Industry says Africa fastest growing mobile market (AP)

JOHANNESBURG ? Mobile phone system operators say Africa is their fastest growing market.

In a report released Wednesday, the industry group GSMA, or Groupe Speciale Mobile Association, said for each of the past five years, the number of subscribers across Africa has grown by almost 20 percent and will reach 738 million by the end of next year.

GSMA says that mobile penetration in Africa has reached 649 million connections, second only to Asia.

In releasing its report, GSMA is calling on African governments to allocate more mobile broadband spectrum and cut taxes on mobile operators to further spur expansion. Citing studies by the World Bank and others, GSMA says that in developing countries, for every 10 percent increase in mobile penetration there is a 0.81 percent increase in GDP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111109/ap_on_bi_ge/af_africa_mobiles

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