Worldwide Mobile Penetration will Reach 75%
by 2011
- 1.5 billion new consumers will adopt mobile services over the next four years
- 65% of the 1.5 billion will come from the Asia Pacific region, the majority of whom live in rural communities
- Most of the ‘next billion’ will come from low-income segments, but one market is different, the US will see 5 years of sustained high-value volume growth
As the world moves towards 50% mobile penetration in 2008 a new report published by Portio Research predicts 75% penetration by 2011.
The report, ‘The Next Billion: Strategies for driving growth and making profits in low-ARPU mobile markets’ puts the future growth of the mobile industry into sharp perspective. MONTHLY average revenue per user (ARPU) for US subscribers for example is likely to be equivalent to YEARLY ARPU in rural regions of markets such as India and Pakistan. Indeed the report goes on to say that each North American subscriber is worth 7 new subscribers in Asia.
Despite the obvious disparity in profits for mobile networks operators geographically, the report provides some unique insights into why the big players cannot afford to ignore any region. The Asia Pacific region offers massive growth in subscriber numbers, while North America and Europe offer the highest levels of ARPU. South America will see continued growth of basic services but with significantly higher returns per user than much of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Africa, so long considered a poor region for investment, offers great future potential as ‘the last billion’ when markets everywhere else are reaching saturation.
The next great phase of worldwide market growth is going to come from introducing mobile services to the mass market at the bottom of the wealth pyramid. The report highlights a number of successful initiatives in different regions where the mobile phone has become a major driver for the localised economy. Extending mobile services to rural areas helps businesses to get started, helps farmers to sell their produce and provides new ways for communities to communicate, delivering significant social and economic benefits to millions of people.
While the cost of handsets remains the largest inhibitor to mobile take-up even here industry initiatives are paving the way for ‘the next billion’. The Portio report looks in to the handset market in detail, explaining regional dynamics and the strategies required to win over the next four years.
The Next Billion: Strategies for driving growth and making profits in low-ARPU mobile markets
For reader enquiries, further information
or to purchase a copy of this report please send an
e-mail to: info@portioresearch.com
or phone: +44 (0)7909 957360
For editorial enquiries please contact: William
Allbrook Tel: 01666 826641, Fax:01666 822594, Email:
william@market-it.co.uk
Portio Research Ltd is an independent
UK-based research company, specialising in the mobile
and wireless sector. Portio is focused on providing
high quality, data-centric reports based on hard facts
and proven numbers, rather than hype and speculation.
www.portioresearch.com
Back to Portio Research News…
|
