The mobile voice market in 2008.
There is a great deal of discussion going on about mobile data, wireless broadband and mobile media, but the reality is that mobile voice and SMS still generate 90% of mobile revenues.
There are elements within these services, such as roaming and termination, that attract 100% margins. No wonder the operators are putting such effort into ensuring that this cash cow lasts for as long as possible.
While they pay lip service to developments such as wireless broadband and the iPhone, the reality is that, after a decade of hype around these activities, no more than 3%-5% is generated from these services. Lately there has been an increase in revenue from pure data access over 3G networks for email services, but voice largely remains the focus of all the real attention. As a matter of fact, the hype assists the operators to divert attention from the lucrative services, which have been attracting the notice of regulators around the world.
It clearly is in the interests of the operators to keep this development going for as long as possible. Change is inevitable and over a ten-year period we will see a full turnaround in the mobile market, from voice to data, just as we have seen over the fixed network. But this is not expected to happen any time soon.
Full-blown, end-to-end IP-based wireless broadband infrastructure will not be in place until 2012-2015. So the changeover, especially over the next few years, will remain rather slow, with an initial change starting perhaps later in 2009 when Optus has its nationwide 3G HSDPA network in place.
See also:
- Australia – Mobile Communications – Industry Trends & Analysis 2008
- Australia – Mobile Communications – Revenue Overview
- Australia – Mobile Communications – Subscriber Statistics
