Global Mobile Handsets To Reach 810 Million By 2009
Worldwide mobile handset shipments are set to rise over the next four years, growing from 740 million by the end of 2005 to 810 million by 2009, according to market intelligence firm iSuppli.
A report published in February 2004 by digital analysts IDATE, was less optimistic than iSuppli about the future of wireless handsets, predicting sales would rise from 580 million in 2005 to only 626 million by the end of 2007.
The increasing penetration of wireless technology is predicted to affect the prominence of mobile advertising, with US analyst’s eMarketer forecasting two possible scenarios for the medium’s growth.
The first scenario assumes conservative growth in the market, predicting mobile advertising and marketing spend to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% between 2005 and 2009. In its aggressive scenario, however, eMarketer projects a CAGR of 31.7% over the same time period.
Mobile advertising has been predicted to rocket in popularity in 2005, with companies expected to be keen to join the buzz around mobile marketing and keen to join the new advertising channel, according to eMarketer (see Mobile Marketing Forecast To Rocket Over Next Two Years).
Recent data released by the Mobile Data Association revealed that mobile phone saturation in the UK has exceeded 100% with the number of mobile handsets currently in circulation greater that the UK’s population (see UK Mobile Phone Penetration Higher Than Population).
