Information Society indicators in the Member States of the EU
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2. Telephone lines 

2.2 Telephone lines : Breakdown per country

2.2.4 Mobile phone subscriptions

The average level of mobile penetration in the EU was 40% by the end of 1999.

We can distinguish three categories of countries (see graph 14):

• Nordic countries : Finland (66%), Sweden (57%), Denmark (53%) have the highest penetration rates (this is due to high levels of competition, specific geographic conditions that have made the mobile a "vital" necessity, etc.). They are followed by Italy (52%) and Austria (51%),
• A second group of countries includes United Kingdom (40%), Netherlands (43%), Portugal (47%) and Luxembourg (48%),
• A third group includes Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Greece and Spain with penetration rates between 28% and 38%.

Graph 14: Mobile phone lines subscriptions per 100 inh. in the EU End 1999

All countries have seen important growth. A lot of countries experienced strong catch up processes in 1999 : The Netherlands (where the arrival of 3 new mobile operators in 1999 boosted growth), Greece, France, Austria, Spain, Belgium and Portugal.

Even the most equipped countries continued to experience steady growth : Denmark (36%), Sweden (26%) and Finland (26%).

Graph 15: Mobile phone subscriptions average annual growth rate in the EU 1997-1999

The graph 16 shows the evolution of the number of mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants between 1997 and 1999.

Graph 16: Mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inh. in the EU – Evolution 1997-1999

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All data have been collected from readily available public sources of information (annual reports and publications by regulatory bodies, professional associations, operators, etc.). This is not a scientific document, but rather seeks to identify the key trends. To this end, where necessary, estimations have been made.

Additional data and information sources are available in the country reports that can be found on the ESIS Knowledge Base (http://www.ispo.cec.be/esis).

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