Counting mobile phones, SIM cards & customers
Ewan Sutherland, Research Fellow at the LINK Centre has just completed a draft study, “Counting mobile phones, SIM cards & customers.” This paper discusses the challenges of counting the number of mobile subscribers in context of the reality multiple SIM card ownership. This has implications for counting the unconnected, for roaming and mobile termination rate regulation, among others.
Click here to download the full paper in .pdf format.
In Africa, the number of customers was said to be 270 millions at the end of 2007. The GSMA forecasts this will rise to over 300 million by the end of 2008 – an increase from 29 to 34 customers per 100 population. However, some of those customers may have been counted more than once and some may be neither citizens nor even residents of the countries in which they are counted as customers.
The question policy makers have to address is how to interpret such very large numbers and how they reflect the reality of their countries, cities, towns and villages. In particular they must consider whether they are achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for which mobile subscribers per 100 population is a target indicator.
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