US Wireless Data Market Update: Q4 2009 and 2009 March 2, 2010
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US Wireless Data Market Update - Q4 2009 and 2009
http://www.chetansharma.com/usmarketupdate2009.htm
Executive Summary
The US wireless data market grew 5% Q/Q and 24% Y/Y to exceed $11.8B in mobile data service revenues and thus exceeded $10B for each of the four quarters in 2009. For the calendar year 2009, the overall mobile data revenues for the US market grew 29% ending at $44 billion for the year (1% shy of our $44.5 billion estimate). For the calendar year 2010, we expect a 20% increase in mobile data service revenues accounting for over $53 billion in service revenues.
Verizon Wireless edged past China Mobile to become the second biggest mobile data operator by revenues.
The US subscription penetration was approximately 92% at the end of 2009. If we take out the demographics of 5 yrs and younger, the mobile penetration is 99%.
The messaging volume increased 7% from last quarter catapulting US as the number one texting nation by messages/user/month going past the long-time leader Philippines.
For the first time in the history of the US wireless industry, the data traffic exceeded voice traffic for the full calendar year. With almost 400 terabytes of data traffic, it exceeded voice traffic by a significant margin. We expect that the ratio between the two traffic sources is going to double in 2010.
Apple continued its iTunes juggernaut and if measured by billing relationships (of course not all accounts are mobile) Apple is now the 10th largest mobile operator in the world.
Q4 2009 reported a 5.9% increase in GDP compared to the 3.5% increase in Q3 when the recession technically ended. While the overall economy is sputtering towards growth, wireless industry in the US remains vibrant as is evident by the increase in revenues and net-adds which jumped more than 5 million for the first time in 2 years.
What to expect in the coming months?
Christmas quarter generally yields best results of the year. Though the US mobile industry came out pretty unscathed from the recession, it will benefit from the improving economy. As such we expect the US mobile data service revenues to gain 20% to reach $53 billion in 2010. Mobile data will continue to be the engine of growth for the ecosystem providing at least 33% of the overall service revenues by the end of 2010.
The furious cycle of device releases is accelerating and one wonders if the longevity of each device is starting to shrink as even the hit devices like Droid and Nexus One are not allowed enough room to fully capitalize on their initial momentum. The app economy has been expanding as well. Part strategic, part hysteria, everyone is jumping into the pool to tap into the app river to pull in some revenues or use it more strategically to sell more devices, services, or advertising. (Stay tuned for more research on the subject in the coming days)
Microsoft is attempting a comeback with its 7 series devices though the delay in handset release as well as the lack of backward compatibility gives enough time for competitors to plan their moves. We are glad to see the industry going past the “PC like icons” for mobile phones (something we have advocating for more than 10 years, most recently in our paper “The Untapped Mobile Data Opportunity.” This will enhance user experience and help in extracting true value out of the mobile devices.
From the various announcements this year, we can expect an action packed 2010. However, it will be also an year of shakeouts with several key M&A transactions that will winnow down the competitive landscape in many segments.
Q1 2010 will also be important from the regulatory point of view with the national broadband plan being unveiled later this month. With the looming spectrum shortage, regulatory bodies can have a significant impact on the competitiveness of a nation. For example, in India, regulators haven’t been able to get their acts together for the past 3-4 years and its citizens continue to suffer from 2G. Similarly, many countries in South America have imposed unnecessary spectrum caps. The industry and regulators need to work hand-in-hand to make progress beyond speeches and paperwork.
To start planning for 4G, 5G, and beyond, US should think about rolling a 50 year broadband plan. While more spectrum is always helpful, will we have all the spectrum we need in 2050? or do we need to invent new technologies and business models that use spectrum more wisely? This topic will keep the industry occupied for some time to come. (Former FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin will be headlining our Mobile Breakfast Series event on March 10th to discuss the Spectrum Crises).
