Aust mobile nos to hit 17m by 2007; IDC - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Aust mobile nos to hit 17m by 2007; IDC

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
November 10, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Aust-mobile-nos-to-hit-17m-by-2007-IDC/0,130061791,120280759,00.htm

The number of Australian mobile phone users is expected to hit 17.2 million by 2007, up nearly 2.5 million from end-2003, according to analyst group International Data Corp. (IDC)

IDC's latest report on the mobile phone market in Australia, Look Ma, No Wires!: Australian Cellular Market Forecast and Analysis, 2003-2007 , predicts that 83 percent of the population (17.2 million) will own a mobile device within three years.

The report predicted the number of mobile phone users in Australia would reach 14.9 million - three quarters of the population - by the end of this year. Telstra's chief executive officer, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, has predicted 15 million users by the end of 2003, and a penetration rate greater than 100 percent within a few years.

IDC predicted mobile services to generate revenue of AU$8.4 billion in 2003, and grow at an average annual rate of almost 10 percent to reach AU$12.1 billion in 2007. The Allen Consulting Group has estimated the mobile phone industry added AU$5 billion to Australia's economy in 2002. IDC predict that the strong growth will be driven by non-voice services such as SMS and MMS, wireless IP data and content. Non-voice offerings are forecast to make up one-third total carrier revenue in 2007, compared to 13 percent currently.

Warren Chaisatien, IDC Senior Analyst for Mobile & Wireless Solutions research, expects the widespread introduction of 3G network infrastructure by 2005 to boost the revenue generated from non-voice applications. He added this would be likely to reverse the trend of a declining average revenue per user (ARPU).