Worldwide Impact of Mobile Phones

Recent headlines have suggested that 6 out of 10 people worldwide have a mobile phone subscription, based on the findings of a UN report.

In September 2008 the International Telecommunications Union – part of the UN – announced that the number of subscriptions worldwide was set to pass 4 billion, up from 1 billion in 2002. However, the ITU report also stresses that the picture is a little more complex than these figures would suggest, with some mobile phone users having multiple subscriptions, and some subscribers in developing countries sharing their phones with a whole family or community. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the rise and rise of the mobile phone is taking place at a staggering pace, and looks set to continue.

The global spread of mobile telephony brings with it serious dangers for the health of our environment and both human and non-human populations. Many of the phones manufactured before the recent spate of environmental legislation contain heavy metals, BFRs, and other hazardous materials. These substances become highly toxic as discarded phones are incinerated or left to degrade in landfill sites.

However, the picture’s not entirely gloomy: the increase in mobile phone use also creates genuine benefits for people in the developing world. The ITU’s recent reports on mobile telephony in Africa and Asia, where the growth rate is highest, describe how mobile phones are changing peoples’ lives there. As well as facilitating communication in remote areas, the spread of mobile phone technology has led to innovations such as m-commerce, which enables rural farmers to access pricing information and pay for goods and services.

What matters now is ensuring that all mobile phone users worldwide are aware of the dangers of dumping unwanted and broken mobiles, and of the safer options for re-using or re-cycling them.