List of mobile network operators

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This is a list of mobile phone network operating companies.

Contents

World

These are the world's largest mobile network operators excluding Israel, by number of subscribers (and by proportionate subscribers, if the company has holdings in other operators). The largest in the world by turnover is Vodafone.

Rank Company Technology Subscribers
(proportionate, in millions)
Subscribers
(total / unspecified, in millions)
1 Vodafone (United Kingdom) UMTS, GSM, CDMA 179.32 (as of December 2005) 471.50 (as of September 2005)
2 China Mobile (China) GSM 234.88 (as of September 2005)
3 T-Mobile (Germany) UMTS, GSM 86.6 (as of December 2005) 144.79 (as of December 2005)
4 China Unicom (China) GSM, CDMA 124.15 (as of September 2005)
5 Telefónica Móviles (Spain) UMTS, GSM, CDMA  ? (as of December 2005) 94.40 (as of December 2005)
6 América Móvil (Mexico) GSM, TDMA 92.74 (as of December 2005) 93.33 (as of December 2005)
7 France Telecom /Orange (France) UMTS, GSM 71.50 (as of December 2005) 89.99 (as of December 2005)
8 Telenor (Norway) UMTS, GSM 41.02 (as of December 2005) 84.61 (as of December 2005)
9 Singapore Telecommunications (Singapore) UMTS, GSM 30.58 (as of December 2005) 77.79 (as of December 2005)
10 TeliaSonera (Sweden) UMTS, GSM 37.81 (as of December 2005) 72.34 (as of December 2005)
11 Cingular (United States) UMTS, GSM, TDMA 55.80 (as of March 2006)

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Americas

Anguilla

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Aguillanet GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless Ltd

Antigua and Barbuda

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 APUA GSM Not available yet Antigua Public Utilities Authority
2 Cable & Wireless GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless Caribbean Cellular (Antigua) Limited

Argentina

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 20,371,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 movistar GSM, CDMA 8.34 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
2 CTI Movil GSM, CDMA 6.63 (December 2005) América Móvil
3 Personal GSM 5.31 Telecom Argentina
4 NEXTEL iDEN Not available yet NII Holdings

Aruba

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Digicel GSM Not available yet New Millennium Telecom Services
2 SETAR GSM Not available yet Servicio di Telecomunicacion di Aruba

Bahamas

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Btc GSM Not available yet The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd

Barbados

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable & Wireless GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless Barbados Ltd
3 Digicel GSM Not available yet Digicel
4 Sunbeach GSM Not available yet Sunbeach Communications Inc

Belize

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Digicel GSM Not available yet Belize Telecommunications Ltd
2 Smart CDMA Not available yet Smart

Bermuda

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 M3 GSM Not available yet M3 Wireless Ltd
2 Digicel[1] GSM, CDMA Not available yet Telecommunications Ltd

Bolivia

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Entel GSM Not available yet Entel SA
2 Nuevatel GSM Not available yet Nuevatel PCS De Bolivia SA
3 TeleCel GSM Not available yet Telefonica

Brazil

(as of October 2005)

The country had 85,239,730 subscribers in total, or a 44.00% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
National operators
1 Vivo [2] CDMA, TDMA 29.81 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles and Portugal Telecom
2 TIM [3] GSM, TDMA 18.74 Telecom Italia
3 Claro [4] GSM, TDMA 18.66 (December 2005) América Móvil
Regional operators
4 Oi [5] GSM 9.31 Telemar
5 Telemig Celular/Amazônia Celular [6] GSM, TDMA 4.29 Telpart
6 Brasil Telecom GSM [7] GSM 1.81 Brasil Telecom
7 CTBC [8] GSM, TDMA 0.36 Algar
8 Sercomtel Celular [9] GSM, TDMA 0.09 Londrina city (Paraná)State-owned Sercomtel
Specialized Mobile Radio
1 NEXTEL [10] iDEN Not available yet NII Holdings

British Virgin Islands

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CCT GSM Not available yet Caribbean Cellular Telephone

Canada

(as of September 2005)

Template:Main The country had 16,095,550 subscribers in total, or a 56.26% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Rogers Wireless GSM 5.95 Rogers Communications
2 Bell Mobility CDMA 4.55 Bell Canada
3 TELUS Mobility CDMA, iDEN 4.29 TELUS
4 Aliant Mobility CDMA 0.69 Aliant
5 SaskTel Mobility CDMA 0.32 SaskTel
6 MTS Mobility CDMA 0.31 MTS

Cayman Islands

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable & Wireless GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless Limited
2 Digicel GSM Not available yet Digicel

Chile

(as of September 2005)

The country had 10,910,000 subscribers in total, or a 70.00% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 movistar GSM, CDMA, TDMA 5,28 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
2 Entel PCS GSM 3.87 Hurtado Vicuña
3 Smartcom CDMA 1.88 (December 2005) América Móvil

Colombia

(as of September 2005)

The country had 18,331,450 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Comcel GSM, TDMA 13.76 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 movistar GSM, CDMA, TDMA 6.03 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
3 Ola GSM 1.83 Empresas Públicas de Medellín and Empresa de Teléfonos de Bogotá

Costa Rica

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Grupo Ice[11] GSM 11.33 I.C.E.

Cuba

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 ETECSA GSM Not available yet Empresa de Telecommunicaciones de Cuba, SA

Dominican Republic

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange GSM 1.01 (December 2005) 2005) France Telecom

Ecuador

(as of October 2005)

The country had 5,538,014 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Porta GSM, TDMA 4.10 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 movistar GSM, CDMA, TDMA 1.86 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
3 Alegro PCS CDMA 0.20 TELECSA

El Salvador

(as of June 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Personal GSM 0.86 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 TIGO GSM 0.61 (June 2005) MIC
3 DIGICEL GSM Not available yet CTI Holdings
4 movistar GSM 0.54 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles

Falkland Islands

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable and Wireless[12] GSM Not available yet Cable and Wireless Plc

Grenada

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable & Wireless[13] GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless
2 Digicel GSM Not available yet Digicel

Guatemala

(as of September 2005)

The country had in September 2005 more than 3,950,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 PCS Digital GSM, CDMA 1.91 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 movistar GSM, CDMA 1.04 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
3 Comcel GSM, TDMA 0.82 (June 2005) MIC 55%

