Enterprise Mobile Data Revenues to Reach $43 Billion by 2014 Tweet

While global revenues from mobile messaging services including SMS and mobile e-mail from mobile business customers are forecast to reach $48 billion by 2014, data access services revenues for handsets and computing devices will not be far behind, reaching $43 billion by 2014. In fact, in most regional markets (with two notable exceptions) data access spending will exceed mobile messaging spending. In one such market, mobile data access revenues will exceed mobile messaging revenues by as much as 55%.

According to ABI Research practice director Dan Shey, “Data access revenues exceeding messaging revenues demonstrates the importance of data access to the business customer over the long term for business applications, mobile Internet and even mobile e-mail services. The forecast estimates also demonstrate the expansion of mobile devices among mobile business customers. More and more business customers are becoming 1+ data device carriers.”

Shey adds, “While operators are concerned about becoming simply access pipes, they are the only access provider for mobile data services. The challenge now for operators is enhancing the value of their pipes. Could operators create access service plans priced for higher levels of speed and services quality?”

North America and Asia-Pacific are the two “exceptional” regions where mobile data access revenues will not exceed mobile messaging revenues. North American mobile e-mail adoption and growth tips the balance of revenues toward mobile messaging. Based on expansion into emerging markets, lower data access adoption and offer spending in the Asia-Pacific market will limit data access revenue growth.

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