European Mobile Industry Given Fresh Boost
The mobile market in Western Europe is reaching saturation point and opportunities for subscriber growth are therefore limited. However, a new study from The Yankee Group claims that operators are modifying their strategies to ensure higher revenues and foresees a revival in 2003.
Moreover, operators have begun to exploit new sources of income and average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to increase above $30 per month in the next five years. Total service revenues will rise to $131 billion by 2007, with the proportion attributable to voice falling to 69% from 90% last year. Data ARPU is expected to grow from $2.78 per month to $9.71 per month in the same period.
| Western European Mobile Service Revenue Forecasts | ||
| Year | Revenue ($ billion) | ARPU ($ per month) |
| 2001 | 88 | 28 |
| 2002 | 97 | 27 |
| 2003 | 105 | 28 |
| 2004 | 114 | 29 |
| 2005 | 121 | 30 |
| 2006 | 126 | 31 |
| 2007 | 131 | 32 |
| Source: The Yankee Group, November 2002 | ||
“The current malaise in the wireless industry and global economy at large has not seriously dampened our long-term outlook for the European cellular market,” said Fariud Yunus, Wireless/Mobile Europe senior analyst. “Mobile revenues will continue to grow, not spectacularly, but healthily, driven by key enabling technologies, stable voice revenues and growing demand for data services. We’ve said that 2003 will be the turning point. We’re more confident than ever.”
This latest research complements the findings of IDC which has calculated that worldwide spending on telecommunications services will exceed $1.2 trillion in 2006 (see Telecoms Industry To Rebound From Tough Times, Says IDC).