Non-voice services will account, on average, for 13.3% of total service revenues for US mobile operators in 2006 and this is set to grow to 24.5% by 2011, according to a new report from Analysys.
The
US Mobile Market: Trends and Forecasts 2006-11 report says that the biggest driver of this growth is entertainment services, although messaging is also a major contributor.
US mobile operators’ revenues from mobile entertainment services are expected to total $5.2 billion in 2006, growing to over $7 billion in 2007.
Alex Zadvorny, senior analyst and co-author of the report, said: “Mobile data services gained prominence significantly later in the USA than in other developed markets, such as Japan and Western Europe. However, they are catching up quickly.
“Unlike in Europe, entertainment services, and not person-to-person messaging, are the key revenue generators. We expect most entertainment services to be delivered over cellular networks, with broadcast TV ultimately making only an incremental contribution to the overall revenue.”
Telephia recently released research which revealed that 30% of US mobile video users watch mobile TV and video clips on their mobile phones between noon and 4pm, and 31% watch during the early evening hours of 4pm to 8pm (see US Mobile Video Viewed Most In Daytime).
Analysys also predicts continued rapid increases in most person-to-person messaging services for the next five years, with mobile email and instant messaging (IM) growing particularly fast.
Zadvorny added: “In revenue terms, text messaging will continue to be the most important messaging service but email and IM will catch up, particularly as operators continue to price bundles in a way that does not drive subscribers to choose one particular form of message over another.
“We estimate that, in 2006, text messaging will account for less than 50% of all revenues from person-to-person messaging.”
IDC’s report, Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, revealed that the worldwide mobile phone market is edging closer to one billion units shipped for 2006, with a total of 254.9 million units shipped in the third quarter of this year (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
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