But that is what the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) has become. As GSM celebrates its 15th birthday today, more than 2 billion people – one third of the world’s population – own a GSM mobile phone. That amounts to twice the number of worldwide internet users, and 800 million more than the total number of subscribers that fixed-line telephony attracted in more than 125 years of availability.

Ericsson – which began working on a European mobile standard system in 1982, as part of the Groupe Spéciale Mobile (the original meaning of GSM) – built the network for German operator Mannesmann, on which the first commercial calls were made.

July 1, 1991 also marked the launch of Finnish operator Radiolinja’s GSM system, delivered by Ericsson’s Scandinavian neighbors Nokia.

Ericsson went on to become the acknowledged leader in GSM and played a major role in connecting the world through the global standard.

At the time of that first call, Ulf Ewaldsson, who now heads Product Area GSM within Ericsson, had just joined the company. 

“If you told people in the 1970s or 1980s that there would be a cheap mobile global communications system available that could instantly connect two people situated almost anywhere on the planet, they would think you were talking fiction, like something out of a James Bond movie,” he says.

Although GSM topped 1 million subscribers within two years, it was Ericsson’s leadership and endeavors in breaking into Asia (1994) and the US (1995) that extended GSM beyond a European standard. This proved the catalyst for the growth of GSM, which became the global system for mobile communication.

By the end of 1995, GSM passed the 10 million mark; by 1998, it was 100 million, while by 2001, more people worldwide owned GSM phones than personal computers. Just three years later, the 1 billion figure was reached.

Amazingly, GSM topped its second billion in mid-June this year. It is growing at a rate of 1.3 million new subscribers every day – the equivalent of the population of Sweden every week or the population of the US in less than eight months.

Marie Westrin, head of Ericsson’s Development Unit GSM, says: “GSM’s attraction to the ordinary person is that it provides a truly global communication standard with well priced terminals.

“Mobile communication will continue to replace fixed-line communication, but machine-to-machine communication will also grow rapidly – for example, in security systems or for emergency services. GSM will remain the biggest factor in both as it is very reliable and is trusted after these successful years of operations.”

Growth potential in the Asian, African, and Russian markets is the driving force behind Ericsson’s ‘next billion users’ push, which it expects to reach within three years.

Ewaldsson says: “These markets have traditionally low average revenue per user spending, which is why GSM has particular appeal in terms not only of voice, but of quality mobile internet through EDGE.”

Existing GSM technologies are capable of doubling internet use and will often be the only way to reach the wealth of information available on the internet, especially in emerging markets. By enabling such access, Ericsson is driving the move toward an all-communicating world.