DUBAI: The world has added more than a billion mobile phone subscribers in the last four years alone, with the total number reaching 3.2 billion, almost half the earth's population, organisers of an industry event here said.

More than a billion of these devices are smartphones, bringing the disruptive power of internet connectivity to both professional and social spheres - whether through the 10.5 million jobs supported directly by the mobile ecosystem, or through proliferation of apps that change the way we perceive and interact with the world.

The Saudi mobile phone market is the largest in the Middle East and boasts one of the highest mobile penetrations in the world, with 53 million subscriptions by 2013, and a mobile penetration rate of 181.6 per cent - almost 2 mobiles per user. Leaders in mobile business and decision makers across sectors will convene to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in mobility at the 3rd edition of ArabNet Riyadh, the largest digital gathering in Saudi Arabia, taking place from November 11-13.

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