The latest research from Wireless Intelligence shows that total revenues generated by mobile operators in Western Europe reached 155 billion EUR in 2007, 3.32% growth from 2006. In EU15 countries, mobile phone revenues represent 1.5% of GDP, and have been growing faster than GDP in most countries.
According to Wireless Intelligence’s Senior Analyst, Joss Gillet, this year they expect to see a similar relatively healthy growth in mobile revenues.
Non-voice revenues appear to be driving growth as voice remain under strong pressure. As market penetration continues to rise, mobile operators are looking at increasing revenue share and focusing on customer retention.
Europe’s top 5 operator groups (Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Telefonica O2 and TIM) generated revenues of 106.6 billion EUR, or 69% of the total revenues for the region. In markets such as Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria, revenues have decreased year on year, partly due to new European roaming regulations, domestic regulations (Bersani Decree in Italy), weakened ARPU, and decline in effective voice price per minute…