Content

Bad Economy Means Less Mobile Spending

May 7, 2009

The average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile communications end users dropped between 5 and 15 percent for 2008 compared to 2007, according to a report from market research firm ABI Research. China, India, and a number of other Asian markets dropped more than 10 percent. In Europe the ARPU contraction was in the range of 5 to 8 percent. Mobile data contributes 38 percent of the Japanese ARPU. The study, "Mobile Subscriber ARPU, Voice, Messaging and Data Traffic Market Data," shows that one of the fastest growing revenue segments for mobile operators is mobile Internet, driven by access fees and data traffic. Internet-related revenues grew between 15 and 25 percent over the year. ABI Research expects absolute mobile Internet revenues to continue growing robustly in spite of the economic downturn in 2009. End-user voice traffic still grew between 2 and 10 percent depending on the market, but revenue/minute continues to decline. End-users are embracing mobile data applications such as messaging, web browsing and game downloads.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.