Guyana

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelStar GSM Not available yet Cel*Star Guyana Inc
2 Cellink Plus[14] GSM Not available yet Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Co

Haiti

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Comcel[15] GSM Not available yet Communication Cellulaire d'Haiti SA

Honduras

(as of June 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Tigo GSM 0.63 (June 2005) MIC 66.67%
2 ALO GSM 0.43 (December 2005) América Móvil
3 HONDUTEL GSM Not available yet Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones HONDUTEL

Mexico

(as of September 2005)

The country had in July 2005 43,132,700 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Telcel GSM, TDMA 35.91 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 movistar GSM 6.37 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
3 Iusacell CDMA 3 Grupo Salinas
4 Unefon CDMA Not available yet Moisés Saba and TV Azteca

Nicaragua

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 ENITEL GSM 0.75 (December 2005) América Móvil
2 TEM GSM 0.37 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles

Panama

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable & Wireless GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless
2 Movistar GSM, CDMA 0.85 (December 2005) TELEFONICA MOVILES

Paraguay

(as of January 2006)

The country had 1,600,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Telecel SA GSM, TDMA 0.6 Millicom
2 Personal (Núcleo SA) GSM, TDMA 0.6 Telecom Italia and Telecom Argentina
3 VOX GSM 0.3 KDDI Corporation
4 CTI Móvil GSM 0.17 (December 2005) América Móvil

Peru

(as of September 2005)

The country had 4,952,484 subscribers in total, or a 17.47% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 movistar CDMA, TDMA 3.46 (December 2005) Teltefónica Móviles
2 Claro GSM 1.95 (December 2005) América Móvil
3 NEXTEL iDEN 0.23 NII Holdings

Trinidad and Tobago

(as of April 2006)

The country has approximately 1,200,000 subscribers in total.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 bmobile TDMA, GSM not avalible yet TSTT
2 Digicel GSM not avalible yet Digicel


United States

(as of September 2005)

The country had in June 2005 194,479,364 subscribers in total, or a 69.22% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cingular HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, TDMA 55.80 (March 2006) AT&T
2 Verizon Wireless CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1x, CDMA 51.3 (December 2005) Verizon Communications (55%) and Vodafone (45%)
3 Sprint CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1x, CDMA (Sprint PCS), WiDEN, iDEN (Nextel) 49.6 (47.6 Sprint PCS, 2.0 Nextel) (December 2005) Sprint Nextel Corporation
4 T-Mobile UMA, EDGE, GPRS, GSM 21.7 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
5 Alltel CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1x, CDMA, AMPS 10.7 Alltel Corporation
6 TracFone GSM, CDMA, TDMA 6.14 (December 2005) América Móvil
7 U.S. Cellular CDMA2000 1x, CDMA, TDMA 5.30 Telephone and Data Systems
8 Virgin Mobile CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1x, CDMA 3.0 (February 2005) Virgin Mobile USA
9 Dobson Cellular/Cellular One GSM, TDMA 1.66 Dobson Communications Corporation
10 Cricket CDMA 1.62 Leap Wireless
11 MetroPCS CDMA 1.50 MetroPCS, Inc.

In North America, IS-2000 is commonly known as CDMA. IS-136 is known as TDMA. However, CDMA and TDMA are general terms that can refer to several different technologies.

Uruguay

(as of September 2005)

The country had in October 2005 930,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Ancel GSM 0.57 Antel
2 movistar GSM 0.42 (December 2005) Telefónica
3 CTI Movil GSM 0.17 (December 2005) América Móvil

Venezuela

(as of December 2005)

The country had 12.495.721 subscribers in total, or a 46,6% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers Ownership
National operators
movistar CDMA 5.4 Telefónica Móviles
Movilnet CDMA, TDMA 5.2 Cantv and Verizon
Regional operators
Digitel TIM GSM 1.7 Telecom Italia
Infonet GSM 0.12
Digicel GSM 0.11

Asia Pacific

Afghanistan

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Telsysint GSM Not available yet Afghan Wireless Communication Company
2 ROSHAN GSM Not available yet Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) 51.0%, Monaco Telecom International (MTI) 36.75%, MCT 12.25%

Armenia

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 ArmenTel GSM Not available yet ArmenTel
2 VivaCell[16] GSM Not available yet K Telecom CJSC

Australia

(as of June 2005)

The country had 18,094,000 subscribers in total, or a 88.7% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers Ownership
Telstra Mobile UMTS, GSM, CDMA 8.23 Telstra (~50% State-owned)
Optus Mobile UMTS, GSM, CDMA 6.09 (September 2005) Singapore Telecommunications
Vodafone UMTS, GSM 3,13 (December 2005) Vodafone
3 UMTS, CDMA 2.26 Hutchison Whampoa

Azerbaijan

(as of December 2005)

The country had in December 2005 2.0 milj. subscribers in total, or a 25% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 AzerCell GSM 1.74 (December 2005) Fintur1, Turkcell and State-owned 35.6%
2 BakCell GSM 0.27 (December 2005) GTIB
1 Catel CDMA About 5000 subscribers Caspian American Telecommunications, LLC

1. Fintur owners are TeliaSonera 58.55% and Turkcell 41.45%

Bangladesh

(as of June 2005)

The country had in December 2005 9,762,000 subscribers in total, or a 7.07% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
GrameenPhone GSM 5.54 (December 2005) Telenor and Grameen Bank
Aktel GSM 2.07 (September 2005) AK Khan & Company and Telekom Malaysia
Banglalink GSM 1.60 (February 2006) Orascom Telecom
Teletalk GSM 0.26 State-owned
CityCell CDMA 0.32 (September 2005) Singapore Telecommunications, Pacific Motors and Far East Telecom

Brunei

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 B-Mobile[17] UMTS, GSM Not available yet B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd
2 DTS GROUP[18] GSM Not available yet DataStream Technology

Cambodia

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Mobitel GSM 0.68 (June 2005) MIC 58.4%
2 Hello GSM GSM Not available yet Telekom Malaysia 51%, Samart Corporation Public Company Limited 49%
3 CAMSHIN GSM 0.25 (December 2005) Cambodia Shinawatra Co. Ltd
4 Casacom GSM 0.14 (September 2005) Telekom Malaysia

China, People's Republic of

(as of October 2005)

The country had 383,000,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
China Mobile GSM Not available yet State-owned
China Unicom GSM, CDMA Not available yet State-owned

See below for Hong Kong and Macau.

