2009 Global - Key Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband Statistics

The growth of the telecoms industry has been truly remarkable and today we live in world where the number of mobile phones far outweighs the number of fixed lines. Millions of people around the world also enjoy high-speed Internet services with at least 30% of all Internet users now connected to fixed broadband. It is expected that the milestone of 500 million fixed broadband subscribers will be reached early in the next decade. On a regional level, Western Europe still has the largest share of broadband subscribers worldwide.

Millions of users worldwide now also connect to the Internet using mobile broadband services. As a result mobile data revenue is growing – albeit slowly. This slow growth will continue in the future until proper infrastructure based on 4G becomes available. In the interim, revenue from mobile data does provide the operators with one further revenue stream in a competitive market. The economic downturn will most likely dampen growth for the more luxury-based mobile services, but SMS is expected to continue its growth as it is popular, cheap, reliable and private.

In recent times traditional fixed-line operators have had an uphill battle; facing external pressures such as deregulation, a severe industry and economic downturn, declining prices and major inroads by mobile services. People continue to drift towards other forms of communication, such as email, online chat, and mobile text messaging instead of using the traditional phone. As a result, worldwide telecom revenue is suffering; however, many in the industry predict this will be relatively short-lived.

To combat the downturn, many telecoms operators are reining in costs and overall global telecoms capital expenditure (CAPEX) is in decline as operators delay or cut back on spending. The telecoms industry is also looking to outsourced and managed services to cut costs and many companies are considering infrastructure sharing arrangements.

The mobile market is also experiencing a backlash and by mid-2009 around half of all mobile operators around the world were reporting a downturn in revenue. While mobile ARPU levels differ widely between the regions of the world, on the whole all regions have experienced declines in ARPU over the past few years. ARPU from mobile voice services has been particularly affected by cuts to tariff rates and the trend towards voice-data substitution. As would be expected, markets with strong competition have also seen a considerable drop in mobile call charges.

Mobile handset manufacturers are also feeling the brunt as overall handset sales decline. On a brighter note however, there is evidence that sales of smart phones are growing and in 2009 smart phone sales will account for over 10% of the worldwide market.

Key highlights:

·         Fixed, mobile and broadband operators face enormous challenges in the wake of the financial crisis and in 2009 the value of the overall telecoms industry is expected to decline.

·         While DSL continues to be the most popular access technology around the world, this dominance will slowly be eroded by FttH in the years to come. As FttH penetration continues, consumers can look forward to even faster services and the emergence of environmentally sustainable smart cities, offering advanced e-health; e-education and e-government services.

·         Penetration of mobile phones had reached around 60% worldwide by mid-2009 (including multiple subscriptions).

·         Over 3 trillion text messages will be sent during 2009.

·         In 2009 Finland continued to offer the cheapest mobile call charges in Western Europe.

·         Consumers in the US use their mobile phones for longer per use than in other parts of the world, averaging over 800 minutes each month.

·         Mobile termination rates and roaming charges remain an important source of revenue for operators; however, pressure continues to mount on operators to lower their charges even further, despite some European operators already reporting a drop in overall revenue as a direct result of the declining rates.

·         Revenue from mobile data, including SMS, now contributes as much as 25% to overall global mobile revenue.

·         Many users are switching to cheaper prepaid phones which do not generate as much ARPU as postpaid. Prepaid plans are being touted as a way to save money in the economic downturn.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.