According to a new report from In-Stat, US businesses will spend close to $27 billion on wireless data this year, driven by heavy operator subsidies valued at $1.7 billion. Most of that amount, $1.4 billion, goes for the smartphone subsidies.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise considering that mobile data revenue is the engine driving ARPU growth for US operators with smartphones representing the key for data usage. However, the research company also predicts that smartphone subsidies will decline as competitive pressures reduce smartphone ASPs.
Some other findings from the report include:
- Small business (5-99 employees) spending on smartphones will decline 28% over the next 5 years.
- Mobile phone spending by US businesses will decline from $4.5 to $3.2 billion from 2010 to 2014 with the largest decline coming in the utility and manufacturing vertical segments in the 10,000+ size of business.
- The total small office/home office sector (SOHO) smartphone market will grow 18% in unit shipments in 2014 compared to 2010. The education and professional services sector will be the highest growth vertical market.
- Smartphone purchases across all verticals and all US business sizes will increase 14% in 2014 compared to 2010.
And you can get additional information from In-Stat’s website.