Western Europe Mobile Sales Growth Hampered By Slow MMS Rollout
Sales of mobile phone handsets in western Europe will remain flat this year, after a 13% decline in 2001. Sales will then gradually rise to reach 148.2 million by 2007, according to new forecasts from Strategy Analytics.
Chris Ambrosio, director of Strategy Analytics’ Global Wireless Practice says: “With a slow rollout of EMS/MMS services, and carriers’ inability to subsidise entry-level products, both sales and replacement rates will remain flat in 2002.”
The percentage of sales which are replacement handsets is set to increase, from 73.4% this year to virtually all sales – at 97.2% – by 2007, according to the forecasts. The research also found that in Western Europe, the total number of subscribers with two or more mobile handsets will increase from 5% in 2001, to 12% by the end of 2007.
| Western Europe Handset Sales and Replacement Sales | |||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Handset Sales | 92 | 125.9 | 109.5 | 110.1 | 120.7 | 131.7 | 140.2 | 145.9 | 148.2 |
| Replacement % of Sales | 37.2% | 40.7% | 62.6% | 73.4% | 80.5% | 85.8% | 90.0% | 93.7% | 97.2% |
| Source: Strategy Analytics, June 2002 | |||||||||
