Pannon GSM in Hungary now has two milion subscribers
Fornebu
5 minute read
Telenor's Hungarian mobile company, Pannon GSM, has today published the following press release:
Pannon GSM now has two million subscribers
Mobile penetration has passed the fifty percent landmark in Hungary
(Budapest, 7 February 2002)Soon there will be one billion mobile phone subscribers in the world. One in every five hundred is a client of Pannon GSM: the Hungarian service provider recently connected its two millionth customer. Simultaneously, Hungarian penetration figures moved past the fifty percent milestone.
Last year's growth for Pannon GSM, some 60 percent, corresponded to Hungarian tendencies: mobile penetration increased by no less than 63 percent in Hungary over the last year. One secret to Pannon GSM's success is that it has identified the needs of the younger generations and introduced the Bee brand. For these young people, Pannon GSM became the most attractive Hungarian mobile service provider. Mobile penetration among people under 20 years of age is now up to 40 percent, this generation prefers pre-paid services.The single youngest customer of PGSM is a kindergarden child, while the oldest one has filled 90 years of age. Male-to-female ratio among Hungarian GSM customers is 55:45.
In 2001, the global mobile marked was characterised by an unexpected growth and a change of focus as regards geographical dispersion and fields of use. Eastern Europe displayed and unprecedented growth last year. In the Ukraine, for instance, the number of subscribers grew by 160 percent, making the nation the fastest growing country in the region. Slovakia is runner-up, with almost 100 percent. For the whole of Eastern Europe, mobile penetration grew by 50 percent, with the number of subscriptions approaching 45 million. As a contrast, growth has slowed down in Western Europe.The number of subscribers by the end of 2001 was 365 million - "merely" 42 percent more than one year earlier.
Penetration in Asia grew at an enourmous rate. One third of the world's mobie phone users live in Asia, and the continent is also home to the largest national market, China, with which country Pannon GSM just recently signed a roaming agreement. The vast nation now has almost as many customers as the USA and Canada combined.Nevertheless, China still has only 10 percent penetration.
On the other continents, mobile phone penetration is low compared to population figures, yet these regions presented the sharpest growth curve. In Nigeria, for example, one million customers were registered within only one week after mobile services were launched. The Americas, home to one seventh of the world's population, use roughly half as many mobile phones as Europe does. What is more, only about ten percent of these use the GSM standard, which is still something of a novelty for most Latin-American nations. At the same time, some small island groups in the Pacific Ocean are also becoming part of the global chain: Coconut Islands, a northwest neighbour to Australia, had its first GSM network installed this January.
SMS continues to be the most popular service. Pannon GSM customers sent some 200 million text messages over the year 2001 and received a similar number of SMS'es. This is not counting system messages and various SMS-based services. With these combined, overall SMS traffic reached 561 million.
Mobile penetration has passed the fifty percent landmark in Hungary
(Budapest, 7 February 2002)Soon there will be one billion mobile phone subscribers in the world. One in every five hundred is a client of Pannon GSM: the Hungarian service provider recently connected its two millionth customer. Simultaneously, Hungarian penetration figures moved past the fifty percent milestone.
Last year's growth for Pannon GSM, some 60 percent, corresponded to Hungarian tendencies: mobile penetration increased by no less than 63 percent in Hungary over the last year. One secret to Pannon GSM's success is that it has identified the needs of the younger generations and introduced the Bee brand. For these young people, Pannon GSM became the most attractive Hungarian mobile service provider. Mobile penetration among people under 20 years of age is now up to 40 percent, this generation prefers pre-paid services.The single youngest customer of PGSM is a kindergarden child, while the oldest one has filled 90 years of age. Male-to-female ratio among Hungarian GSM customers is 55:45.
In 2001, the global mobile marked was characterised by an unexpected growth and a change of focus as regards geographical dispersion and fields of use. Eastern Europe displayed and unprecedented growth last year. In the Ukraine, for instance, the number of subscribers grew by 160 percent, making the nation the fastest growing country in the region. Slovakia is runner-up, with almost 100 percent. For the whole of Eastern Europe, mobile penetration grew by 50 percent, with the number of subscriptions approaching 45 million. As a contrast, growth has slowed down in Western Europe.The number of subscribers by the end of 2001 was 365 million - "merely" 42 percent more than one year earlier.
Penetration in Asia grew at an enourmous rate. One third of the world's mobie phone users live in Asia, and the continent is also home to the largest national market, China, with which country Pannon GSM just recently signed a roaming agreement. The vast nation now has almost as many customers as the USA and Canada combined.Nevertheless, China still has only 10 percent penetration.
On the other continents, mobile phone penetration is low compared to population figures, yet these regions presented the sharpest growth curve. In Nigeria, for example, one million customers were registered within only one week after mobile services were launched. The Americas, home to one seventh of the world's population, use roughly half as many mobile phones as Europe does. What is more, only about ten percent of these use the GSM standard, which is still something of a novelty for most Latin-American nations. At the same time, some small island groups in the Pacific Ocean are also becoming part of the global chain: Coconut Islands, a northwest neighbour to Australia, had its first GSM network installed this January.
SMS continues to be the most popular service. Pannon GSM customers sent some 200 million text messages over the year 2001 and received a similar number of SMS'es. This is not counting system messages and various SMS-based services. With these combined, overall SMS traffic reached 561 million.