The mobile downloads of navigation routes will reach 70 million in 2014, according to a research report by Berg Insight.
The report forecasts that usage will grow at annual growth rate of 27.9%, while a 22.4% growth in revenue from subscriptions and advertisements is also expected.
The availability GPS technology in smartphones and navigation applications on mobile devices is driving this growth, the report says.
Andr'e Malm, telecom analyst for Berg Insight, says: “The mobile industry is now starting to reap the benefits from the introduction of GPS-enabled handsets. However, most mobile navigation users only use the service during a free trial period. The key challenge will be to convert these test-users into paying subscribers.”
The results show that following the introduction of the first GPS-enabled handset in Europe in 2007, there has been an increase in the number of models available from mobile manufacturers. This has paved the way for widespread adoption of mobile navigation services in Europe.
The US market continued to grow to a level of 6 million active subscribers to mobile navigation services in 2008. The anticipated launch of GPS-enabled handsets by GSM operators AT&T and T-Mobile USA are expected to drive further growth in 2009, the report says.
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