Category: 3G

Nearly 5% of employees in US companies report that they have already adopted 3G services and an additional 15% to 20% would be likely to do so reports In-Stat. Nearly 30% of employees surveyed indicated they would like to use a mobile email device. Current usage is under 15% among respondents. Among Wi-Fi users who pay for access, mean monthly spending for all business sizes is roughly $40 per month. About 10% of respondents who have monthly subscriptions to Wi-Fi also use pay-per-usage hotspots, causing unforeseen telecommunication expenses for their companies.

In Europe some 60 commercial 3G networks have already been rolled out. 3G technology is being used by 47 mln subscribers worldwide, and their number is rising fast. 3G penetration in Western Europe will grow to more than 60% by 2010, Deutsche Bank says. Italy and the UK will boast the highest 3G penetration rates in 2010, while Belgium and Greece will have the lowest. Germany and France will rank just below the Western European average.

As China enters a period of uncertainly from impending industry restructuring, the meteoric rise in India’s mobile subscribers will buoy the region’s growth at 11% CAGR over 2006-2010. Total mobile subscribers are forecast to reach 1.05 bln by 2010 for the aggregated 10 key markets of Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, the PRC, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, according to IDC. The mobile services market in APEJ enjoyed buoyant growth in 2005; with subscribers rising 19% to 628.5 mln and revenue amounting to $81.4 bln representing 18% jump over 2004. Mobile penetration is forecast to reach 37% by 2010, a big leap from 23% in 2005. The growing popularity of prepaid services across the region represents the leading factor driving mobile adoption, which continue to lower the entry barriers for nascent demand and to extend the addressable market to new segments. Supported by the launch of 3G networks in China by the time of the Beijing Summer Olympics, IDC forecasts 3G subscribers to account for 13.5% of the APEJ market by 2010.

Strategy Analytics’ on-going research into 3G subscriber tracking shows that more than 100 mln people around the globe are now using WCDMA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO 3G technology on their mobile phones. Strategy Analytics predicts reaching 106 mln 3G users by the end of Q2 2006, with the total number of 3G users worldwide hitting the magic 100 mln mark for this populist technology in early June 2006.

The number of 3G mobile phones in Finland doubled in the month after new laws took effect on April 1 allowing bundled sales of phones and subscriptions, mobile operator Elisa reported.

China will have 5.5 mln 3G subscribers within the first 12 months that these services are available, according to Norson Information Technology. That number will rise to 21.9 mln by the end of the second year and hitting 84.2 mln by the end of the third year.

The GSM Association said 79 of a total 105 WCDMA networks in 43 countries have been or will be upgraded to HSDPA, an increase of 60% in 5 months. Around 1.79 bln mobile phone users around the world are on a GSM network, or 78.4% of all mobile users. The total number of subscribers on all 3G networks totaled 55 mln by March 2006.

In the UK, one of the most competitive mobile markets in Europe, Forrester expects that 68% of all mobile subscribers will use 3G, and more than 50% will regularly use mobile Internet services by 2010.

By 2008, just 3% of European mobile users will still use a GSM-only phone, and this will shrink to a negligible 1% by the end of 2010, Forrester Research says.

In 2006, the number of 3G users in China could potentially reach 22.67 mln, Research and Markets reports. By 2008, this number is expected to reach 106.08 mln due to the completion of 3G network’s expansion for national coverage. Young people between 20 and 28 accounts for 55.5% of the total potential users. Users with college qualifications and below account for 78.4% and university graduates 21.6%. The average academic qualification is far higher than the nationwide average.

Nokia sees 3G phone sales doubling in 2006, compared to 2005.

Wireless handset component makers are scrambling to support some challenging market trends including the proliferation of 3G services, reports In-Stat. By mid-2005, the number of 3G subscribers (CDMA2000 1X EV-DO & WCDMA) exceeded 50 mln. The rollout of 3G services has created pressure for carriers to earn cellular data revenue, and has spawned a multitude of cellular devices of every shape and size, and with almost every feature possible.

