Mobile broadband demand will push mobile service revenue to U.S $976 billion by 2016, according to the market research firm Infonetics Research. Telecom operators in Latin America are expected to take in close to $150 billion from mobile voice, broadband and messaging services or about 15% of the global total, Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research, told RCR Wireless News. Voice and SMS are still big drivers, but smartphones are also taking off.
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On a global basis, Infonetics forecasts that operators will see a 6% overall increase in revenue from mobile voice, mobile broadband and mobile messaging services in 2012. Téral noted that Latam’s carriers are expected to follow the global trend. “Voice is still growing. In fact, Africa, Latin America and China remain places where the voice and SMS business remain strong. We expect Latin American operators to see the strongest growth in mobile services in 2012, growing about 14% over 2011, albeit from the smallest base among the major world regions,” Téral said.
The highest growth in 2012 will come from the Asia Pacific region and Latin America, while the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) is expected to see a slight decline due to cutthroat competition and economic turmoil. The reports’ authors noted that “Demand for mobile services remains unabated, even in a saturated market like Brazil. In addition, there is an ongoing trend indicating a migration from pre-paid to post-paid or contract services (more than 80% of services are still pre-paid, but we’re starting to see a shift). And finally, mobile broadband services (smartphone) are taking off strongly.”
The survey also noted that already in North America and the Asia Pacific mobile operators derive more than 40% of their mobile revenue from mobile broadband and messaging. “But, while mobile broadband is no doubt the fastest growing revenue stream for operators, mobile messaging and voice aren’t dead just yet, not by a long shot,” Téral said.
