For the first time in two years, the number of mobile subscribers in the UK declined in Q1. The figure dropped by a mere 119,000 to 70.67 million, according to a Cellular-news report. Sure, any decline is bad, but considering that the mobile subscriber penetration rate in the UK is around 116%, the growth potential has to slow down some time.

The number of folks in the UK with 3G phones topped 10 million in the quarter. As of the end of March, there were 10.83 million 3G subscribers, up from 7.1 million in the year-ago quarter, to account for more than 15% of all mobile phones.

We can't wait to see what kind of 3G numbers the UK reports for Q2, which will include about three weeks’ worth of iPhone 3G sales. The second quarter should also be quite a boon for O2, which is responsible for all those iPhone 3G activations.