Where is your mobile phone?

It's almost certain to be within a metre of you right now, and it's more likely than not that you left it on while you slept last night. 

Those are just two nuggets of information I've come across while working at the College of Journalism on a project designed to raise journalists' awareness of the ever-growing importance of the mobile. 

Clearly, a high-end mobile is a key weapon in the armoury of the modern journalist, as it can act as a camera to capture still or moving images, a digital voice recorder, and a mobile computer for blogging and checking information on websites. Some journalists are even known to use it to call the newsroom to let people know how they're getting on with their report. 

But the popularity of the mobile phone worldwide also has profound implications for broadcasters, changing the way the public consume BBC output and interact with media more generally.

To call the mobile phone 'popular' is something of an understatement; 'ubiquitous' would be more accurate: 

- The mobile phone is the most widely owned piece of technology on the planet. Ever.

- Although the first commercially available mobile only appeared around 30 years ago, it has sold in greater quantities than anything comparable - more than radios, more than televisions, and many, many more than computers. 

- Figures from Wireless Intelligence - a subsidiary of the GSM Association which represents more than 700 mobile phone operators worldwide - showed that there are now 5 billion active mobile phone connections. (The population of the world is about 6.8 billion.)

- In late 2008 there were 'only' 4 billion - which meant that the next 18 months or so saw a growth rate of 33%. With similar growth predicted over the next 18 months, the planet is likely to see 6 billion active connections by early 2012. 

This isn't just a 'developed world' phenomenon. But there are impressive stats for countries like the UK too: 

- In the UK, the penetration rate is around 130% - the number of active mobile phone numbers exceeds the size of the population. 

- Estonia has 188%, the highest penetration rate in Europe; while the United Arab Emirates has the highest worldwide, at 230% (according to the International Telecommunications Union).

In Brazil the figure is 90%, India 60% and China 55%. The overall figure for Africa, the least affluent continent, is still 50%. 

Vast swathes of the planet which largely missed out on both landline phones and home computers have gone straight to the object that can do both: the mobile phone. Some countries are seeing innovations which have yet to take off in many developed countries. For example, in Kenya, where 80% of people don't have a traditional bank account, 10 million transfer money by mobile phone.

And the rapid growth in mobile phones is resulting in a fundamental shift in the way information is accessed via the internet. It has been predicted that, within three or four years, more people worldwide will go to the internet via a mobile browser on their phone than through their desktop computer (Source: Morgan Stanley).

The majority of the population will be able to find out what they need to know, wherever and whenever they need to - not just when they are behind a desk, at home or through their TV or radio. The increasing sophistication of mobiles also means that when they get that information they will be able to share it with friends and colleagues far more easily. 

All of this has distinct and important consequences for journalism, which I will cover in a subsequent blog post.