More cellphones are ringing in Norway than there are people to answer them, as subscriptions soar, officials figures showed on Monday.
And the Norwegians are not the only cellphone enthusiasts.
On the same day, Lithuania also reported that the number of cellphone subscribers surpassed the population of the Baltic country.
In Norway, which boasts one of the world’s highest mobile penetration rates, there were 4,7-million registered cellphone subscriptions in 2004, indicating that 102% of the country’s population has become portable, the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority said in its annual report.
The large number of cellphone subscriptions has taken its toll on fixed lines in the Scandinavian country, where more than one in six households, or 17% of the population, last year said they did not have a home phone.
By April 1 this year, 3,7-million people in Lithuania were cellphone subscribers, which was more than the national population of 3,4-million, the communications regulatory authority said.
Year-on-year, the number of cellphone subscribers grew by 48% in March, and by 7% from the beginning of 2005. — Sapa-AFP