2010 will also be the year of network expansion with HSPA+, WiMAX, and LTE all coming into play in the US. As we had anticipated last year, the mobile data traffic kept on growing disproportional to the revenues. At the end of 2009, the US mobile data traffic was almost 400 petabytes, up 193% from 2008. To truly tackle the problem head-on, industry will need to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to manage their traffic more effectively. We discussed mobile data traffic in much more detail in our popular paper "Managing Growth and Profits in the Yottabyte Era." We will be issuing an update later this quarter so stay tuned.
It is also good to see the mobile industry expanding into vertical segments like Health and Retail. More discussion to come on these topics.
We will be keeping a very close eye on the micro- and macro-trends and reporting on the market on a regular basis in various private and public settings.
Against this backdrop, the analysis of the Q4 2009 and 2009 US wireless data market is:
Service Revenues (Slides 8, 17)
- The US Wireless data service revenues grew 5% Q/Q to $11.8B in Q409. Compared to Q408, the data service revenues grew 24%.
- Verizon and AT&T accounted for 88% of the increase in data revenues in Q4 2009.
- The US mobile data service revenues crossed $10B for all the four quarters and stays ahead of Japan and China by a distance.
- AT&T experienced the most growth with over 7% increase Q/Q followed by Verizon at 5%.
- Verizon’s data revenues exceeded $4B for the second straight quarter and is only inches behind the global leader of over 10 years NTT DoCoMo.
- AT&T and Verizon now account for 69% of the market data services revenues and 62% of the subscription base.
- The average industry percentage contribution of data to overall ARPU is now 29%. US market is likely to pass the 30% mark in Q1 2010.
- Verizon edged past China Mobile to become the second biggest mobile data operator by revenue behind NTT DoCoMo. The top four US carriers are now a permanent fixture in the top 10 global operators by mobile data service revenues occupying #2, #4, #6, and #8 spot respectively. Apart from NTT DoCoMo and China Mobile, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are the only two other operators generating more than $3B in quarterly mobile data service revenues.
ARPU (Slides 9-12)
- Overall ARPU decreased by $0.45. Average voice ARPU declined by $0.98 while the average data ARPU grew by $0.53 or 4%.
- Verizon led in (blended) data ARPU with $16.24 followed by AT&T and Sprint. In terms of % contribution, all the top three operators exceeded the 30% mark (Verizon became the first operator to do so last quarter). T-Mobile ended the year with 22.2% of its revenue coming from data services.
Subscribers (Slides 13-15)
- In Q409, in terms of net-adds, the US market reversed the trend of the last 8 quarters and increased net-adds by 85% Q/Q to add approximately 5.1M new subscriptions.
- The messaging volumes in the US market now average almost 592 messages/subscriber/month thus becoming the number one texting nation going past Philippines.
- In terms of net-adds, thanks to the boost from the iPhone, AT&T led for the third straight quarter with 2.7M net-adds, edging its friendly rival Verizon which added 2.1M net subscriptions.
- T-Mobile and Sprint improved their net-adds from last quarter though it was primarily from the prepaid segment.
Applications and Services
- Non-messaging services continue to grab 60-65% of the data revenues for the US carriers.
- There are probably 18-20 sub-segments within mobile data services and consolidation looms. While the valuations are still high for rapid consolidation, we think that due to recession pressure, the M&A scene is starting to heat up esp. in mobile advertising with the acquisitions of Admob and Quattro Wireless.
- The usage and data consumption trends are enabling carriers to accelerate their 3.5G/4G plans and develop long-term business and technical strategies.
Handsets
- Nokia sold 129M+ units in Q4 2009 including 21M smartphones. Samsung again had a solid quarter with over 69M devices sold maintaining its market share at 21%. LG Electronics at 10%, Sony Ericsson at 4%, and Motorola at 4% rounded up the top 5.
- The constant drumbeat of new devices continued with Droid, Nexus One, and the fabled iPad.
- The growth in smartphone usage is also putting pressure on the networks which are not able to handle the load during peak times in certain cities thus forcing carriers to look for alternate strategies to satisfy the demand for broadband.