Cook Islands

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Telecom GSM Not available yet Telecom Cook Islands

Fiji

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Vodafone GSM 0.19 (December 2005) Vodafone 49%

French Polynesia

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 VINI[19] GSM Not available yet Tikiphone SA

Georgia

(as of December 2005)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Geocell GSM 0.72 (December 2005) Fintur1
2 MagtiGSM GSM Not available yet Telcell Wireless, ITC
2 Megafon2 GSM Not available yet Megafon

1. Fintur owners are TeliaSonera 58.55% and Turkcell 41.45%
2. Operating in Abkhasia

Guam

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Hafatel [20] GSM Not available yet GUAM WIRELESS TELEPHONE COMPANY, L.L.C
2 IT&E [21] GSM Not available yet IT&E Overseas, Inc
3 GTA [22] GSM Not available yet Pulse Mobile LLC
4 i CAN GSM Not available yet Wave Runner LLC

Hong Kong

The administrative region had in July 2005 8,428,531 subscribers in total, or a 121.40% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Ownership
CSL (1+1, 1O1O and One2Free) UMTS, GSM, TDMA Telstra
31 UMTS, GSM, CDMA Hutchison Whampoa
Smartone and eXtra UMTS, GSM Sun Hung Kai and BT
Sunday2 UMTS, GSM
Peoples GSM Chinese Resources Company3
New World Mobility GSM New World Development

1. Previously Orange Hong Kong, Xin Gan Xian, Everyday PCS.
2. July 2005: PCCW former owner of CSL has agreed in June to buy the 59.9% of shares held by the two biggest shareholders at HK$0.65 each share. The acquisition has received approval from Hong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority, and has progressed to a mandatory unconditional cash offer to buy the remaining stock at HK$0.65 per share. Total cost to PCCW will be approx HK$1.942bn, allowing its reentry into the wireless market and access to Sunday's 3G (UMTS) licence. 3. October 6 2005: It was announced Peoples will be acquired by China Mobile

India

(as of Janunary 2006)

The country had 130 Mn subscribers in total, or a 12% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Airtel GSM 16.33 (December 2005) Bharti Tele-Ventures, Singapore Telecommunications and Vodafone
BSNL GSM 12.51 State-owned
RIM GSM, CDMA 11.81 Reliance Industries Limited
Hutch GSM 10.16 Hutchison Whampoa
!DEA GSM 6.06 Birla (Tata Group)
Spice GSM 1.52 Spicecorp and DISTACOM
Fascel GSM 1.51 HFCL, Shinawatra, Bezeq and Kotak Mahindra
MTNL GSM 1.37 State-owned
BPL MOBILE GSM 3.61 Tata group
TATA MOBILE GSM 3.61 Tata group
Aircel GSM 2.4 Maxis Telecom

Indonesia

(as of June 2005)

The country had in December 2004 30,000,000 subscribers in total, or a 13.48% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Telkomsel GSM 23.48 (September 2005) State-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and Singapore Telecommunications
Indosat GSM, CDMA 12.90 Technologies Telemedia
Excelcomindo GSM 5.86 (September 2005) Telekom Malaysia
Mobile8 CDMA Mobile8 Telecom
Esia CDMA Bakrie Telecom
TelkomFlexi CDMA PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia
LippoTel GSM Maxis Telecom

Iran

(as of December 2004)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 6.2% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 KFZO GSM Not available yet Telecommunication Kish co.
2 Irantelecom GSM 7.2 (October 2005) Irantelecom
3 MTCE GSM Not available yet Mobile Telecommunications Company of Esfahan
4 Taliya GSM Not available yet Rafsanjan Industrial Complex (Coop)

Japan

(as of October 2005) (Mobile and Personal Handy-phone System included)

The country had 93,864,500 subscribers in total, or a 75% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
NTT DoCoMo PDC, FOMA, PHS 50.94 NTT (~50% State-owned)
au CDMA 20.94 KDDI
Vodafone Japan UMTS, PDC 15.11 (December 2005) Vodafone
Willcom PHS 3.50 Carlyle Group, Kyocera and KDDI
TU-KA PDC 3.44 KDDI
Astel PHS 0.05

Kazakhstan

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
K-Cell GSM 3.32 (December 2005) Fintur1 51%, Kazahtelekom 49%
Kar-Tel GSM 1.80 (17.11.2005) Cronwell Investment 50.01%, Vimpelcom 49,99%
Altel CDMA, GSM Not available yet

1. Fintur owners are TeliaSonera 58.55% and Turkcell 41.45%

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

(as of November 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 SUN NET GSM Not available yet Korea Posts and Telecommunications Corporation

Korea, Republic of

(as of November 2005)

The country had 38,218,000 subscribers in total, or a 78.90% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
SK Telecom UMTS, CDMA 19.48 SK Corporation
KTF UMTS, CDMA 12.33 KT
LG Telecom CDMA 6.42 LG Corporation and BT


Kyrgyzstan

(as of November 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 BiMoCom GSM Not available yet BiMoCom Ltd
2 BITEL GSM Not available yet Bitel Ltd

Laos

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Millicom Lao Co Ltd GSM 0.06 MIC 74.1 %
2 ETL MOBILE GSM Not available yet Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao (ETL)
3 LAOTEL GSM Not available yet Lao Asia Telecommunication State Enterprise (LAT)
4 Lao Telecommunications GSM Not available yet Lao Telecommunications

Macau

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Malaysia

(as of June 2005)

The country had 17,551,000 subscribers in total, or a 63.30% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Maxis Berhad UMTS, HSDPA, GSM, EDGE 7.90 Maxis Communications
Celcom UMTS, GSM 6.34 Telekom Malaysia
Digi GSM, EDGE 4.80 (December 2005) Telenor
TTdotcom UMTS Time dot com
Mi3G UMTS MiTV

Maldives

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 WMOBILE GSM 0.01 (September 2005) Wataniya Telecom
2 Touch GSM Not available yet Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun Private Ltd

Myanmar

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MPT GSM Not available yet Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications

New Zealand

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Vodafone UMTS, GSM 2,02 (December 2005) Vodafone
Telecom AMPS, TDMA, CDMA 1.52 public company
Mobile Virtual Network Operators
TelstraClear (using Vodafone) Telstra
Boost Mobile (using Telecom) Telecom

