Teen Mobile Market

Recent research by MultiMedia Intelligence "The Maturing Wireless Teen Market: 12-17 US Teen Wireless Subscribers, Revenue, ARPU and Content," analyzes the US 12-17 year old teen wireless market in terms of subscribers, ARPU, and revenue.

The research found that US 12-17 teen cellular subscribers surpassed 16 million in 2007, up 12% from 2006.

Further, by 2012, the number of teen subscribers will reach 17 million, a delta of only 1 million subscribers from 2007. Wireless penetration rates for teens are reaching saturation, resulting in stagnating growth. Since the teen market is not a multiple handset demographic, subscriber growth is forced to slow.

In addition to growing subscribers, teen ARPU has been growing higher than that of the overall market. Teens simply use their phones to do more, from text messaging to purchasing premium content. However, pricing pressures and teen cellular saturation are bringing an end to the teen cellular gold rush.

Key findings:

Subscriber growth is seasonal, with Q3 and Q4 the stronger quarters.
Over half of teens are cellular subscribers by age 13.
On average, girls mature cellularly early than boys. Even at the higher age groups, teen female subscribers outnumber male subscribers. However, the gap among those in the 17 year old age group has narrowed greatly.
The Hispanic teen market has become significant, projected to approach 3 million subscribers by 2012.