Wireless communications spending in the US will continue to grow in 2002 reaching $116 billion according to the report 2002 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast from the US Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
This represents an increase of 8.5% in 2001 despite the economic slowdown. Consumer spending on wireless services is expected to increase by 20%, reaching $87.6 billion, in 2002. Subscribers grew from 177 million in 2001 to 200 million in 2002 and TIA forecasts that this growth will continue to drive wireless end-user spending as mobile phones become an indispensable business tool as well as an integral part of average family life.
TIA further forecasts that spending on wireless services will reach $130 billion in 2005, reflecting a 15.6% compound annual growth rate for the 2001-2005 period.
“The wireless market is moving into a new phase of development as business users and consumers look to their wireless devices for high-speed Internet access. Emerging broadband applications, starting with 2.5G, will provide the breakthrough to propel the market to the next level, making wireless as robust an option for vital data communications as it has been for voice,” said TIA president Matthew Flanigan.
