Cell phone lines will be 4,600 million at year end

The number of mobile lines in the world will rise to 4,600 million by the end of this year driven by emerging economies, said Tuesday the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which accounts for about two subscriptions for every three people.
The mobile broadband subscriptions will reach 600 million in 2009 and fixed broadband will amount to 500 million, said the telecommunications authority of the United Nations (UN).
ITU said its latest figures underline large regional differences, with penetration rates of mobile broadband very low in Africa and other emerging nations.There is a fixed broadband users per 1,000 inhabitants in Africa, compared to 200 subscribers per 1,000 Europeans.
In Africa have the highest relative price for communication services, especially broadband.

"The rapid growth of high-speed internet in the developed world contrasts starkly with the status quo in the developing world," ITU said in a statement.