2011 Global Mobile Broadband - Insights into Worldwide Progress

Consumers embrace mobile apps

Mobile broadband applications have been enthusiastically embraced by consumers around the world. Mobile phones now have the ability to provide services far beyond voice communication and what we are seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg. Developers have already released hundreds of thousands of mobile apps into the market and many of these are free. They encompass a wide range of sectors from entertainment to more useful apps such as those based on health, productivity or education.

Mobile social networking is a growth area and has become a popular way to check and update services like Facebook and Twitter. Mobile social networking companies are also hoping to capitalise on developing markets where mobile devices have the potential to be a much larger market than fixed internet services.

Location based technology is also being integrated into social networking and we are finally beginning to see applications for this technology become available to mass audiences. Services like FourSquare and Facebook Places have gained much attention and offer users the ability to ‘check-in’ and inform others of their current location. The future of mobile Location Based Services will continue to emerge as handsets with smarter capabilities, new apps and user interfaces continue to permeate the market.

Mobile gaming has also become a popular platform for game playing and smart phones are increasing growth in this sector as they offer a better platform for downloading and playing mobile games. Asia-Pacific is expected to be a key region for growth, with mobile gaming already popular in Japan.

Mobile devices are also becoming a popular tool for conducting m-commerce transactions with mobile banking, mobile auctions and mobile ticketing just some of the growth areas.

The popularity of mobile messaging services continues to grow on the back of the introduction of capped data changes, smart phones and bundled services. The one area of note in decline is the PSMS market, which is feeling the impact of users now enjoying the freedom of choosing their own content using smart phones. This development was foreshadowed by BuddeComm during most of the 2000s.

Many industry commentators have hoped during the past few years that mobile TV, representing a convergence between the mobile and broadcasting sectors, would lead to considerable changes in the way people used the technologies and services offered by both industries. However a number of barriers remain which prevent consumers taking to mobile TV services in sufficient numbers for ‘tipping points’ to be reached. These include a continuing lack of awareness of the mobile TV and video services on offer, and their cost.

Furthermore video based content is to a greater extent being included within various apps, and charging for video based services separately is thus becoming increasingly difficult.

Examples of key insights:

• In late 2010 eBay reported that an item is bought from a mobile every 15 seconds;
• Mobile cloud computing, where data storage and processing occur outside mobile devices, will show exponential growth during the next five years and will also have implications for mobile apps;
• New mobile broadband technologies based on 4G are finally becoming available and in 2011 there are at least 17 commercial LTE networks in service;
• While Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) currently hold the largest market share in terms of mobile bankers worldwide; it is expected that Asia will take the lead position within the next five years;
• African mobile operators make up to 19% of their revenues with mobile data services;
• The demand for mobile broadband in North America is exemplified by AT&T’s mobile data traffic growth, which exceeded eight thousand percent in the past four years. Over the next five years, AT&T expects its total data volumes to increase a further tenfold, from around 25 petabytes per month in 2011 to around 150 petabytes per month in 2015;
• The developed markets in the Asia region, such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, lead the rest of the region into the next generations of mobile applications;
• Brazil is by far the Latin American regional leader, with about 21 million people signed up for 3G services.

BuddeComm’s new report, Global Mobile Broadband – Insights into Worldwide Progress, gives the latest insights into the global mobile broadband sector. It explores key issues and opportunities and provides analyses, statistics, forecasts and trends. The report includes broad statistical information and insights into mobile apps, mobile social networking, m-gaming, location based services, messaging and mobile TV/Video.

It also provides insight into the m-commerce sector which has surpassed all growth expectations in the last couple of years. The report also includes a unique perspective into how the mobile broadband sector is unfolding differently around the world by incorporating regional overviews written by BuddeComm’s senior analysts. Please note: mobile communications is covered in detail in a separate BuddeComm annual publication.

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