Policy and Regulations
- Q4 was also notable for the FCC scrutiny of the wireless industry. In outlining the four key principles of a) looming crisis of spectrum shortage b) removal of red tape c) enforce net-neutrality and d) open Internet, things have already started to change in the US Wireless Industry. The US broadband plan is scheduled to be unveiled later this month and can set the tone of innovation and regulation in the coming years.
Open
- The appstores battle is intensifying with OEMs and carriers are announcing their plans and some of them are opening their wares to woo the developer community. The number of non-operator appstores jumped 375% in 2009. In the midst of the appstores hoopla, Apple announced the passing of the 3 Billion download mark with increasing number of developers participating the ecosystem.
Data Traffic (Slide 16)
· For the first time in the history of the US wireless industry, the data traffic exceeded voice traffic for the whole calendar year. With almost 400 terabytes of data traffic, it exceeded voice traffic by a significant margin. We expect that the ratio between the two traffic sources is going to double in 2010.
Misc.
- India continues to be the hottest market on the planet in terms of net-adds with (again) a world record-setting month in Jan 2010 with 19.9 million net adds. To give you a perspective, this is almost 1.5 times the number of subscribers US added in the whole year. It is like adding a Canadian wireless market every month. For the year 2009, India added 177 million subs vs. 106 million for China. Making money on the net-adds is a different proposition all together (more discussion on the international market in our global market update later this month)
- Willcom, the small Japanese carrier that started the flat-rate unlimited phenomenon filed for bankruptcy last month.
- Softbank of Japan looks set to be the first major operator (outside of Philippines) with more revenues coming from data services than voice.
We will be keeping a close eye on the trends in the wireless data sector in our blog, twitter feeds, future research reports, and articles. The next US Wireless Data Market update will be released in May 2010. The next Global Wireless Data Market update will be issued in March 2010.
Your feedback is always welcome.
Should you have any questions about navigating or understanding the economic and competitive icebergs, please feel free to drop us a line.
Thanks.
Chetan Sharma
Disclaimer: Some of the companies mentioned in this note are our clients.
New Whitepaper: Mobile VoIP – Approaching the Tipping Point February 17, 2010
Posted by chetan in : 3G, 4G, AORTA, ARPU, BRIC, Carnival of Mobilists, Carriers, Devices, Enterprise Mobility, European Wireless Market, India, Intellectual Property, Japan Wireless Market, M&A, MVNO, Mergers and Acquisitions, Microsoft Mobile, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Applications, Mobile Content, Mobile Ecosystem, Mobile Entertainment, Mobile Gaming, Mobile Search, Mobile TV, Mobile Traffic, Mobile Usability, Mobile Users, Mobile Wallet, Patent Strategy, Privacy, Smart Phones, Speech Recognition, US Wireless Market, Unified Messaging, VoIP, Wi-Fi, WiMax, Wireless Value Chain, Worldwide Wireless Market , 3 comments
http://www.chetansharma.com/mobilevoip.htm
Mobile VoIP - Approaching the Tipping Point
Sponsored by Skype
This paper is a collaboration with Ajit Jaokar (FutureText) in London
Over the course of the last decade, mobile devices have become the most ubiquitous consumer electronic devices ever invented. Even in the poorest of the nations, mobile phones have evolved from being a luxury to an indispensible necessity. The paradigm of communication itself has undergone a significant transformation from just voice to multimode interaction. The trend is also discernable in the revenue numbers from the advanced mobile markets where voice revenue per user have been declining over the course of the last decade while most of the growth is coming from mobile data services. Mobile data services have evolved significantly from simple text messaging to multimode communication involving text, VoIP (voice over IP), video, and other forms of messaging and social networking interactions.
As we head into the next decade, the competitive landscape is going to change from year to year and sometimes even quarter to quarter. For major service providers, competition is no longer just from an operator who provides voice and data services but any company that captures the communication value chain. It is no longer sufficient to rely on voice revenues but providers need to think communications in a much more holistic form. Once the transport layer becomes all-IP in a given network, voice is nothing but another application that will work and interact with other applications in tandem often in real-time. The fear of cannibalization are unwarranted as our research shows that by offering consumers comprehensive services, the lifetime value of customers can be increased, churn can be reduced, and the overall value proposition of the operator increases tremendously.
