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Third world countries have contributed most to the rise of mobile phone usage attributing to two thirds of all mobile subscribers. This is 'a positive trend that suggests that developing countries are catching up," the report said. Click here to find out more.
In Africa they account for nearly 90 percent of all telephone subscribers, the report said – a rate that exceeds fixed line phones.

"The continued growth in the mobile sector is matched by no-growth in the fixed-line sector. Fixed telephone penetration has been stagnating at just under 20 percent globally for the last years and growth has been below one percent between 2005 and 2007," it said.

While developing countries are leading the charge in the growth of mobile phone usage they lag behind when it comes to internet access.

The wealthiest nations accounts for 66 percent of all fixed broadband subscribers yet represent 16 percent of the world's population, developing countries have just one percent of fixed broadband users.
 
"For more people to benefit from the potential of broadband and the applications that it can deliver, governments need to do their share to ensure that high-speed technologies become more accessible as well as more affordable," the ITU urged.