Global mobile content and service market to top USD 150 billion by 2011

Despite falling average revenues per user (ARPU) for mobile operators, the mobile content and services market will continue to grow dramatically as services and applications reach maturity and new services begin to gain traction, according to Informa Telecoms & Media.

The latest edition of Informa’s “Mobile Content and Services” report reveals that the introduction of a whole host of new players into the value chain presents new opportunities for growth in the mobile content and services market, whilst simultaneously posing a threat to mobile operators who face losing control of the billing relationship with their customers.

Mobile handset and network technology has now evolved to a point where true mobile web access is possible.

Informa anticipates that by 2011, just under half of all mobile subscribers worldwide will use mobile browsing, a trend it sees developing with new operator offerings such as T-Mobile’s ‘Web n Walk’ service and 3’s ‘X-Series’ services.

However, messaging is still headed by SMS. It will continue to dominate the overall revenues for the market, generating over half the total revenue in 2011 (from 67% in 2006).
The mobile entertainment space will also see significant innovation and development. Several technologies, such as mobile music, have been available for a number of years but the increased availability of high-speed data networks (such as 3G and HSDPA) is giving further appeal to these services.

Mobile music will be a major contributor to the revenues achieved in the mobile entertainment market in the next 5 years, although its overall share of the market will fall from 40% in 2006 to 36% in 2011 as new forms of entertainment such as mobile TV and video services begin to gain consumer interest. Games, gambling, personalisation and adult content will all see significant growth, as the overall mobile entertainment market grows from US$18.84 billion in 2006 to US$38.12 billion in 2011.

Source: Informa