The forces of technology, business models, consumer expectations, regulatory regimes, competition, and collaboration will help define the communication landscape of the next ten years. This paper will take a look at the evolution of the Internet, mobile broadband, and mobile communication and how consumer behavior and expectations have changed. Next, the emergence and the role of VoIP is discussed in further detail before we delve into the intricacies of communication economics to dispel some myths and layout the framework for how operators should approach the new communications world.
Given the embrace by major tier-one operators, we believe that mobile VoIP is on the verge of becoming an integral part of the communications framework. This acceptance represents a tipping point in the evolution of mobile VoIP. The ecosystem participants who embrace and collaborate to provide a holistic and comprehensive communication solutions stand to benefit the most.
2010 Mobile Industry Predictions Survey January 3, 2010
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2010 Mobile Industry Predictions Survey
http://www.chetansharma.com/MobilePredictions2010.htm
Mobile Predictions Survey (pdf)
Mobile Predictions Survey (ppt)
First things first. From all of us at Chetan Sharma Consulting, we wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010. Thanks to all who participated in our 2010 Mobile Predictions Annual Survey. We have found it is the best way to think about the trends coming our way.
Before we dive into the survey results, let’s do a quick wrap-up of the year that was. Well, since we just completed one heck of a mobile decade, let’s do a quick jog down the memory lane.
The Last Decade: 2000-2009
Each new decade brings its own consumer and technology trends. During the 2000s mobile cemented its place in the global society fabric, the use of mobility became addictive and pervasive, to be without mobile seemed a curse and innovation blossomed and took user expectations to new heights.
From a pure statistical point of view, the global mobile subscription penetration grew from 12% in 2000 to approximately 68% in 2009 - phenomenal by any measure. The overall revenues grew over 400%, the data revenue grew 32,600% and the total subscriptions grew 563%. NTT DoCoMo paved the way with the i-mode launch in 1999 and they were the operator to emulate throughout the last decade, leading every single year in data revenues, in new application and service revenue sources, and in innovation and risk taking. They tried to export the success to other regions with little reward but DoCoMo clearly led the industry in taking mobile devices where they have never gone before.
China and India were late to the party but during the second half of the decade caught up with the western world and eventually surpassed all nations becoming number one and two nations by subscriptions respectively. In 2006, China Mobile became the most valuable operator passing Vodafone.
Mobile devices went significant transformation as well. From the early Bluetooth, camera, and music phones to the iPhones, the Storms, and the Androids, the industry was transformed by the introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007. While Bluetooth, sleek designs, camera phone defined the first half of the decade, the second half was all about the applications and the mobile web. While Nokia dominated the entire decade in terms of the sales and profits, having missed the touch revolution, it leaves the decade a bit battered and a bit behind playing catch-up to the newcomers who profoundly disturbed the status quo.
Razr carried Motorola through 2006 when its global share peaked but was left to reinvent itself during the second half. It seems to have redeemed itself with the successful launch of Droid and upcoming Android devices. While many in the industry predicted RIM’s demise, the company has only gotten stronger and is looking good for the 2010s. The emergence of Samsung and LG as strong players in the mobile ecosystem was also a big story of the decade with Samsung increasing its share by 380% and LG by 575% becoming the number 2 and 3 players respectively.
While Microsoft’s Windows Mobile had an early start and the enterprise market share, it lost its way through several missteps and is on dialysis as we enter the new decade. One shouldn’t count WM out though but there is a lot of work to be done before it can capture the imagination of the ecosystem which has been sequestered away by iPhone and Android.
While many new application areas were introduced during 2000s, none was able to displace SMS as the leading app category by usage and revenues. However, it’s relative share has started to come down especially in North America and Western Europe.
As data usage grew, so did the data traffic bringing many data networks to their knees. We expect the data traffic consumption to only accelerate. Many people are underestimating the growth rates (as they did previously) and the strain the increase in consumption will put on the unprepared networks. Projector phones will take media consumption to a new level. Data management is going to be big business in the 2010s.
