Global mobile and voice data services will be worth more than $1 trillion by 2014, says international research house Gartner.
The use of mobile communications is expected to generate revenue from a wide range of additional services such as context, advertising, application and service sales. Gartner says each of these will be a significant business, worth several tens of billions of dollars per year.
Gartner says smartphones will dominate device sales for the near future in mature markets, and new device types, such as tablets and e-book readers, will emerge through 2012. However, market share will be dominated by smartphones and laptops.
In SA, the telecoms market is already worth more than R100 billion, based on the most recent full-year revenue figures from MTN, Vodacom and Telkom. Telkom recently entered the cellular market with the launch of 8ta.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says the country has a healthy voice market, and there is “massive” pick up of data. He says, relative to economic growth, SA has a “very healthy telecoms industry”.
“Data growth will lag developed countries, but will keep pace with the developing world,” says Goldstuck.
data is expected to outstrip voice in the long-term, he adds. “There is a massive appetite for data.”
Goldstuck notes that the country will see a strong uptake of tablets in the coming year, but in the short-term this growth area will not transform the market, as smartphones will continue to play a bigger role.
Although “every executive in town will have a tablet,” this will mostly be for show as smartphones offer better value, says Goldstuck.
Related story:
8ta unlikely to achieve targets
Share