Global mobile subscribers will almost triple from 2004 to 2012, according to Portio Research, from 1.7 billion to 4.9 billion. The Asia Pacific region represents the vast majority of mobile subscribers, with about 40 percent of the subscribers in 2004, and more than half estimated for 2012 - a surge in growth from 702 million to 2.6 billion subscriptions, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Northern and Western Europe represented the next largest segment of subscribers, expected to grow from 358 million in 2004 to 470 million in 2012, while North America represented 199 million in 2004 and is projected to reach 353 million in 2012.

Meanwhile, subscriptions in Central and Eastern Europe are expected to grow from 199 million in 2004 to 450 million in 2012, while Latin American subscribers will surge from 176 million to 470 million in the same time period.

While subscribers were comparatively small for Africa and the Middle East in 2004, the subscriptions are expected to skyrocket to 444 million in 2012 for Africa and to 162 million in the Middle East, largely leapfrogging Internet growth.

From 2007 to 2012, the region with the most mobile subscriber additions goes to the Asia Pacific region, with an expected more than 1.2 billion new subscribers. Africa and Latin America follow with 233 million and 154 million, respectively. In other regions, the additions are less than 80 million each, according to the report, World Digital Media Trends 2009, released by SFN and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.