Overall, the mobile industry became a trillion dollar industry in 2008 and the data revenues are increasing in almost all regions. Voice is being commoditized at fast pace and that has put the traditional economics and ecosystem wealth distribution in topsy-turvy.
The US market also experienced tremendous growth with mobile data service revenues climbing 21,327% and becoming a mainstay in the mobile economy. In 2008 it crossed Japan as the most valuable mobile data market. US was late in adopting SMS but caught fire once American Idol started using it and even played a good role in the 2008 Presidential election in showcasing the power of mobile. Verizon started the decade being the number one operator and after trading places with Cingular and ATT grabbed the title back in 2009 (after the Alltel acquisition) to become the most dominant carrier in North America. Many smaller players competed by being innovative with Cincinnati Bell launching the fist UMA device, Sprint the first mobile eReader, and TMO launched the hotspot business which has now become an essential component of an operator strategy going forward.
Mobile is also replacing landline at a much faster pace than expected and within the first half of the new decade, we will have majority of the users using mobile vs. landline. Just like the last decade, this one starts with a new standard deployment of LTE that will keep operators and vendors busy throughout the decade. However, a lot of the developing markets will still be deploying 3G during the first half of the decade.
Infrastructure providers suffered the most in the decade bookended by the two recessions. Consolidation of giants (Alcatel Lucent, Nokia Siemens), bankruptcies of the famous (Nortel), and uprising of the upstarts (Huawei) pretty much defined the decade for the segment. Ericsson and Huawei enter the new decade from a strong position and looking to dominate the global markets.
The last decade was also marked by some prominent IP battles such as RIM vs. NTP, Qualcomm vs. Broadcom, Sony Ericsson vs. Samsung, Upaid vs. Satyam etc. (disclaimer: we worked on some of these cases and testified as an expert)
Here is our “subjective” list of movers and shakers of the last decade
2000-2009
2010-2019
Operator of the Decade
NTT DoCoMo
DCM led the way in almost all new category of apps and services. Its data service revenue was highest in each of the last 10 years
DCM will continue to lead along with KDDI and SKT. However, it might be the carriers with tremendous scale who will have the calling cards in the new decade. Watch for China Mobile, Vodafone/Verizon, Telefonica, Orange, Bharti, Unicom, Singtel
OEM of the Decade
Nokia
Nokia dominated in sales and revenues in each of the 10 years and while the last couple of years took some shine off its glorious past, the company nevertheless came out ahead
RIM, Apple, Nokia, Samsung
Smartphone OEM of the Decade
Apple
Smartphones as we know them were introduced by RIM but Apple defined the category and the subsequent ecosystem
This space will be very competitive with Apple still the gold standard to beat
Infrastructure Provider of the Decade
Ericsson
Its prime rivals struggled to stay afloat while Ericsson grabbed most of the revenues from infrastructure contracts and is very well positioned for the next decade
Ericsson is joined by Huawei as the two top infrastructure provider with Huawei giving tough competition for LTE contracts. ZTE and other Chinese infrastructure providers will also replace some of the incumbents
Nation that led in mobile data
Japan
This is a no brainer. Japan led with Korea a close second. Finland, UK also impressed
US, China, and India are well positioned to make an impression but most likely during the second half. Japan will still be a major player
Device of the decade
iPhone followed by Razr
iPhone impressed with form and function while Razr with its global sales making it a top selling device of all times
The field might get more crowded as all OEMs focusing on the smartphone category. However, OEMs who also focus on the 90% of the market w/o smartphones might win the top prize
The year 2009
Apple continued to dominate the headlines for the third straight year - whether it was the launch of 3GS or the upcoming introduction of the fabled tablet. Google too kept the ecosystem active. It has executed on its mobile strategy with brilliant acumen though causing significant consternation amongst its partners who it needs to be successful. It has been often misunderstood by competitors, regulators, and partners. Often, they have focused on Google’s tactics vs. its strategy. Look for these two players to be very aggressive as they try to fight for the mantle and the mindshare.
