Raw Data
Organ Transplants
Despite the development of drugs that nearly always prevent the rejection of organ transplants, growth in the number of transplants has been slow. As of October 1994, the number of US patients waiting for donations is 36,000; the number of available donors is 4,000.
Cellular Phones Worldwide
Cellular phones have reached the masses, thanks to steady price cuts. While the US has the most cellular-phone users, Japan and Western Europe are experiencing rapid growth. Experts estimate that by the year 2000 there will be more than 80 million cellular phones in use across the globe.
Fiber-Optic Cable
Most of the fiber-optic cable in the US has been laid by the regional Bell operating companies. But the greatest growth is coming from the competitive access providers (who vie with RBOCs to provide telephone services to urban businesses) and the cable TV companies.
Growth of US Software Patents
The number of software patents has exploded with the progressive loosening of US patent restrictions. Programmers now face the daunting task of determining whether they are in violation of any of the 14,000 software patents in existence.
