A connection is not the same thing as a person
Telecom counts measure active mobile connections, not unique human beings or necessarily unique handsets. The distinction matters because a connection is typically tied to a mobile subscription or SIM profile. One person can use several: a personal line and a work line, for example, or separate lines for different countries. Some phones can keep more than one SIM active, so even the handset count and connection count need not match.
Phones are only part of the count
A SIM can also connect a device that has no person using it like a phone. Tablets, mobile routers and equipment that sends data over cellular networks may each have their own connection. In newer devices, an eSIM—a digital SIM built into the device—can provide a mobile subscription without a removable card. The connection still counts even though there is no little plastic SIM to see.
“Active” does not mean every connection is being used at this exact moment. It means it meets the activity criteria used by the tracking system, which can vary. So the total is best read as a measure of mobile lines in service, not a head count of people carrying phones.
Why the distinction matters
For network operators, connections help describe how many lines and devices may need service; for society, population figures answer a different question. A single person with multiple lines can add several connections, while someone without mobile service adds none. That is how the global connection total can exceed the number of people without implying that everyone owns a phone—or that there are more phone users than humans.
