A UN agency report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released Monday reveals an explosion in mobile phone use globally, much of which has been driven by growth in the developing world. According to the report, subscriptions now stand at 4.1bn worldwide (around 61% penetration) up from 1bn in 2002. By the end of 2007, 64% of subscriptions were from developing countries, and Africa continues to have the highest mobile growth.

That is not to say the digital divide is likely to be bridged anytime soon; the report adds that internet penetration remains low in the developing world – and especially in Africa, where less than 5% of the population are online. Yet it has to be encouraging for communications and media specialists operating in the context of developing countries, and offers the opportunity for creative thinking around how to use such a rapidly expanding platform for development.

One such organisation using mobiles to great effect, FrontlineSMS (allowing NGOs to conduct two-way communication on a large scale), this week also announced a major new development in their services; FrontlineForms, which aims to “give grassroots NGOs the opportunity to try out mobile data collection with the minimum of fuss the minimum need for high-level technical expertise or equipment, and the minimum of funding.”

SMS, as has been documented in the BBC World Service Trust’s latest policy briefing on information in emergency response, has also been successfully used in humanitarian and emergency response situations. As Megan Rowling reports for AlertNet, “Often SMS carries on working when voice and data traffic is jammed, and it tends to be one of the cheapest methods of communication.”