WebProNews

Mobile Subscriptions To Reach 4.6 Billion

Global mobile subscriptions are on track to reach 4.6 billion by the end of the year, and mobile broadband subscriptions are set to surpass 600 million in 2009, according to a new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). More than a quarter of the world's population is online and using the Internet, as of 2009. Increasing numbers are opting for high-speed Internet access, with fixed broadband subscriber numbers more than tripling from 150 million in 2004 to a projected 500 million by the end of 2009.

Global Online Population To Hit 2 Billion

The number of people online globally is set to grow more than 45 percent to 2.2 billion users over the next five years, according to a new report from Forrester Research. Asia will account for 43 percent of the world's online population by 2013, with 17 percent residing in China. Growth rates in the U.S., Western Europe, and nations in Asia Pacific such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea will slow to between 1 percent and 3 percent.

Google SMS Launches

Google's Android represented a big step in the mobile market; it's meant to run on the newest devices and keep up with the best competing operating systems.  Yet $400 smartphones aren't really all that affordable, and so for people in Africa, Google SMS has been introduced.

Swahili Version Of Facebook Released

Facebook's reach in Africa may have been extended today.  A Swahili version of the social networking site was formally released, and there's word that alternatives in both Hausa and Zulu are liable to appear in the near future, as well. 

Happy Twestival Day

Today, February 12, marks the culmination of an awful lot of effort and energy by many people around the world, volunteers all, who have made Twestival.

(Red), Bono's Fundraising Program Starts Dec. 1st

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New Digital Music Service To Help Fight Aids In Africa

(RED), the nonprofit organisation co-founded by Bono, is starting a new digital music service (via NYT) in September that will contribute a share of profits to

Google Bulking Up In Africa

Google's not one of those corporations in which every person in a given room is likely to be the vice president of something or other.  So since the company is hiring a handful of execs in African offices, this appears to be a sign of an impending expansion throughout the continent.