Global Mobile - Key Statistics and Trends at a Glance

Synopsis

Unlike the fixed market, the mobile market is, in general, competitive – with some good products and prices arriving in the market. This, in turn, has driven demand for mobile broadband. However it is important to realise that this growth has as much to do with affordability as it has to do with the technical innovations in and around smartphones.

The traditional mobile communications business models are rapidly becoming out-of-date and unless the mobile operators change their models others, such as the new competitors or the regulators, will start doing it for them. Most mobile operators were taken by surprise by the effect of the smartphone (in particular Apple’s enormous success with its iPhone). They have lost leadership in the mobile market and will now at least have to share their powerful position with others, such as Apple and Google (Android).

This report provides a valuable summary of the key trends and statistics for the global mobile sector, including mobile subscribers, top mobile carriers, prepaid market, FMC market and the key emerging markets of India and China. More detailed information on 3G and 4G developments can be found in separate reports.

Latest developments:

Developments in the USA, Australia and New Zealand are providing insights into the future direction of the mobile industry; there are now over 6 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide; the next phase of mobile technology and services rests upon the development of wireless broadband and in particular the 4G technology, Long-term evolution (LTE); in the interim however, mobile users continue to utilise the 2G, 3G and 3.5G (HSPA) services on offer.

Financial information in this report includes:

Top ten carriers worldwide by revenue; Global mobile CAPEX; Global mobile services revenue; Global mobile ARPU, Global mobile churn; Prepaid service revenue worldwide; Worldwide mobile roaming revenue.

1. Synopsis
2. Global mobile market overview
- 2.1 Fundamental changes to the industry
- 2.2 The spectrum crunch
- 2.3 Mobile infrastructure becomes a fibre feed-in
- 2.4 80% of mobile broadband is consumed via WiFi
- 2.5 Industry consolidation is a must
- 2.6 Mobile – the major battleground
- 2.7 Top global mobile carriers
- 2.8 Global mobile CAPEX and services revenue
- 2.9 Global mobile ARPU
- 2.10 Global mobile churn
  - 2.10.1 Examples of European carriers churn
- 2.11 Global mobile termination
- 2.12 Global mobile roaming
- 2.13 Prepaid mobile
  - 2.13.1 Prepaid in emerging markets
3. Spotlight on selected developing markets
- 3.1.1 China
- 3.1.2 India
- 4. Mobile market insights
- 4.2 Mobile consolidation - a threat to competition
  - 4.2.1 Market disruptions
  - 4.2.2 Operators have lost their all-powerful position
  - 4.2.3 Consolidation in order to regain lost power
  - 4.2.4 Struggling operators will also lead to reduced competition
  - 4.2.5 On the road to structural regulation?
  - 4.2.6 Regulators in a catch-22 situation
- 4.3 Number Portability
- 4.4 The declining SMS market
- 4.5 Near-Field Communication
- 4.6 Fem-to-cell
- 4.7 Spectrum issue – more to it than meets the eye
- 4.8 Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC)
5. Conclusion: mobile phones are a powerful tool
6. Related reports

Table 1 – Worldwide mobile statistics at a glance – 2012
Table 2 – Worldwide mobile subscriptions and annual change – 2000 - 2012
Table 3 – Mobile subscribers by region – 1993 - 2011
Table 4 – Worldwide 3G subscribers – 2004 - 2012
Table 5 – Top ten carriers worldwide by revenue – 2010; 2011
Table 6 – Top 3 telecom operators worldwide by revenue growth – 2007 - 2010
Table 7 – China - Mobile subscribers by operator and annual change – March 2011
Table 8 – India - GSM mobile operators, subscribers and market share – 2010
Table 9 – USA - Mobile major operator subscriber market share – 2008 - 2011
Table 10 – Worldwide MVNO subscribers –2010; 2013; 2015
Table 11 – Worldwide mobile CAPEX – 2008 - 2012
Table 12 – Worldwide mobile services revenue – 2008 - 2012
Table 13 – Worldwide average mobile monthly ARPU – 2005 - 2013
Table 14 – India - mobile ARPU by technology, prepaid/postpaid/blended – 2010
Table 15 – India - mobile ARPU (GSM and CDMA) – 2005 - 2010
Table 16 – Vodafone customer churn by key market (Europe) – 2004 - 2011
Table 17 – TeliaSonera annualised customer churn by key market (Europe) – 2007 - 2011
Table 18 – Telekom Deutschland annualised monthly customer churn by key market – 2009 - 2011
Table 19 – France Telecom customer churn by key market (Europe) – 2007 - 2011
Table 20 –Mobile termination rates by region – 2005; 2010
Table 21 – Worldwide mobile roaming revenue – 2000; 2008; 2012
Table 22 – Number of prepaid subscriptions worldwide – 2007 - 2012
Table 23 – Prepaid service revenue worldwide – 2005 - 2012
Table 24 – Brazil - mobile prepaid/postpaid ratio – 2002 - 2011
Table 25 – India - prepaid mobile subscribers: share of total market – 2003 - 2010
Table 26 – China - mobile subscribers and annual change – 1995 - 2012
Table 27 – Overview of India’s mobile market – 2009 - 2010
Table 28 – India - mobile subscribers, annual change and penetration – 2006 - 2012
Table 29 – India - mobile subscribers (GSM and CDMA) – 2002 - 2010
Table 30 – India - mobile penetration urban and rural – 2007; 2009 - 2010
Table 31 – India - mobile services revenue – 1996 - 2012

Chart 1 – Worldwide mobile subscribers 2000 - 2012
Chart 2 – Worldwide 3G subscribers - 2004 - 2012
Chart 3 – China mobile subscriber growth, population penetration – 2000 - 2012
Chart 4 – India - mobile subscribers and penetration – 2006 - 2012
Chart 5 – India - mobile subscribers by technology and mobile services revenue – 2002 - 2010