The Latin American mobile market will see 100 percent penetration by the end of the first quarter of 2011 despite the fact that 30 percent of the region’s population will still be without mobile services, according to an Informa Telecoms & Media report.
      The report also found that Brazil, which passed the 100 percent penetration and 200 million subscriptions milestones by the end of 2010, is now the sixth-largest mobile market in the world, with 206 million subscriptions and the seventh largest by revenues.
     “While the industry should celebrate breaking the 100 percent penetration barrier for the region as a whole, it should continue expanding coverage and innovating to make mobile services more accessible for all those who are not currently mobile subscribers,” Informa Senior Analyst Daniele Tricarico said in the report. “Our research finds mobile penetration rates of 120 percent and higher in some urban areas where users have multiple subscriptions, but in rural areas, mobile penetration rates can fall to 60 percent or lower, partly due to a lack of network coverage.”