An intriguing paper on the global adoption of mobile phones released by Harvard’s Program on Information Resources Policy.

Kalba, Kas
The Global Adoption and Diffusion of Mobile Phones
[112 pages; December 2008/Research Report]

This report assesses the drivers of mobile phone diffusion and adoption across the world. It addresses demand- and supply-side factors and provides an outlook on the diffusion process going forward, as mobile networks may accommodate 2 or 3 billion more users in addition to today’s 3–4 billion subscribers and users. While offering a general analysis, the report attempts to explain why mobile penetration has been higher in Western Europe than in the United States, in China than in India, and in Eastern Europe than in Latin America. Inputs to the report have included two cross-country databases (compiled by Merrill Lynch and ITU [International Telecommunications Union]), the author’s field studies of mobile adoption in more than twenty countries, and the comments of reviewers of earlier drafts.

The Acrobat PDF version can be downloaded or printed at: http://pirp.harvard.edu/pubs_pdf/kalba/kalba-p08-1.pdf