Worldwide data revenues expected to grow 26.2% in 2009

Global revenue for wireless data services (excluding messaging) is projected to grow by 26.2 percent in 2009 to $87.7 billion according to a new forecast issued by research firm iSuppli, which anticipates that figure will grow to $188 billion by 2013. By comparison, iSuppli forecasts total global revenues for all wireless operator services will remain roughly flat at approximately $866 billion in 2009. The report contends that data revenue growth hinges on operators building strategies predicated on four key tentpoles: Monetizing broadband access, cooperating with the mobile value chain to develop and offer compelling apps and content, offering revenue-generating services that capitalize on consumer mobility, and leveraging mature billing capabilities and subscriber trust.

"Clearly, mobile data revenue is key to the continued health of wireless carriers and the cell phone value chain in the future," said iSuppli director and principal analyst Dr. Jagdish Rebello in a prepared statement. "In this battle, ownership of customers and who can monetize data services and applications are up for grabs." iSuppli cites Apple's controversial decision [1] to reject Google Voice and related applications as an illustration of the data revenue battles to come: "By introducing applications and services that allow customers to make calls and send text messages without paying the operators, wireless operators have no incentive to invest in network upgrades," Rebello said. "This is the reason why many carriers are pushing out the upgrades of their networks to 2010/2011, compared to 2009/2010 before. With billions of dollars in expected investments, the stakes are huge for the wireless carriers."

For more on the iSuppli forecast:
- read this release [2]

Related articles:
U.S. mobile data [3] service revenues jump to $10.6 billion in Q2
Mobile data [4] now 20% of worldwide operator revenues