NEW YORK, USA:In a new study from ABI Research, FMC (Fixed-Mobile Convergence) handset voice connections for business customers are forecast to rise from 6.3 million in 2009 to more than 27 million by 2014.
FMC voice connections include Wi-Fi FMC connections as well as cellular FMC connections using picocells and femtocells.
However, its not just femtocells that are driving up enterprise FMC connections. Says practice director Dan Shey, “While femtocells have been all the rage, dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi phones will also increase enterprise FMC voice access.”
Indeed, Wi-Fi in smartphones will grow from a 45% attach rate in 2009 to a 90% attach rate in 2014. Business customers are the primary adopters of smartphones and with increased penetration of Wi-Fi smartphones, this change levels the playing field between cellular and Wi-Fi FMC. Previously, the knock against FMC solutions particularly for VoWi-Fi was the lack of Wi-Fi phones.
Another variable affecting the business FMC landscape is business customers accessing the web, watching videos and connecting to social networking sites for personal reasons. FMC solutions and smartphones provide IT managers with ways to manage these kinds of connections.
The wildcards for enterprise FMC are downloadable VoIP applications from companies such as Skype and Truphone. Says Shey, “Downloadable apps that offer VoIP connections over Wi-Fi or on unlimited cellular data plans may not be enterprise-grade for now.
However, their availability will change how we view VoIP on cell phones, leading to some interesting opportunities and challenges for the mobile supply chain.
Monday, August 3, 2009
xMax to bring lower calling costs to consumers
SARASOTA, USA: xG Technology has released field trial results of a new approach to mobile telecommunications that will significantly lower the cost of offering wireless voice and data services.
Called xMax, the technology enables an Internet calling service similar to Skype, but in the form of a fully mobile handset that doesn’t require the use, and extra cost, of a computer or broadband Internet connection, which is typically required to place such low-cost calls.
The field trial results highlighted the reasons why the xMax approach can allow cheaper calling:
* xMax transmits over unlicensed spectrum—the same as baby monitors and cordless phones. Major national cellular carriers paid billions of dollars for licensed spectrum that they recoup from customers.
* xMax was built as a totally Internet-based digital system from top to bottom—an extremely cost efficient communication approach.
* xMax networks will enable communication providers to aggressively compete with national carriers by offering customers unlimited voice and data plans both locally and long distance, extremely low-cost international calling, no contracts, as well as home phone and high-speed Internet service.
Seven-year-old xG Technology is a US based company, but development of xMax is an international effort that involves companies in Europe and Asia. A portfolio of 50 US and 101 international patents and pending patent applications has been developed with the goal of bringing lower-cost communications to consumers.
Called xMax, the technology enables an Internet calling service similar to Skype, but in the form of a fully mobile handset that doesn’t require the use, and extra cost, of a computer or broadband Internet connection, which is typically required to place such low-cost calls.
The field trial results highlighted the reasons why the xMax approach can allow cheaper calling:
* xMax transmits over unlicensed spectrum—the same as baby monitors and cordless phones. Major national cellular carriers paid billions of dollars for licensed spectrum that they recoup from customers.
* xMax was built as a totally Internet-based digital system from top to bottom—an extremely cost efficient communication approach.
* xMax networks will enable communication providers to aggressively compete with national carriers by offering customers unlimited voice and data plans both locally and long distance, extremely low-cost international calling, no contracts, as well as home phone and high-speed Internet service.
Seven-year-old xG Technology is a US based company, but development of xMax is an international effort that involves companies in Europe and Asia. A portfolio of 50 US and 101 international patents and pending patent applications has been developed with the goal of bringing lower-cost communications to consumers.
OpenTable intros free mobile app for BlackBerry smartphones
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: OpenTable Inc., a leading provider of free online reservations for diners and guest management systems for restaurants, today announced that its free application for BlackBerry smartphone users is available for download on BlackBerry App World.
OpenTable for BlackBerry smartphones allows diners using BlackBerry OS 4.5 or higher to check the real-time availability of multiple restaurants in the area; view restaurant profiles and cuisine details; make free, confirmed reservations; and invite friends to join them.
“This OpenTable application is really ideal for business travelers,” said Caroline Potter, chief dining officer at OpenTable. “When traveling to a new, unfamiliar city or planning a meal with colleagues, diners can now use OpenTable on their BlackBerry smartphones to instantly find and confirm an available table at a nearby restaurant—without having to research restaurants from a desktop computer or make multiple calls to find available tables.”
