Teen growth in mobile slowing

Wireless penetration rates for teens are reaching saturation and growth in the segment is stagnating, according to a new report from research firm MultiMedia Intelligence.
Subscribers between the ages of 12 and 17 exceed 16 million in the United States last year, up 12% from 2006, said the firm. But the segment is only expected to grow to 17 million by 2012, an increase of only 1 million over a five-year period.
The teen market has been the ‘golden child’ or carriers in the United States in the past couple of years because the segment was largely untapped until recently and because teens proved to generate higher ARPUs.
The report found more than half of teenagers are cellular subscribers by the age of 13, and more girls than boys own cell phones.