Pakistan

(as of March 2006)

The country had 27,344,939 mobile subscribers in March 2006, or a 16.8% penetration rate. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority updates subscriber figures on their website monthly.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Mobilink GSM 14.1 Orascom Telecom
Ufone GSM GSM, CDMA 6.23 State-owned
Warid Telecom GSM 3.02 Abu Dhabi Group
Telenor GSM 2.63 Telenor
Paktel GSM, TDMA, AMPS 1.00 MIC 89.9%
Instaphone TDMA, AMPS 0.39 MIC 61.3%

Philippines

(as of December 2004)

The country had in March 2005 34,800,000 subscribers in total, or a 41.10% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Smart Communications¹ GSM 14.59 Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
Globe Telecom² GSM 12.41 (September 2005) Ayala Corporation and
Singapore Telecommunications
Sun Cellular GSM 1.20 Digital Telecommunications Philippines
Next Mobile iDEN 0.03
Extelcom CDMA 0.01
Mobile Virtual Network Operators
Talk 'N Text (using Smart) GSM 4.61 Smart Communications
Addict Mobile (using Smart) GSM Smart Communications
Touch Mobile (using Globe) GSM Globe Telecom

1. UMTS service for Smart is in the trial launch stage.
2. UMTS service for Globe is in the testing stage and is planned for launch by at least 2007.

Singapore

(as of December 2005)

The country has currently 4,257,000 subscribers in total, or a 98% penetration rate.[23]

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
SingTel Mobile UMTS, GSM 1.62 [24] Singapore Telecommunications
StarHub Mobile UMTS, GSM 1.29 (Sept 2005)[25] StarHub
MobileOne UMTS, GSM 1.25 [26] MobileOne

Sri Lanka

(as of June 2005)

The country has currently ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 DIALOG GSM 1.93 (September 2005) Telekom Malaysia
2 Celltel GSM 0.54 (June 2005)MIC 99.9%
3 Hutchison GSM Not available yet Hutchison
4 Mobitel GSM Not available yet Mobitel (Pvt) Limited

Taiwan

(as of February 2006)

The country had 21,792,987 subscribers in total, or a 95.64% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Chunghwa Telecom UMTS, GSM 7.88
Taiwan Mobile UMTS, GSM 4.43
Far EasTone UMTS, GSM 3.93
KG Telecom GSM 2.07
FITEL PHS 1.10
TransAsia GSM 0.95
APBW CDMA 0.85
MobiTai GSM 0.44
VIBO UMTS 0.10

Thailand

(as of June 2005)

The country had in December 2004 28,000,000 subscribers in total, or a 44.12% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Advance Info Service (AIS) GSM 16.09 (September 2005) Shin Corporation and Singapore Telecommunications
DTAC GSM 8.68 (December 2005) Telenor
Orange GSM 1.3 True Corporation
Hutch CDMA 0.68 Hutchison Whampoa
Thai Mobile UMTS, GSM State-owned

Vietnam

The country had in December 2004 4,960,000 subscribers in total, or a 7.01% penetration rate. List of operators not available yet. To come soon

Europe

Albania

(as of September 2005)

The country had 1,500,000 subscribers in total, or a 48% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 A M C MOBIL GSM Not available yet Albanian Mobile Communications
2 vodafone GSM Not available yet vodafone

Andorra

(as of December 2005)

The country had 70,900 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MOBILAND GSM Not available yet Servei De Tele. DAndorra

Austria

(as of December 2005)

The country had 8,400,000 subscribers in total, or a 104% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 mobilkom UMTS, HSDPA, GSM 4.21 mobilkom austria
2 T-Mobile GSM 2.1 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
3 One UMTS, GSM 1.46 (December 2005) E.ON, Telenor
4 tele.ring GSM 1.00 T-Mobile
5 3 UMTS 0.27 Hutchison Whampoa
6 YESSS! GSM 0.18 One

Belarus

(as of October 2005)

The country had 3,743,000 mobile subscribers in total, or a 36% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTS GSM 2.13 (December 2005) RUP Mezhdugorodnaya Svyaz (51%), MTS (49%)
2 VELCOM GSM 1.71 SB Telecom (69.9%), Beltekhexport (30%), Beltelekom (0.1%)
3 DIALLOG NMT, CDMA 0.10 CIB B.V. (50%), RUP MGTS (29.7%), Infobank (17%)

Belgium

(as of December 2005)

The country had 9,000,000 subscribers in total, or an 87% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Proximus UMTS, GSM 4.21 Belgacom and Vodafone
2 Mobistar UMTS, GSM 2.91 (December 2005) France Télécom
3 Base GSM 1.85 KPN

Bosnia & Herzegovina

(as of December 2005)

The country had 1,700,000 subscribers in total, or a 41% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 BH Telecom GSM 0.9 BH Telecom
2 Eronet GSM 0.2 Eronet
3 Mobi's GSM 0.6 Telecom Srpske

Bulgaria

(as of December 2005)

The country had 5,700,000 subscribers in total, or a 77% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 M-Tel UMTS, HSDPA, GSM 3.2 Telekom Austria
2 GloBul GSM 2.2 OTE
3 Vivatel GSM Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC)

GloBul and Vivatel have acquired UMTS licenses and are currently setting up UMTS networks.

Croatia

(as of December 2005)

The country had 3,300,000 subscribers in total, or a 74% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 T-Mobile GSM 1.9 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
2 VIPnet GSM 1.33 Telekom Austria
3 Tele21 GSM 0.15 (Feb. 2006) Tele2

1 Company is planned for launch in Autumn 2005 for 2G operations and Spring 2006 for 3G operations as said in the Tele2 article. In GSM World, it's said that it will launch in January 2006.

