Mobile service providers are looking to increase the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of existing subscribers by convincing them to pay for mobile content services such as ringtones, game downloads and mobile television.
The mobile video service arena is predicted to be invested in substantially by service providers, with research company Frost & Sullivan forecasting mobile service revenues to increase to over $1.5 billion by 2009, up from just $28.8 million in 2004.
Carriers still have a way to go before mobile subscribers are on board with the more advanced features they offer. According to mobile measurement company, M:Metrics, while roughly one-third of respondents had used their phones to send or receive text messages, only a few engaged in more advanced functions like downloading ringtones, sending pictures or downloading games (see Multi Use Of Mobile Handsets).
A strategic report published last month, by Informa Telecoms and Media, predicts broadcast mobile television users to reach 124.8 million by 2010, with an inflection point predicted in 2009, as network rollout and device availability for the market reach a level of critical mass (see Broadcast Mobile TV Users Forecast To Hit 124.8 Million By 2010).
Informa estimates that, by 2010, there will be 18.11 million terrestrial DMB subscribers globally, compared with 15.02 million satellite DMB users.
Informa predicts that because of high saturation levels, the importance consumers place on television and the subsequent convergence of the broadcast and mobile industries, broadcast mobile television has undoubted potential, with interactive television and the extension of advertising at the forefront of that success.
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