While Nokia leads the OEM space by a good distance, its momentum in the smartphone space left a lot of question marks. Motorola made a credible comeback with Cliq and Droid. Samsung and LG continued to innovate and expanded on their share of shipments and revenues.
India outpaced China in net-adds and crossed 500M though it is still quite behind China’s 750M. The M&A and the consolidation process became active in Asia with several of the big regional operators looking to flex muscles in the international markets. After several delays, China started deploying 3G while India again fumbled and postponed its 3G auction.
US mobile data market continued its pace in 2009 with each of the four quarters exceeding $10B in data service revenues. The gap between the top two operators and the rest grew to be the biggest in the decade and the industry weathered the recession with ease. There was a clear shift towards prepaid especially for Sprint, T-Mobile, and the tier 2/3 operators.
2009 was also defined by significant activity on the application front. With Facebook eclipsing 100M subscribers and Appstore exceeding 2.5B downloads, sky is the limit.
The year also saw an unprecedented growth in mobile data consumption. As we had predicted, for some of the networks, the growth proved to be a double-edged sword. Many in the industry are banking on LTE to help relieve the pain but will be surprised that depending solely on the upgrade strategy will not be enough. Declaring spectrum as a looming crisis, FCC also started tinkering with the mobile industry and the broadband plan.
Japan exceeded 90% in 3G penetration while US subscriptions ventured into the 90% territory. Most of western Europe is way past 130%.
All in all, a terrific year considering that we went through one of the worst recessions in a generation. As we bid goodbye to the last decade, Nexus One and iTablet only serve to whet our appetite of what’s to come.
On a personal note, we started our consulting practice this last decade as we were coming out of the bubble recession and have been fortunate to work with some of the brightest brains and companies in the global ecosystem. We also had a chance to work on some key initiatives that impacted the ecosystem in profound ways. Many thanks to our clients, colleagues, friends, and readers. We will be involved with many new initiatives over the next decade and are looking forward to the conversations through the research notes, books, speeches, panels, whitepapers, blog posts, facebook and twitter feeds, and more.
Thanks and Happy New Year. May the upcoming decade leave you happier, healthier, and more successful than the previous one.
As we eluded to earlier, 2010 will be a pretty eventful year from several perspectives: business models, user experience and expectations, ecosystem posturing, disruption, and friction. How are things going to shape up? What will be hot and what will fade into oblivion? How will competition shape up the new sub-segments?
We put some of the questions to our colleagues in the industry. We were able to glean some valuable insights from their choices and comments. This survey is different from some of the others in the sense that it includes industry movers and shakers participation. Executives and insiders (n=150) from leading mobile companies across the value chain and around the world opined to help us see what 2010 might bring.
11 names were randomly drawn for 3 special prizes. The winners are:
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Claire Boonstra, Cofounder, Layar- INQMobile 3G Chat device
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Michael Libes, CTO, GroundTruth - Open Mobile Book
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Henri Moissinac, Head of Mobile, Facebook - Open Mobile Book
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Subba Rao, CEO, TataDoCoMo - Open Mobile Book
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Saumil Gandhi, Product Manager, Microsoft - Open Mobile Book
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Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Connected Planet - Open Mobile Book
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Mike Vanderwoude, VP & GM, Cincinnati Bell Wireless - 2010 Mobile Almanac
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Pinney Colton, VP, GfK - 2010 Mobile Almanac
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Tim Chang, Principal, Norwest Ventures - 2010 Mobile Almanac
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Laura Marriott, President - 2010 Mobile Almanac
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Asha Vellaikal, Director, Orange - 2010 Mobile Almanac
Thanks to INQMobile and my friend Ajit Jaokar for contributing the prize gifts.
Despite conventional wisdom, what will not happen in 2010?
