

As per the reports, the smartphone's revenue amounted to USD 0.48tn in 2023. And the market is expected to grow at 2.54 percent CAGR (2023-2028) annually.