Mobile penetration

Mobile penetration
Everyone is interested in numbers, and one of the key items monitored by the mobile industry is market penetration. It is a simple figure used for years, but what does it mean exactly? Nobody knows! Some countries are reporting the number of handsets in use to the population, some others the number of SIM cards used to the population. Who knows the number of multiple subscriptions, even in Europe? It is a blank line in most country reports. Penetration in Russia is given at 150%-160% ( they count SIM cards); what does it means, in a country very far from saturation? Penetration is given at 100% in Europe (they count handsets), but the market is still growing at a steady rate, proving that there are many potential subscribers, according to Informa. From a marketing point of view, how to segment the market if the tool, to measure it, is fuzzy, misunderstood, and can induce misleading decisions?