People all over the world are getting their hands on cell phones, no matter how much money they earn. In MonteNegro, where the annual per capita income is 324 Euros, the cell phones now outnumber people.

The number of mobile phones in use in Montenegro far exceeds the number of citizens. Montenegro has a population of around 620,000 citizens — with an average monthly salary of 326 euros. According to the Telecommunication Ministry, the number of mobile phones in use in the country numbers around 700,000. With last month’s entrance of a new mobile provider in Montenegro, the number of mobile phone users in the country increased further.

M-tel, a joint venture between Telekom Srbija and Ogalar BV — a Dutch-based company controlled by Delta Holding — entered the newly independent country’s market at the beginning of July. The company said it sold 12,000 prepaid packages with SIM cards during its first official day of operation.

The reasons are the same there as they are in most emerging markets: the cell phone is considered to be a status symbol. Now, even children carry at least one cell phone in the nation. Pro Monte, which is owned by Norway Telenor, launched in 1996. T-mobile, owned by German Douche telecom, emerged in 2002, and is now the nation’s largest cell phone carrier, with 57.6% of the market share.

Tags: mobile, tech