Czech Republic

(as of December 2005)

The country had 11,100,000 subscribers in total, or a 111% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Eurotel1 UMTS, GSM 4.68[27] (December 2005) Telefónica
2 T-Mobile2 GSM 4.6 (December 2005) [28] Deutsche Telekom
3 Vodafone GSM 2,14 (December 2005) [29] Vodafone

1 To be rebranded O2 Czech Republic by mid-2006

2 UMTS service for T-Mobile CZ is currently being planned for launch on March 2006.

Cyprus

(as of September 2005)

The country had 869,900 subscribers in total, or a 109.5% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Areeba UMTS, GSM 0.02 Investcom
2 Cytamobile-Vodafone GSM Not available yet Cyprus Telecommunications Auth

Denmark

(as of December 2005)

The country had 5,208,059 subscribers in total, or a 96.20% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 TDC UMTS, GSM 2.35 (December 2005) TDC
2 Sonofon GSM 1.28 (December 2005) Telenor
3 Telia DK UMTS, GSM 1.15 (December 2005) TeliaSonera
4 debitel1 GSM 0.27
5 3 UMTS 0.12 Hutchison Whampoa
6 DLG Tele GSM 0.04

1 Virtual Mobile Network Operator, using TDC and Sonofon networks.

Estonia

(as of December 2005)

The country had 1,400,000 subscribers in total, or a 106% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 EMT UMTS, GSM 0.68 (December 2005) TeliaSonera(50,01%)
2 Radiolinja GSM 0.27 (December 2005) Elisa
3 Tele2 GSM Not available yet Tele2

Faroe Islands

(as of December 2005)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Føroya Tele[30] GSM Faroese Telecom
2 KALL[31] GSM Kall P/F

Finland

(as of December 2005)

The country had 5,400,000 subscribers in total, or a 105% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Sonera UMTS, GSM 2.51 (December 2005) TeliaSonera
2 Elisa (formerly Radiolinja) UMTS, GSM 1.48 (December 2005) Elisa
3 DNA Finland UMTS, GSM 0.81 (December 2005) Finnet
4 GSM Åland GSM Not available yet Mariehamns Telefon and Ålands Telefonandelslag
Mobile Virtual Network Operators
1 Saunalahti GSM 0.48 (December 2005) Elisa
2 Cubio GSM 0.08

France

(as of December 2005) (Metropolitan France only)

The country had 45,100,000 subscribers in total, or a 77% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange UMTS, GSM 22.43 (end 2005) France Télécom
2 SFR UMTS, GSM 16.6 (end 2005) Vivendi Universal and Vodafone
3 Bouygues Telecom UMTS, GSM 7.9 (end 2005) Bouygues group

Germany

(as of December 2005)

The country had 77,600,000 subscribers in total, or a 94% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 T-Mobile UMTS, GSM 29.5 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
2 Vodafone UMTS, GSM 29.17 (December 2005) Vodafone
3 E-Plus UMTS, GSM 10.12 KPN
4 O2 UMTS, GSM 8.95 Telefónica

Gibraltar

(as of December 2005)

The country had 21,600 subscribers in total, or an 89% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 GIBTEL GSM Not available yet Gibraltar Telecommunications Int. Ltd.

Greece

(as of December 2005)

The country had 12,500,000 subscribers in total, or a 117% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cosmote UMTS, GSM 4.51 (September 2005) OTE
2 Vodafone UMTS, GSM 4.43 (December 2005) Vodafone
3 TIM1 UMTS, GSM 2.26
4 Q-Telecom2 GSM 0.85 Info-Quest

1. Was Telestet until February 2004 but the name is still used coloquially.
2. The newest mobile telecom in Greece uses Vodafone's infrastructure until it builds its own network.

Greenland

(as of December 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 TELE Greenland GSM Not available yet TELE Greenland A/S


Guernsey

(as of December 2005)

The country had 54,700 subscribers in total, or a 2% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cable & Wireless[32] GSM Not available yet Cable & Wireless
2 WAve [33] UMTS, GSM Not available yet Wave Telecom

Hungary

(as of December 2005)

The country had 9,102,933 subscribers in total, or a 90.30% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 T-Mobile GSM 4.2 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
2 Pannon GSM GSM 2.93 (December 2005) Telenor
3 Vodafone GSM 2,04 (December 2005) Vodafone

Iceland

(as of December 2005)

The country had 273,600 subscribers in total, or a 99% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Viking wireless GSM Not available yet IMC Island ehf
2 Og Vodafone GSM Not available yet Og fjarskipti hf
3 Siminn GSM Not available yet Siminn hf

Ireland, Republic of

(as of December 2005)

The country had 4,100,000 subscribers in total, or a 104% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
Ownership
1 Vodafone UMTS GSM 48.6% Vodafone
2 O2 GSM 38% Telefónica
3 Meteor GSM 13.4% eircom
4 3 UMTS Negligible Hutchison Whampoa

Italy

(as of December 2005)

The country had 70,600,000 subscribers in total, or a 121% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 TIM UMTS, GSM 28.576 Telecom Italia
2 Vodafone UMTS, GSM 26.68 (December 2005) Vodafone, Verizon 23.1%
3 Wind GSM 7.7 Orascom Telecom
4 3 UMTS 6.005 Hutchison Whampoa

Jersey

(as of December 2005)

The country had 88,000 subscribers in total, or a 98% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 JT-Wave GSM Not available yet Jersey Telecom

Latvia

(as of December 2005)

The country had 1,800,000 subscribers in total, or a 79% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Latvijas Mobilais Telefons UMTS, GSM 0.87 (December 2005)[34] Lattelekom, Government of Latvia, TeliaSonera, Digital Latvian Radio and Television Centre
2 Tele2 GSM Not available yet Tele2
3 BITE Latvija UMTS, GSM Not available yet TDC
4 Triatel CDMA Not available yet Telekom Baltija

Liechtenstein

(as of December 2005)

The country had 31,700 subscribers in total, or an 87% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 mobilkom liechtenstein GSM Not available yet mobilkom austria
2 Orange GSM Not available yet France Telecom
3 swisscom-mobile GSM Not available yet Swisscom Mobile Ltd
4 Tele 2 GSM Not available yet Tele 2

Lithuania

(as of December 2005)

The country had 4,700,000 subscribers in total, and a 132% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Omnitel GSM 1.89 [35](December 2005) TeliaSonera
2 Bite GSM 1.70 [36] TDC
3 Tele2 GSM 1.00 [37] Tele2

Luxembourg

(as of December 2005)

The country had 759,300 subscribers in total, and a 164% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 EPT GSM Not available yet P & T Luxembourg
2 Tango UMTS, GSM Not available yet Tango SA
3 VOX UMTS, GSM Not available yet VOXmobile S.A.

