Everyone knows mobile phone operators spent up big to get 3G spectrum — £22 billion in the UK alone — and are now desperately trying to work out how to get money back on that investment…and they’d better, because unlike the excesses of the dot-com era which left a pretty solid worldwide internet infrastructure after everything went bust, failure to commercialize spectrum will leave nothing. This article is fairly pessimistic about the operaters ability to lure users to 3G in the near future, even as it points out that 3G users have a higher average revenue per user than voice users (almost 50% extra in Italy). It also says to take heart from the Asian example, but cites a Chinese research firm claiming China will have 23 million 3G users by next year — pretty unbelievable considering the government hasn’t even issued 3G licences yet.
Meanwhile, over in Asia IDC predicts “third generation (3G) mobile phone subscribers in the Asia Pacific region outside Japan are projected to soar to 142.6 million in 2009 from just 10.5 million in 2004…This represents a compounded annual growth rate of 68.5 percent”. The report goes on to say that “If implemented well, new revenue generating opportunities from 3G services abound for service providers.”
Related stories:
–18-34 Year Olds Lead The Charge For Richer Content
–The Issue Of 3G Content
–From 3G Streaming To Revenue Flow
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