THE NUMBER OF MOBILE PHONE subscribers in the country may be capped at only half of the local population or 42.5 million Filipinos.

The so-called “penetration rate” of cellular phones in the country could plateau at 50 percent according to National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) chief Ronald O. Solis. This represents a growth of only about 7.5 million more subscribers from the current penetration rate of 40 percent or about 35 million mobile phone users in the country, at present (2006).

This may be because of the economic conditions of the country which compel people to prioritize basic needs instead of purchasing a cellular phone unit.

This expected penetration rate is far from the penetration rate of other neighboring countries like Taiwan, which has a penetration rate of 111 percent - a situation where many people have more than one cellular phone. Hong Kong, on the other hand has a penetration rate of 91%, Singapore has 75%, and Japan has 60%. This is according to the latest edition of the Digital Review of the Asia-Pacific.

The Philippines, however, will likely continue to outpace Thailand’s penetration rate of 30 percent.

source:
-http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=78818