India, China get 40% of new mobile connections

India and China accounted for around 40 per cent of the estimated 140 million net additions in mobile subscriptions across the world during the April-June quarter this year, a report by Ericsson has said. “India and China added around 20 million and 40 million subscriptions respectively of the estimated 140 million net additions during the second quarter of 2012,” Ericsson said.

The mobile penetration in India has reached 75 per cent in August 2012.

Globally, the total mobile subscriptions reached 6.3 billion. The actual number of subscribers is around 4.3 billion, since many have several subscriptions. The report said there is continued strong momentum for smartphone uptake in all regions.

STAYING CONNECTED
A recent report by Ericsson shows that India and China have outnumbered other nations in mobile subscriptions. Following are key findings of the report:

• Of the 140 million net addition in mobile subscriptions in Q1 2012, 56 million new connections were bought in India and China alone
   
• Total mobile subscriptions are more than the actual number of subscribers, since many users have several subscriptions
   
• Mobile penetration in India has reached 75%
   
• Of all the phones sold in Q2 2012, 40% phones are smartphones
   
• Data traffic has doubled between Q1 2011 and Q2 2012

“Approximately 40 per cent of all mobile phones sold in Q2 were smartphones, compared with 30 per cent for the full year 2011,” it added.

The report said as only around 15 per cent of the worldwide installed base of subscriptions are for smartphones, there is considerable room for further uptake. Mobile broadband subscriptions have grown around 60 per cent and have reached above 1.2 billion. Mobile data traffic doubled between 2011 and 2012, while the voice traffic continues to grow at a steady rate, mainly driven by the new subscriptions in Asia Pacific and West Asia and Africa.