Malta

(as of December 2005)

The country had 332,400 subscribers in total, and a 84% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 GO MOBILE GSM Not available yet Mobisle Communications Limited
2 Vodafone GSM Not available yet Vodafone

Isle of Man

(as of December 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Da vi do nabiq v guza
1 Manx [38] GSM Not available yet Manx Telecom

Moldova

(as of December 2005)

The country had 1,000,000 subscribers in total, or a 25% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 VoxTel GSM 0.66 (December 2005) France Telecom 60.1%, Moldovian Mobile Telephone 33.3% and Orange Romania 6.6%
2 Moldcell GSM 0.37 (December 2005) Fintur1
3 Interdnestrcom CDMA Not available yet Interdnestrcom

1. Fintur owners are TeliaSonera 58.55% and Turkcell 41.45%

Monaco

(as of December 2005)

The country had 16,100 subscribers in total, and a 21% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Monaco-telecom GSM Not available yet Monaco Telecom SAM

Netherlands

(as of December 2005)

The country had 16,660,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 KPN GSM 5.5 KPN
2 Vodafone GSM 3,98 (December 2005) Vodafone
3 Telfort GSM 2.4 KPN
4 T-Mobile GSM 2.3 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
5 Orange GSM 1.91 (December 2005) France Télécom

Norway

(as of December 2005)

The country had in December 2004 4,800,000 subscribers in total, or a 106% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Telenor 2.73 (December 2005) Telenor
2 NetCom 1.65 (December 2005) TeliaSonera

Poland

(as of December 2005)

The country had 29,250,000 subscribers in total, or a 75.7% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscri bers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Era UMTS, GSM, GPRS, EDGE 10.20 (2005 EOP) Elektrim and Deutsche Telekom
2 Orange UMTS, GSM, GPRS, EDGE 10.00 (February 2006) TPSA and France Télécom
3 Plus GSM UMTS, GSM, GPRS, EDGE 9.05 (December 2005) Vodafone, TDC, KGHM, PKN Orlen, PSE
4 Netia Mobile1 UMTS1 - Novator (70%) and Netia (30%)

Portugal

(as of December 2005)

The country had 11,600,000 subscribers in total, or a 111% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
TMN UMTS, GSM, GPRS 5.22 (September 2005) Portugal Telecom
Vodafone UMTS, GSM, GPRS 4,12 (December 2005) Vodafone
Optimus UMTS, GSM, GPRS 1.58 (December 2005) Sonae and France Télécom

Romania

(as of December 2005)

The country had 13,730,000 subscribers in total, or a 63.28% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange România GSM 7.00 (December 2005)[39] France Télécom
2 Connex-Vodafone UMTS, GSM 6.13[40] Vodafone
3 Zapp Mobile CDMA 0.3 Oger Telecom
4 Cosmote România GSM 0.3 OTE

Russian Federation

(as of December 2005)

The country had 123,600,000 subscribers in total, or an 85% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Mobile TeleSystems - MTS GSM 44.22 (December 2005) AFK Sistema
2 VimpelCom - Bee Line GSM GSM 40.40 (17.11 2005) Telenor and Alfa Group
3 MegaFon GSM 24.23 (March 2005) TeliaSonera 43.8%, Telecominvest and IPOC International Growth Fund
4 Uralsvyazinform GSM 3.46 (November 2005)
5 Tele2 GSM 2.83 (November 2005)
6 SMARTS GSM 2.69 (November 2005)
7 Sibirtelecom GSM 1.48
8 Nizhni Novgorod Telecom GSM 1.02 (November 2005)
9 Sotovaja Svjaz MOTIV (Jekatrinburg) GSM 0.81 (November 2005)
10 New Telephone Company GSM 0.48 (November 2005)

Serbia & Montenegro

(as of December 2005)

The country had 5,100,000 subscribers in total, or a 47% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
MOBTEL GSM
ProMonte GSM 0.31 (December 2005) Telenor
MONET GSM Telecom Montenegro
Mobilna Telefonija Srbija GSM Telecom Serbia

Slovenia

(as of December 2005)

The country had 2,000,000 subscribers in total, or a 104% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Mobitel UMTS, GSM 1.37 [41] Mobitel
2 SI.Mobil GSM 0.37 [42] Telekom Austria
3 VEGA GSM Alltel

Slovakia

(as of December 2005)

The country had 4,300,000 mobile phone subscribers, and a 82% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange GSM 2.52 (December 2005) [43] France Télécom
2 T-Mobile GSM 2.0 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom

Spain

(as of December 2005)

The country had 43,100,000 subscribers in total, or a 105% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 movistar UMTS, GSM 19.90 (December 2005) Telefónica Móviles
2 Vodafone UMTS, GSM 12,92 (end 2005) Vodafone
3 Amena1 UMTS, GSM 10.30 (end 2005) France Télécom

1. to be rebranded Orange Spain

Sweden

(as of December 2005)

The country had 10,000,000 subscribers in total, or a 112% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Telia UMTS, GSM 4.39 (December 2005)
Tele2Comviq UMTS, GSM 3.55 (December 2005)
Telenor UMTS, GSM 1.52
3 UMTS
Spring Mobil GSM

Switzerland

(as of December 2005)

The country had 6,700,000 subscribers in total, or a 92% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Swisscom Mobile UMTS, GSM 4.04 State-owned Swisscom and Vodafone
2 Sunrise GSM 1.27 (December 2005) TDC Group
3 Orange GSM 1.25 (December 2005) France Télécom
4 Tele2 GSM not available yet Tele2 Mobile Virtual Companies
5 Migros (using Swisscom Mobile) GSM not available yet Migros
6 Coop (using Orange) GSM not available yet Coop

Turkey

(as of December 2005)

The country had 42,700,000 subscribers in total, or a 58% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Turkcell GSM 28.74 (March 2006) TeliaSonera 37.09% Cukurova Group 27.05% and Alfa Group 13.22%
2 Telsim GSM 9.10 Purchased by Vodafone, sale to be confirmed in early 2006.
3 Avea GSM 7.00 Turkish Telecom (40%), Telecom Italia (40%) and Türkiye İş Bankası (20%)

Ukraine

(as of March 2006)

The country had over 32 million mobile subscribers in total, or a 67% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Kyivstar GSM 14.51 Telenor (56.52%), Alfa Group (43.48%)
2 Ukrainian Mobile Communications GSM, NMT 14.17 MTS (100%)
3 Astelit life:) GSM 2.88 Turkcell (54.2%), SCM Holdings (45.8%)
4 WellCom GSM 0.27 VimpelCom (100%)
5 DCC TDMA 0.07 Turkcell (54.2%), SCM Holdings (45.8%)
6 Golden Telecom GSM 0.05 Golden Telecom (GLDN)
- CDMA operators CDMA 0.116 ITC Ukraine, Velton, etc.

