Mobile wireless providers are poised to benefit from growing demand and supply of mobile data services revenue, which will reach $500 billion worldwide by 2015, more than doubling from the $204 billion generated in 2010, according to Parks Associates. They’ll have to prove themselves both nimble and adaptable if they’re going to thrive in a more open, “hypercompetitive” market environment, driven by disruptive technological innovation and business models, however.
“Carriers must compete with their traditional peers as well as content owners, developers, and distributors, who can circumvent a carrier’s ecosystem to offer content or services through app stores or on the mobile Internet,” Harry Wang, Parks’ director of mobile research, was quoted as saying.
“The old walled garden is porous due to disruptive forces such as Apple’s integrated business model. To stay relevant and dominant, carriers must focus on making their networks the most attractive option for content delivery and distribution.”
Providing access to mobile data services–which includes messaging, Internet access, apps, entertainment services and machine-to-machine (M2M) telecommunications–will make up the vast bulk of mobile data services revenue over the next five years, with content services and enterprise/M2M generating supplemental revenue, according to Parks “Mobile Data: Analysis and Forecasts.”
Nearly 50% of US mobile phone users pay for mobile Internet access, and that percentage rises for smartphone users: 95% pay for SMS, 92% pay for Internet access, 83% pay for mobile email, 63% pay for mobile navigation and 43% pay for mobile video, according to Parks’ research.