There were many. Sampling - Verizon iPhone, Microsoft Phone, Sprint will not be bought, Femtocells won’t gain traction, RCS will not happen, Google will not enter handset market directly, iPhone won’t lose steam, Android won’t bring coherence, NFC won’t take off, WiMAX won’t disappear, Nokia won’t bounce back, Palm won’t die, “Year of Mobile” noise won’t subside, carriers won’t be delegated as dumb-pipes.
It is hard to cover the mobile industry in 20 questions. As pointed out by our panelists, there are a number of other issues and opportunities that will help shape our ecosystem - monetization of social networks, augmented reality, the fight for mobile advertising dollars, continued impact of globalization, security and privacy, NFC, IMS, VoIP, enterprise apps beyond email, battery improvements, new interaction modalities, health risks of RF radiation, Mobile 3.0, LTE, single purpose devices, 3G in India, Bada, app vs web, developer turmoil, featurephones, smart grids, M2M, Chrome, etc.
However, be rest assured, we will be tracking these and much more throughout the year and sharing them through various channels.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed. We will be calling on you again next year. We are clearly living in "interesting times" with never a dull moment in our dynamic industry. It has been a terrific year for us here at Chetan Sharma Consulting and we are looking forward to the next decade and seeing many of you along the way.
We hope you enjoyed gaining from the collective wisdom. Your feedback is always welcome.
Be well, Do Cool Work, Stay in touch.
Thanks.
With warm wishes,
Chetan Sharma
Disclaimer: Some of the companies mentioned in this note are our clients.
Now onto the 2010 Mobile Industry Predictions Survey Results
The panel comprised of movers and shakers from around the world
What will be the biggest stories of 2010?
Jan seems to be the Google Phone vs. Apple Tablet matchup. Our panel though voted for the continued growth in mobile data as the top story.
Have we recovered from the recession? (Please select one)
Majority thought we are out of it though some might still feel the pinch
Who will be the most open player in the mobile ecosystem in 2010? (Please select one)
Google has done a great job at maintaining its image as THE open leader
Will Android handset sales exceed iPhone’s in 2010? (Please select one)
Despite Androids coming in droves, iPhone will still be the king of the hill
When will we see tiered pricing plans for smartphones in the US from tier 1 operators? (Please select one)
There are indications that this might happen sooner rather than later
What will happen to the mobile prepaid subscriber base in the US? (Please select one)
Prepaid made a strong comeback in 2009 and a good majority thought that the trend is likely to continue
By how much will the mobile advertising ad-spend increase in 2010? (Please select one)
Mobile Advertising was the only advertising segment with positive growth last year so it is no surprise that folks expect it to more than double this year
What will be the impact of the FCC’s national broadband plan on the mobile industry in 2010? (Please select one)
Not much is expected from the various rulings that might come this year with most expecting the courts to have the final word.
Who will be the mobile comeback story of 2010?
Having bet its future on Android, Motorola was voted as the comeback kid of 2010
What will be the impact of Google Phone?
It’s pretty clear, Google and Apple are duking it out for the developer mindshare. Google wins in either case.
Which areas will feel the most impact from FCC?
Net neutrality is the area where they will have the most impact
Which solutions will gain the most traction for managing mobile data broadband consumption?
While only a holistic approach can provide complete relief, tiered mobile data pricing might have the most impact
When will the carrier-branded appstores lose steam? (Please select one)
Most expect carrier-branded appstores to be a thing of the past in 2010
What will help mobile cloud computing gain traction in 2010?
Mobile cloud computing is gaining steam and the reason is storage and media
What will be the most successful non-mobile-phone category in 2010? (Please select one)
Netbooks seem to be the strongest category followed by eReaders, Tablet, and M2M
What will be the breakthrough category in mobile in 2010? (Please select one)
Mobile Advertising and Mobile Payments share the top honors
By the end of 2010, which will have more subscribers? (Please select one)
LTE might have the momentum but WiMAX has the subscribers
How will Netbooks do through the operator channel? (Please select one)
No major impact from the operator channel
Which standards will gain traction?
No major impact from the standards
What mode of mobile payments will get any traction in North America and Western Europe in 2010?
The category will expand in different ways with more items being charged on the operator bill

