More Than Half The World Has Cell Phones

"More than half of the world can hear you now -- 60 percent of the world's citizens own a cell phone, according to a recent United Nations report. That increase is due in large part to cell phone growth in poor, developing countries. In 2002, just less than 15 percent of the world's population had cell phones. The report shows that mobile technology is becoming the most desirable means of communication -- especially in poor countries. The numbers show dramatic growth: By the end of 2008, there were an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with roughly 1 billion in 2002, according to the International Telecommunication Union, one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. The study also looked at the Internet, and found that worldwide, usage has more than doubled: Approximately 23 percent of the population uses the Internet, up from 11 percent in 2002. Still, poor countries are far less likely to surf the Net. For example, only 1 in 20 people in Africa went online in 2007."