Mobile Revenue Surpasses Landline in 2009

"Mobile service revenues will pass landline in 2009," says Arthur Gruen of Wilkofsky Gruen Associates, reporting on the latest Telecommunications Industry Association expectations for U.S. communications revenues. "It now is primary line erosion, as second lines erosion was finished some time ago."

That means there will be 150 million landlines in service by 2011, where there once were 286,000 in service in 2004.

About 82 percent of consumer voice subscriptions are sold as part of a bundle, up from 14 percent in 2005 and 40 percent in 2007.

Wireless growth slowed to single digits in 2007 for the first time, however. Still wireless revenue of $200 billion in 2011 will exceed wireline revenue by 26 percent.

About 84 percent of wireless service revenue growth comes from data and data will be 35 percent of total revenue in 2011, up from 16 percent in 2007 and six percent in 2005.

Overall wireless penetration will hit 90 percent in 2011, up from 79 percent in 2007.

In 2011, Gruen also predicts VoIP will represent 37 percent of landlines, serving 33 million subscribers.