Figures from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database show that the global wireless subscriber total has passed 8 billion. User numbers were up 1% in 2020, ending the year at 8.05 billion.
The cellular market showed year-on-year growth despite the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to downturns in user take-up in a number of countries.
More than 100 5G mobile networks went live around the world during 2020.
This included launches in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Poland, Hong Kong, and Sweden.
Earlier this year, Monaco Telecom (MT) entered Malta’s communications sector when it acquired Vodafone Malta. While its domestic operations are fairly small, the company now has three sizeable overseas businesses as subsidiaries.
South Korea’s cellular sector is the scene of intense, cutthroat competition between its three mobile network operators (MNOs): SK Telecom (SKT), KT Corp, and LG Uplus. Advanced technology rollouts have been a key battleground for the trio.
Zimbabwe’s telecom providers are facing a growing crisis as the dual effects of an ongoing economic meltdown and the COVID-19 outbreak hit hard.
After four months of work, the GlobalComms Team is thrilled to unveil a new section of the GlobalComms Database Service. Users can now explore our hub for all things groups, ownership, and M&A in the world of retail mobile, fixed broadband, and fixed voice.
To mark the new addition, we’re looking at some of the world’s largest multi-country wireless operators and the extent of their reach, as well as major telcos that are still under state control.
AT&T Communications is claiming “nationwide” coverage for its 5G network seven months after going live.
The firm’s 5G service is now available to 205 million consumers in 395 markets across the U.S.; notable recent additions to its network footprint include Little Rock, AR; Jacksonville, FL; Minneapolis, MN; and Houston, TX.
Sweden’s Telia Company is one step closer to concentrating operations on its core Scandinavia and Baltic units. A recent agreement cemented the plan to offload its stake in Turkcell.
The latest figures from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Forecast Service show that there were 7.95 billion cellular subscriptions worldwide at the end of 2019, up from 6.97 billion five years earlier and 4.61 billion at the end of 2009.