United Kingdom

(as of December 2005)

The country had 67,908,546 subscriptions in total, or a 113.4% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 T-Mobile UMTS, GSM 17.2 (December 2005) Deutsche Telekom
2 Vodafone UMTS, GSM 16.33 (December 2005) Vodafone
3 O2 UMTS, GSM 15.98 (December 2005) Telefónica 2
4 Orange UMTS, GSM 14.86 (December 2005) France Télécom
5 3 UMTS 3.59 1 Hutchison Whampoa

1 Estimate for December 2005.

2 O2 plc was taken over by Telefónica in January 2006.

There are also a number of Virtual Mobile Network Operators, including Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile, and easyMobile.

Middle East & Africa

Algeria

(as of September 2005)

The country had 11,067,000 subscribers in total, or a 33.95% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Djezzy GSM 6.16 Orascom Telecom
2 Mobilis GSM 3.73 State-owned Algérie Télécom
3 Nedjma GSM 1.17 Wataniya Telecom

Bahrain

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 90% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTC Vodafone UMTS, GSM 0.19 (September 2005) MTC 60%
2 BATELCO GSM Not available yet Bahrain Telecommunications Company

Benin

(as of December 2004)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 5.8% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 BBcom GSM Not available yet Bell Benin Communications
2 Benin telecoms GSM Not available yet Office des Postes et Telecommunications du Benin
3 Areeba GSM 0.17 Investcom 75%
4 TELECEL GSM Not available yet Telecel Benin Ltd

Botswana

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MASCOM GSM 0.45 (September 2005) Mascom Wireless (Pty) Limited , MTN 44%
2 Orange GSM 0.30 (December 2005) France Telecom 51.0%

Burkina Faso

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC 96%
2 TelMob GSM Not available yet Onatel
3 Telecel GSM Not available yet Telecel Faso SA

Burundi

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Safaris GSM Not available yet Africell PLC Company
2 ONATEL GSM Not available yet ONATEL
3 Spacetel GSM Not available yet Spacetel - Burundi
4 Telecel GSM Not available yet Telecel-Burundi Company

Cameroon

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange GSM 0.97 (December 2005) France Telecom
2 MTN GSM 1.13 (September 2005) MTN

Cape Verde

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CVMOVEL GSM Not available yet Cabo Verde Telecom

Central African Republic

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Centrafrique Telecom Plus GSM Not available yet Centrafrique Telecom Plus
2 TELECEL GSM Not available yet TELECEL CENTRAFRIQUE

Chad

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC
2 MILLICOM TCHAD GSM Not available yet MIC 87.5%

Comoros

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 comorestelecom HURI[44] GSM Not available yet Societe Nationale des Telecommunications (Comores Telecom)

Congo

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC
2 Libertis GSM Not available yet Libertis Telecom

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 3.9% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Vodacom GSM 1.24 (September 2005) Telkom
2 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC
3 SAIT Telecom GSM Not available yet SAIT Telecom SPRL
4 Supercell GSM Not available yet Supercell Sprl

Côte d'Ivoire

(as of September 2005)

The country had 1.9 million subscribers in total, or a 11% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange GSM 1.27 (December 2005) France Telecom
2 MTN GSM 0.93 (September 2005) MTN

Djibouti

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Evatis GSM Not available yet Djibouti Telecom SA

Egypt

(as of October 2005)

The country had 13,064,821 subscribers in total, or a 18.50% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MobiNil [45] GSM 6.96 (December 2005) Orascom Telecom
2 Vodafone Egypt [46] GSM 6.13 (December 2005) Vodafone

Equatorial Guinea

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 GETESA GSM Not available yet GETESA

Eritrea

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Eritel GSM Not available yet Eritrea Telecommunications Services Corporation

Ethiopia

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Ethionet GSM Not available yet Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation

Gabon

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC 84%
2 Libertis GSM Not available yet Libertis S.A. 84%

Gambia

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Africell GSM 0.08 Africell Gambia LTD
2 Gamtel GSM Not available yet Gambia Telecommunications Cellular Company Ltd

Ghana

(as of January 2006)

The country had 3,035,245 subscribers in total, or a 20,00% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership Operator Code
1 Areeba GSM 1.55 Investcom 97.7% 620-01
2 OneTouch [47] GSM, AMPS 1.01 State-owned Ghana Telecom 620-02
3 Mobitel [48] GSM, ETACS, AMPS 0.58 (As of Dec 2005) MIC 620-03

Guinea

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Sotelgui Guinea GSM 0.16 Telekom Malaysia
2 Spacetel GSM Not available yet Spacetel Guinee
3 Telecel GSM Not available yet Telecel Guinee SARL

Guinea-Bissau

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 2.7% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Guinetel GSM Not available yet Guinetel
2 Areeba GSM 0.01 Investcom

Iraq

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 10% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 IRAQNA GSM 1.42 (September 2005) Orascom Telecom
2 Asia Cell GSM 1.11 (September 2005) Wataniya Telecom
3 MTC Atheer GSM 0.93 (September 2005) MTC 30%
4 Korek GSM Not available yet Korek Telecom Ltd.
5 SanaTel GSM Not available yet SanaTel

Israel

(as of September 2005)

The country had 8,87 M subscribers in total, or a 120% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange [49] UMTS, GSM 2.48 (March 2005) Partner Communications Company Ltd
2 Pelephone GSM, CDMA 2.0 Israel Telecommunication Corporation Ltd
3 Cellcom UMTS, GSM 2.5 Cellcom Israel Ltd
4 MiRS iDEN .33 Motorola Israel Ltd.

