The world now has nearly as many cell phone subscriptions as inhabitants. The UN telecom agency says there were about 6 billion subscriptions by the end of 2011 roughly one for 86 of every 100 people. In a report today,the International Telecommunication Union said China alone accounted for 1 billion subscriptions,and India is expected to hit the 1-billion mark this year. The Geneva-based agency says 2.3 billion people or about one in three of the world's 7 billion inhabitants were Internet users by the end of 2011,but there's a strong disparity between rich and developing countries. ITU says 70 per cent of people who use the Internet live in wealthier,industrialised countries,compared with 24 percent who live in poorer,developing nations.
