Most of you are probably like me.
I have a busy life. I do a lot of driving, and I usually have my cell phone with me wherever I go!
In fact, yesterday, I left my office to attend a meeting, and I forgot my phone.
So, what do you think I did?
That’s right. I turned back around to pick up my cell phone.
It’s so important to my everyday business and personal life, that I might not be able to get along without it.
Back in the 80’s, the American Express card’s slogan was “Don’t leave home without it”. That was a great slogan. But, in the digital mobile age, it makes me think I have such a relationship with my smart phone, my slogan should be “I can’t leave home without it”.
What if I miss a call?
What if I can’t access my email?
What if there’s something on my calendar I won’t remember?
What if I need directions to my meeting?
What if I have an emergency?
All of the applications on our personal devices now are incorporated into the fabric of our daily lives. These devices are as important as clothing and transportation.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I won’t go out in public without getting dressed. I need transpo
rtation to attend business functions and run my personal errands. Those two things won’t change. I will always get dressed, and I will always have transportation….even if it’s a hovercraft! Dream on……
The mobile market has propelled to one of the largest in the world. Everyone depends on it. Almost everyone has a mobile device.
Just look at these statistics:
There are nearly 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, estimates The International Telecommunication Union (May 2014). This is equivalent to 95.5 percent of the world population.
That’s a billion extra mobile subscriptions in JUST 3 YEARS!
The number of mobile phone subscriptions is not the same as the number of mobile users. Ericsson (February 2014), estimates that there were 6.7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide at the beginning of 2014 (6 percent more than last year). But there are only around 4.5 billion mobile users – as many people have several subscriptions for different devices. Many people in China, India, and the U.S. especially, have more than one device, or more than one subscription.
There are 14 countries in the world with over 100 million mobile subscriptions, ranging from China with 1.2 billion to Mexico with 102.7 million. The newest additions to our 100 million club are Vietnam, Bangladesh, The Philippines and Mexico; several countries such as Iran and Egypt are knocking at the door.
The top 14 countries account for more than 61 percent of the world’s total mobile subscriptions.
29 percent of the world’s mobile users live in India and China. Subscriber numbers in either country dwarf the number of subscribers in third place USA.
Now, if I’m thinking about this from a business and investing perspective, I’m thinking “Wow! These cell phone carriers are making a fortune”! That is true, but if we dig a little deeper, there’s another industry that stands to do very well for a very long period of time as well.
This industry is the backbone of this mobile world just as power plants are the backbone of our electricity.
The tower companies.
Without them, we can kiss our mobile world goodbye. They may not have big names, and you might not here about them every day, but these are probably some of the most important companies in the world.
And, the beauty of this industry is this: the more mobile devices in use, the more cell phone towers the world needs. In addition, older technologies will need to be improved to new technologies as the digital world continues to expand.
Introducing….. American Tower (AMT). This company should be on your radar screen. Here’s a video about this company from Morningstar. In their minds, this company is both undervalued and will have an increased dividend return over the next five years.
We think this is definitely a stock you should consider.