In many parts of the world, cell phone penetration is already over 100%. And still the market is growing.

According to the latest figures from Wireless Intelligence (WI), having passed 2.5 billion in September 2006, the number of cellular connections will reach three billion before the end of 2007.

Over 400 million additional connections will be made this year, for an annual market growth rate of 15%.

WI analysts expect that the majority of the growth will continue to come from the Asia-Pacific region, which is expected to add up to more than 1.2 billion connections and account for 40% of the world's cellular growth for the year.

The fastest rate of growth in the region will shift from China to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Overall, world market penetration will rise from an estimated 41% at the end of 2006 to 47% by the end of 2007.

WI analysts stress, though, that this does not mean that nearly half of the world's population will own cellular phones. The disconnect in the numbers is due to two things: the fact that SIMs are no longer used because of churn, and multiple device ownership.