Jordan

(as of January 2006)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
Fastlink GSM 2.0 MTC
MobileCom GSM 0.5 Jordan Telecom
XPress iDEN 0.1 Private shareholders
Umniah GSM 0.3 Private shareholders

Kenya

As of June 2005 the country had 4,611,970 subscribers in total [50], or a 13.63% penetration rate.[51]
Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership Operator Code
1 Safaricom [52] GSM 3.49 (December 2005) State-owned Telkom Kenya and Vodafone 639-02
2 Celtel [53] GSM 1.6 (December 2005) [54] MTC 60% 639-03

Kiribati

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 TSKL GSM Not available yet Telecom Services Kiribati Limited

Kuwait

(as of June 2005)

The country had 4,611,070 subscribers in total, or a 14,40% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership Operator Code
1 MTC Vodafone GSM 1.39 (September 2005) MTC
2 Wataniya [55] UMTS, HSDPA, GSM 0.93 (September 2005) Wataniya Telecom

Lebanon

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 25% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTCtouch GSM 0.50 (September 2005) MTC
2 Alfa GSM Not available yet Fal Dete Telecommunications1

1. Fal Dete Telecommunications owners are Detecon Int, GmbH 51%, FAL Holding Arabia Co. ltd 45%

Lesotho

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 11,2% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Vodacom GSM 0.17 (September 2005) Telkom
2 Econet Ezi-Cel GSM Not available yet Econet Ezi Cel Lesotho (Pty)

Liberia

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 3.1% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Lonesta GSM 0.08 Investcom
2 LIBERCELL GSM Not available yet Atlantic Wireless
3 Celcom GSM Not available yet Celcom Telecommunications
4 Comium GSM Not available yet Comium Services BVI

Madagascar

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Orange GSM 0.31 (December 2005) France Telecom 40,01%
2 Madacom GSM Not available yet Madacom SA

Malawi

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
2 TNL GSM 0.14 (September 2005) Malawi Telecommunications Limited, Telekom Malaysia
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC

Mali

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Ikatel GSM 0.58 (December 2005) France Telecom 42.3%
2 MALITEL GSM Not available yet Malitel SA

Mauritania

(as of June 2005

The country had in December 2004 622,565 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MATTEL [56] GSM Not available yet MATTEL
2 MAURITEL MOBILES[57] GSM MAURITEL MOBILES

Mauritius

(as of June 2005

The country had in December 2004 622,565 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Cellplus GSM 0.43 (December 2005) Mauritius Telecom group and France Télécom
2 Emtel GSM 0.18 MIC 50%

Morocco

(as of September 2005)

The country had 11,977,000 subscribers in total, or a 40.06% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 IAM (Itissalat al-Maghrib) [58] GSM 8.04 Maroc Télécom
2 Méditel [59] GSM 3.94 Telefónica Móviles and Portugal Telecom

Mozambique

(as of September 2005)

The country had 1,292,900 subscribers in total, or a 7.00% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 mCel GSM Not available yet Partially state-owned
2 Vodacom GSM 0.34 Telkom, Vodafone and VenFin

Niger

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC70%
2 Sonitel GSM Not available yet Sahel-Com
3 Telecel GSM Not available yet Telecel Niger

Nigeria

(as of June 2005)

The country had 13,316,597 subscribers in total, or a 10.56% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Operator Code Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
3 Glo Mobile [60] 621 50 GSM 5.0 Michael Adenuga
1 MTN Nigeria [61] 621 30 GSM 8.8 (February 2006--217.14.82.36 08:53, 22 March 2006 (UTC)--217.14.82.36 08:53, 22 March 2006 (UTC)) MTN
4 Mtel [62] 621 40 GSM 4.2 State-owned Nitel
2 Vmobile [63] 621 20 GSM 5.2 First Bank of Nigeria and AKIIPOC

Rwanda

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTN Rwandacell SARL GSM 0.26 (September 2005) MTN 40%

Saudi Arabia

(as of December 2004)

The country had 9,175,800 subscribers in total, or a 36.82% penetration rate.

Senegal

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Al Jawal GSM Not available yet State-owned Saudi Telecom
Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Sonatel(Alize) GSM 1.05 (December 2005) France Telecom 42,3%
2 SENTELgsm GSM 0.53 MIC 75%

Sierra Leone

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 CelTell GSM Not available yet MTC
2 Africell GSM Not available yet Lintel Limited
3 Millicom Sierra Leone Ltd GSM 0.03 MIC 70%

South Africa

(as of 31 December 2005)

The country had 27,444,000 subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Vodacom [64] UMTS, GSM 20.12 (December 2005) Telkom and Vodafone
2 MTN [65] UMTS, GSM 8.96 (September 2005) Mobile Telephone Networks
3 Cell C [66] GSM not available at time (2.71 last recorded) Oger Telecom

Sudan

(as of December 2004)

The country had 1,048,600 subscribers in total, or a 3.04% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Mobitel GSM Not available yet Sudatel, MSI Cellular Holdings, MTC 39%
2 Areeba GSM Not available yet Investcom 55%

Swaziland

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTN GSM 0.19 (September 2005) MTN 30%

Syria

(as of September 2005)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 11.4% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Syriatel GSM 1.40 SYRIATEL
2 Areeba GSM 0.87 Investcom 75%

Tanzania

(as of January 2006)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Vodacom GSM 1.61 ()September 2005) Telkom
2 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC 60%
3 MOBITEL GSM 0.36 MIC 84.4%
3 ZANTEL GSM Not available yet Zanzibar Telecom Ltd

Tunisia

(as of June 2005)

The country had in December 2004 3,575,700 subscribers in total, or a 37.59% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Tuntel GSM Not available yet State-owned Tunisie Télécom
2 Tunisiana GSM 1.99 (September 2005) Wataniya Telecom and Orascom Telecom

Uganda

(as of January 2006)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTN Uganda GSM 0.86 MTN
2 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC
3 UT Mobile GSM Not available yet Uganda Telecom Ltd

Yemen

(as of Desember 2004)

The country had ? subscribers in total, or a 5.6% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 Spacetel Yemen GSM 0.44 Investcom 45.3%
2 Sabafon GSM Not available yet Yemen Mobile Phone Company

Zambia

(as of January 2006)

The country had in September 2005 ? subscribers in total, or a ?% penetration rate.

Rank Operator Technology Subscribers
(in millions)
Ownership
1 MTN Zambia GSM 0.09 (September 2005) MTN
2 CelTel GSM Not available yet MTC 88%
3 ZAMTEL GSM Not available yet Zambia Telecommunications Company Ltd

Sources of information