According to Post & Telestyrelsen (PTS), 85% of Swedes are covered by 3G services, giving the country the best coverage in Europe ahead of the UK (approximately 75%) and Italy (60%), TeleGeography reports.

According to IDC, the Western European mobile phone market (consisting of traditional mobile phones and converged devices) maintained healthy double digit growth in Q3 2005 as shipments increased by 16% YTY and 5% QTQ to reach 39.5 mln units compared to 34 mln in Q3 2004. In Q3 2005, WCDMA handsets represented 12% of the total market compared to 7% in Q3 2004, in line with IDC’s forecast of WCDMA handset shipments in 2005 representing 13% of the total market.

According to Global Mobile Suppliers Association, in Q3 2005 100 mln new GSM customers signed up for service, taking the global total to 1.56 bln. GSM subscribers now account for 77.2% of all wireless users and made up over 90.8% of Q3 2005 additions. In North America GSM outsold all other technologies, gaining over 80% of net additions to take its market share to 34.5% (up from 28.7% at the end of 2004). The number of W-CDMA subscribers totalled 34.8 mln at the end of Q3 2005, an increase of 106% YTY.

Overall shipments of mobile phones in Sweden fell 5% in Q3 2005, according to IT Research. Total shipments amounted to 912,000 mobile phones, of which 212,000 were 3G phones. Shipments of 3G phones rose 52% YTY and represented 23% of all mobile phone sales in Q3 2005.

Northern Sky Research expects 1.2 bln 3G users by 2010. The researcher also predicted 500,000 users will have signed up for fixed officially-standardized WiMAX service by the end of 2006.

The number of mobile subscribers worldwide was expected to rise 20% to 1.91 bln at the end of 2005 and cross the 2-bln-mark in 2006, driven by China and India, where mobile phones are only now reaching vast swathes of their 1 bln+ population. By 2010, Informa says, the Asia-Pacific region would contribute almost half of the mobile subscribers globally as subscribers rise to 1.3 bln from 843 mln 2005. Informa forecast 2.7 bln mobile subscribers worldwide by 2010. 46.5% of these subscribers will continue to be on 2G networks, followed by 29.6% on 2.5G networks and 23.8% on 3G networks.

TechDirt points to a survey by Valista, where 25% of all mobile phone owners did not download content in the last month despite almost 50% owning 3G handsets, while 14% said they have never downloaded content.

The average price of a 3G phone will rise over the next few months from $212 to $215, Qualcomm says.

9% of Italian mobile customers are using 3G lines, ABI Research says.

Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) activity in Western Europe will significantly increase over the next few years, according to IDC. IDC believes that the MVNO subscriber base in Western Europe will grow from more than 13 mln in 2005, to more than 47 mln in 2009.

IDC anticipates that by 2009, over 30 million US wireless subscribers will be consuming commercial video/TV content and services over their wireless devices. The market value will top $3 bln by 2009. Until mid-2006, mobile video and TV content is likely to be delivered solely over existing 2.5G and 3G carrier unicast cellular networks. However, broadcast/multicast networks from Crown Castle Mobile Media and MediaFLO USA should emerge in the latter half of next year, which will change the competitive dynamics in the marketplace. While wireless video/TV over cellular-enabled devices is showing promise with early signs of growth, IDC finds that network services must be designed to better streamline the activation and on-going use of video/TV content and live TV. A hybrid delivery model that supports live TV and video content as well as on-demand clips is likely to be the most effective long term approach.

3G service launches and the subsequent increase in 3G handset development saw explosive year-on-year growth of almost 850% in Q4 2004, driving the proportion of WCDMA handsets to 6% in 2004 compared to 1% in 2003. IDC forecasts WCDMA handsets to increase to around 13% of total mobile phone shipments in 2005, particularly in light of service launches from T-Mobile and O2 in Q1 2005 and new 3G handsets such as Nokia 6680 and Sony Ericsson K600i.

Wireless broadband technologies such as WiMAX and FLASH-OFDM will replace 3G cellular data networks, according to a report by Datacomm Research and Rysavy Research.