According to the ITU, the number of global mobile phone users hit 4.6 billion at the end of 2009, and it will reach 5 billion by the end of 2010 thanks to growth in mobile users in the developing market largely spurred by mobile health and mobile banking services. ITU announced its prediction at the Mobile World Congress event currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain.

“Even the simplest, low-end mobile phone can do so much to improve healthcare in the developing world,” ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré stated in a press release. “Good examples include sending reminder messages to patient’s phones when they have a medical appointment, or need a pre-natal check-up. Or using SMS messages to deliver instructions on when and how to take complex medication such as anti-retrovirals or vaccines. It’s such a simple thing to do, and yet it saves millions of dollars — and can help improve and even save the lives of millions of people.”

Vodafone announced a phone that it claims is the cheapest one in the global market: The Vodafone 150, which costs less than $15, according to the company. India, Turkey, Lesotho, Kenya, Ghana and five other countries in Africa will be the first to garner distribution for the Vodafone 150. The phone includes support for voice calls, test messages and built-in support for mobile payment services.

Ken Banks, founder of Frontline SMS, told the BBC that the Vodafone 150's sub-$15 price tag "lowers the bar, but not by a huge amount... depending on how you play exchange rates this isn't hugely different price wise" from other available in developing markets, he said. "The trick is to reduce the price and increase functionality, and few manufacturers have managed to crack this to any real extent," he told BBC News.

For more from the ITU, here's its release
For the pitch on Vodafone's cheap new phone, check out this video from the operator