The number of individual cellphone subscribers across the globe is set to surpass 5 billion by mid-2017, according to a report presented at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona on Monday.

The figures, compiled by the cellphone industry representative GSM Association, suggested that the global number of cellphone users would hit 5.7 billion people by 2020.

“Mobile is a global platform that today supports two-thirds of the world’s population, delivering the connectivity and infrastructure that is powering new digital economies and addressing socioeconomic challenges,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA in a statement.

The upward trends were to be propelled by the burgeoning Asian market in countries such as India, which itself is expected to contribute 310 million cellphone users by 2020 according to the “Mobile Economy 2017” study.

The report highlighted a general shift towards smartphones and an increased use of fourth generation (4G) technology, as well as a growing contribution to the global economy.

The evolution in cellphone technology paved the way for 5G, which is expected by 2019, said the report.

A third of the population was expected to have access to 5G technology by 2025.

The report said 4.8 billion individual cellphone subscribers and 7.9 billion SIM cards were registered in 2016, some 55 percent of which were connected to 3G and 4G networks, a figure that is to grow to 75 percent by 2020, according to GSMA estimates.

In 2016, cellphone companies launched 580 4G networks across 188 countries, providing fourth generation coverage to 60 percent of the global population.

According to the study, cellphone technology and services accounted for 4.4 percent of the global domestic product (GDP) and were valued at around $3.3 billion.

By 2020, the GMSA estimated that the sector’s contribution to the global economy would rise to $4.2bn, some 4.9 percents of the global GDP.

The global cellphone industry, directly and indirectly, employed 28.5 million people in 2016, a figure that is expected to grow to 30.9 million by the end of the decade, said the study.

The Congress gathers mobile industry leaders from across the globe and is expected to run until Thursday. —EFE

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