The main markets for mobile communications are displaying a significant slow down in terms of revenues growth as they reach saturation levels, in particular within the area of mobile voice communications.

Therefore, stimulating usage and, consequently, increasing ARPU is now seen by the majority of operators as the most important way of achieving growing revenue streams. In order to reach this objective, mobile data services are a key element for future growth. Consequently mobile data services have to become a success story over the next years, something that already has been anticipated a couple of years ago, but those too optimistic predictions have not been fulfilled yet.

Questions to be answered

• Mobile data is not a recent issue, why are there still so many questions open?
• Carriers, especially in Europe, have made great efforts in deploying UMTS networks. What is the current level of UMTS users and what is the level of usage?
• The increasing need for getting work done on the go — interactively — has triggered carriers to come up with a range of services and applications in an attempt to cater for this new demand. Are these offers sensible and customer oriented?
• New technology theoretically paves the way for a plethora of services and products that can be marketed to the consumer. What are the possibilities offered by these new technologies and will consumers find these new offers compelling?
• In the light of product and service launches over new technologies, it will be necessary to know how the market will perform and what it will be attracted to. InfoCom analysts forecast user numbers, the revenue they will generate, ARPUs and other usage indicators.
• Finally, one of the major questions is how the spending basket of mobile users will evolve over the next years? How much are they ready to spend on various mobile data applications, and what may stimulate the usage?

Who should buy this report

Mobile operators, MVNOs, MNOs and other telecom operators:
InfoCom´s report can be used as a benchmark tool and reference document for strategic planning such as identifying the opportunities and best practices for the improvement and development of new services; in addition, the report allows the identification of potential threats and the evaluation of possible alternatives to achieve future targets.
Regulators:
Evaluation of the impact on the overall telecom market with the introduction of these new applications & technologies (operator competition, new players arriving, etc.).
Manufacturers and channel partners:
Market overview as regards the current user demand and other benchmark aspects with regard to the most successful technologies in operation, the development of promising applications, technical limitations, etc.
Investors and analysts:
To understand the impact of new mobile broadband technologies within the global market of ICT.