United Kingdom - Mobile Market - Overview, Statistics & Forecasts

Synopsis

The UK has one of the largest mobile markets in Europe, both in revenue and in the number of subscribers. It is served by five major providers which have all launched 3G services, as well as by a growing number of low-cost MVNOs. The market is characterised by new developments in advanced data services such as mobile TV, the bundling of mobile as a quad-play service, and regulatory controls on charges and fees. Mobile penetration is above the EU average, yet subscriber growth remains strong as consumers adopt additional SIMs as well as business-oriented devices such as the BlackBerry, iPhone and G1. Fierce competition has forced operators to concentrate on packaging service bundles and on promotions, and explore applications such as mobile searching and advertising facilities. ARPU has been falling steadily for all operators, with growing mobile data use offsetting lower voice, interconnection and roaming tariffs. This report surveys the UK’s mobile market in 2010, providing an overview of mobile statistics, regulatory issues and technologies. It also profiles the major operators and MVNOs, and looks ahead to mobile developments in coming years.

1. Synopsis
2. Overview of the UK’s mobile market
- 2.1 Mobile statistics
- 2.2 Operator market shares
3. Regulatory issues
- 3.1 Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions
  - 3.1.1 Spectrum trading
  - 3.1.2 New uses of spectrum
  - 3.1.3 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
  - 3.1.4 4G licences
- 3.2 Roaming
  - 3.2.1 Data roaming
- 3.3 Number portability
- 3.4 Mobile termination rates (MTRs)
4. Mobile technologies
- 4.1 Digital
- 4.2 Third Generation (3G) mobile
- 4.3 Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC)
5. Major mobile operators
- 5.1 Hutchison 3
- 5.2 O2
  - 5.2.1 Network contracts
- 5.3 Vodafone
- 5.4 T-Mobile
  - 5.4.1 Merger with Orange
- 5.5 Orange
- 5.6 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
  - 5.6.1 Virgin Mobile
  - 5.6.2 Carphone Warehouse
  - 5.6.3 Other operators
6. Mobile voice services
- 6.1 Prepaid cards
- 6.2 ARPU statistics
7. Forecasts
- 7.1 Forecasts – mobile ARPU - 2007 - 2010; 2015
- 7.2 Notes on scenario forecasts
8. Related reports

Table 1 – Mobile and fixed-line voice traffic and total traffic in minutes – 2005 - 2009
Table 2 – Mobile call revenue by operator – 2002 - 2009
Table 3 – Mobile retail revenue by service – 2002 - 2008
Table 4 – Mobile revenue as proportion of total – 2002 - 2008
Table 5 – Average cost of mobile services by type – 2003 - 2008
Table 6 – Mobile handset sales – 2005 - 2009
Table 7 – Mobile operator and subscribers – 2009
Table 8 – Mobile subscribers and SIM penetration rate – 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2010
Table 9 – Percentages of mobile and fixed phones in homes – 2000 - 2009
Table 10 – Mobile subscribers by operator – 2000 - 2009
Table 11 – Mobile retail revenue by operator – 2000 - 2009
Table 12 – Mobile ARPU by sector – 2000 - 2008
Table 13 – Mobile share of outbound calls – 2002 - 2008
Table 14 – Average mobile charges by service – 2000 - 2007
Table 14 – Average retail revenue by subscribers, operator – 2008 - 2009
Table 15 – Mobile market share by operator – 2004 - 2009
Table 16 – Mobile operator share of revenue – Q2 2009
Table 17 – European roaming charges – 2009 - 2011
Table 18 – Mobile numbers ported – 2003 - 2005
Table 19 – MTRs by operator – 2009 - 2011
Table 20 – 3 UK and Ireland subscribers by sector and annual change – 2008 - 2009
Table 21 – 3 UK and Ireland revenue; annual change – 2008 - 2009
Table 22 – O2 financial data –2007 - 2009
Table 23 – O2 quarterly ARPU – blended, contract, prepaid and data – 2006 - 2009
Table 24 – O2 subscribers, prepaid and contract – 2005 - 2009
Table 25 – Vodafone ARPU – blended, contract and prepaid – 2005 - 2009
Table 26 – Vodafone mobile non-voice as % service revenue – 2005 - 2009
Table 27 – Vodafone 3G and live! subscribers – 2005 - 2009
Table 28 – Vodafone (UK) subscribers and proportion prepaid – 2001 - 2009
Table 29 – Vodafone (UK) financial data – 2008 - 2009
Table 30 – Vodafone Group revenue by sector – 2007 - 2009
Table 31 – Vodafone UK service revenue by sector – 2008 - 2009
Table 32 – T-Mobile financial data – 2005 - 2009
Table 33 – T-Mobile subscribers – 2005 - 2009
Table 34 – Orange subscribers, contract and prepaid – 2006 - 2009
Table 35 – Orange subscribers by type, 3G, MVNO – 2006 - 2009
Table 36 – Orange revenue – 2005 - 2009
Table 37 – Orange data revenue as proportion of total – 2007 - 2009
Table 38 – Orange annualised ARPU by category – 2006 - 2009
Table 39 – MNO and MVNO share of subscribers – 2004 - 2008
Table 40 – Virgin Mobile subscribers – 2005 - 2009
Table 41 – Virgin Mobile financial data – 2005 - 2009
Table 42 – Carphone Warehouse subscribers – 2007 - 2009
Table 43 – Carphone Warehouse mobile revenue – 2006 - 2009
Table 44 – Percentage of prepaid customers per operator – 2003 - 2008
Table 45 – Average cost per mobile minute – 2002 - 2009
Table 46 – Prepaid and contract subscribers – 2002 - 2009
Table 47 – Mobile retail ARPU by service – 2002 - 2008
Table 48 – ARPU by subscription type – 2002 - 2010
Table 49 – Forecast mobile ARPU - 2007 - 2010; 2015