Due to a grim economic outlook and substantial currency fluctuations, the telecom services market will generate US$1.4 trillion in 2009, posting only 1% year-on-year growth compared with the 10-11% annual growth rates that have characterized previous years, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com), the telecom research arm of Light Reading Communications Group (www.lightreading.com ). The global telecoms market is expected to recover in 2010 however, driven by a combination of factors such as the increased availability of multiplay bundles, versatile and competitively-priced devices, with emerging markets providing much-needed dynamism to the industry.
This new report entitled Global Telecom Services Revenue Forecast 2008-2013: Emerging Market Opportunities delivers a complete five-year forecast for global telecoms revenue by service, revealing that voice services will be hardest hit in 2009 while non-voice mobile applications and broadband Internet access are expected to remain robust. A contraction in the overall voice market of 3% in 2009 is projected compared with a 6% expansion in 2008, while the data market, both fixed and mobile, will reach US$411bn in 2009, up 12% from 2008 levels.
"Mobile data will be the primary engine of growth, seeing revenue increase by 15% to US$223bn notes Leslie Arathoon, Vice President of Research at Pyramid Research and co-author of the report. "The number of broadband accounts, including 3G mobile accounts, will more than double, going from the current 965m to more than 2bn by 2013. This will create an important target market for digital content, applications and advertising dollars."
This report also provides telecoms service revenue growth by region, indicating that emerging markets will remain dynamic throughout the forecast period. "Global mobile penetration now lies at 60%, a figure we forecast will climb to 84% by 2013, led by growth in India and China. These two markets will together add 829m mobile subscriptions from 2009 to 2013, 44% of the world’s total net additions during that period", adds Arathoon. "We also project that regional telecom service revenue in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East will see about 7% year-on-year growth, while the mature markets of North America and Western Europe are negatively affected by the deteriorated economic environment."
Global Telecom Services Revenue Forecast 2008-2013: Emerging Market Opportunities is part of Pyramid Research’s Global Market Perspective report series. Event-driven and packed with pointed analysis, Perspectives offer objective insight into trends revealed in Pyramid Research’s Forecast products, covering nearly 100 markets around the globe.
