According to a recent report, in the last 18 months more than one billion mobile phone connections were made, making the total number of connections more than 5 billion. This means on average that for every six people in the world, five own a mobile phone.

In some countries, mobile penetration is more than 100%, and in the UK alone 30 million phones are sold, every year. It is estimated that the six billion mark worldwide will be passed by the middle of 2012, with India and China accounting for the highest amount of growth. Currently mobile phone connections in the Asia-Pacific region account for 47% of global mobile connections.

The numbers mean that there are three times as many phones as personal computers, and an amazing 10 billion handsets have been sold since 1994, with Nokia selling 3.4 billion devices. In Western Europe, current mobile phone penetration sits at around 130%, whilst in Eastern Europe the number is almost as high, at 123%. The growth in popularity of connected devices, such as USB Dongles and iPad’s is set to drive those percentages even higher, whilst dual SIM devices are also set to increase the number of connections, as subscribers take advantage of SIM only deals to supplement their existing package.

The mobile phone is now a part of the fabric of society, and the proliferation of mobile communication technology will only increase as we look to feed our desires to communicate with each other, whenever, wherever.