The U.S. mobile market behaved differently from most of the rest of the world in the fourth quarter of 2008: most markets saw revenue declines; the United States did not..
Mobile end-user average revenue per user dropped between five percent and 15 percent globally in the fourth quarter of 2008, year-over-year, according to researchers at ABI Research. China, India, and a number of other Asian markets dropped more than 10 percent.
In Europe the ARPU contraction was in the range of five to eight percent.
But in North America, ARPU grew, on the strength of mobile data revenues. In South America, markets were more mixed with some markets deflating inline and others, like Brazil, managing to hold up ARPUs, says ABI Research.
To be sure, mobile data revenues are growing in virtually every market. Mobile data (messaging and mobile Internet) contributes 38 percent of Japanese ARPUs, and many European operators depend on mobile data for over 25 percent to 30 percent of their ARPU.
One can only speculate about why the U.S. market has behaved differently. Perhaps, despite the recession, consumers have more discretionary income. Perhaps pricing models are such that variable usage reductions are less attractive. Maybe there is something different about the demand curve for mobile Internet.
Whatever the reasons, the U.S. mobility business was somewhat atypical in the fourth quarter.
No comments:
Post a Comment