Cellular Phone Customers Expected to Top 300 Million

Cellular phone use worldwide is expected to increase by nearly half this year, according to Baskerville Communications Corp. of Sherman Oaks. More than 300 million people worldwide will be customers by year’s end, a 46% increase over 1997 figures.

The ranks of cellular subscribers swelled by 22.3 million in the second quarter, compared with 15.2 million a year earlier, according to the independent research group. There were 22 million net additions in the first quarter of this year.

From 1996 into 1997, the cellular users list grew by 51%, with increases in the areas of prepaid services and sales in Asia and Western Europe. Subscribers in Western Europe accounted for 33.7% of worldwide second-quarter growth.

Excluding Japan, Asia accounted for 24.1% of net new subscribers, while Japan was responsible for 11.4%. North Americans made up 14.3% and Latin Americans 6.6%.