China overtakes US in mobile phones

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

 From IHT  Wednesday, August 15, 2001

Growth Potential Still Strong After 40% Surge

BEIJING China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest
cellular phone market, strengthening its allure for manufacturers such as
Motorola Inc. and Nokia Oyj, who face flat sales in Europe and North America.

China had 120.6 million mobile-phone users at the end of last month after
subscribers surged by more than 40 percent over the preceding year, Wang
Lijian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Information Industry, said Tuesday.
That compares with 120.1 million users currently in the United States,
according to figures kept by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet
Association, an industry trade group.

The number of cell-phone subscribers in China rose by 35 million, or 42
percent, from a year earlier in the first seven months of 2001.



http://www.iht.com/articles/29356.htm