With this OpenTable application, BlackBerry smartphone users simply specify the desired date, time and party size, and they are immediately provided with a list of available tables at restaurants in the vicinity.
Diners using GPS-enabled BlackBerry smartphones can view nearby restaurants on a map without doing any typing, while diners using non-GPS models can simply enter in their address. From there, diners can refine results by price or type of cuisine, view individual restaurants on a map, and send emails complete with reservation information to friends.
Registered OpenTable members can see their upcoming reservations, earn OpenTable Dining Points and view their current points balances on their BlackBerry smartphones.
OpenTable for BlackBerry smartphones allows diners using BlackBerry OS 4.5 or higher to check the real-time availability of multiple restaurants in the area; view restaurant profiles and cuisine details; make free, confirmed reservations; and invite friends to join them.
“This OpenTable application is really ideal for business travelers,” said Caroline Potter, chief dining officer at OpenTable. “When traveling to a new, unfamiliar city or planning a meal with colleagues, diners can now use OpenTable on their BlackBerry smartphones to instantly find and confirm an available table at a nearby restaurant—without having to research restaurants from a desktop computer or make multiple calls to find available tables.”
With this OpenTable application, BlackBerry smartphone users simply specify the desired date, time and party size, and they are immediately provided with a list of available tables at restaurants in the vicinity.
Diners using GPS-enabled BlackBerry smartphones can view nearby restaurants on a map without doing any typing, while diners using non-GPS models can simply enter in their address. From there, diners can refine results by price or type of cuisine, view individual restaurants on a map, and send emails complete with reservation information to friends.
Registered OpenTable members can see their upcoming reservations, earn OpenTable Dining Points and view their current points balances on their BlackBerry smartphones.
Telstra selects Openwave mobile analytics solution
REDWOOD CITY, USA: Openwave Systems Inc. announced that Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications and services company, has selected Openwave Mobile Analytics.
This solution provides Telstra a dashboard view of all aspects of aggregated mobile subscriber data activity, leveraging a platform of intelligent analytics and rich reporting capabilities across its mobile device portfolio, including smartphones and feature phones, iPhone traffic, netbooks and other mobile-capable devices.
Openwave Mobile Analytics empowers Telstra to aggregate subscriber data and behavioral information across a variety of data sources, including on portal and open internet browsing, mobile email messaging, video and audio streaming, device type, demographics and location to provide a 360-degree view of their mobile subscriber base.
Openwave Mobile Analytics also provides Telstra with insight into the operational aspects of their mobile broadband network, allowing them to control network operations more efficiently by optimizing present capacity and managing ongoing bandwidth demands.
“By providing enhanced usage reporting and marketing information, Openwave Mobile Analytics really does enable us to better serve our customers,” said Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Product Management.
“Mobile Analytics is able to aggregate usage data and generate meaningful reports in a timely manner which means we have a far better understanding of what our customer base as a whole is using and what they are after,” he said.
“As demand for mobile data continues to grow exponentially, mobile analytics is quickly emerging as a critical necessity for operators to understand current and future demands on their networks, as well as provide more relevant content and services based on subscriber behavior, profile and device,” said John Giere, senior vice president, products and marketing, Openwave.
“Openwave Mobile Analytics provides operators like Telstra with the customer intelligence management platform they need to improve their understanding of mobile data usage, view mobile traffic patterns and make adjustments accordingly to optimize their network assets, deliver targeted content to users and monetize relevant services.
“Through interactive and customizable reporting with intuitive drill-down capabilities, Mobile Analytics helps operators identify and proactively manage bandwidth allocation as well as make business critical decisions based on subscriber behaviors and usage patterns and trends.”
Openwave Mobile Analytics enables an operator to monetize their detailed knowledge of their subscriber base in order to unlock innovative new revenue streams.
This solution provides Telstra a dashboard view of all aspects of aggregated mobile subscriber data activity, leveraging a platform of intelligent analytics and rich reporting capabilities across its mobile device portfolio, including smartphones and feature phones, iPhone traffic, netbooks and other mobile-capable devices.
Openwave Mobile Analytics empowers Telstra to aggregate subscriber data and behavioral information across a variety of data sources, including on portal and open internet browsing, mobile email messaging, video and audio streaming, device type, demographics and location to provide a 360-degree view of their mobile subscriber base.
Openwave Mobile Analytics also provides Telstra with insight into the operational aspects of their mobile broadband network, allowing them to control network operations more efficiently by optimizing present capacity and managing ongoing bandwidth demands.
“By providing enhanced usage reporting and marketing information, Openwave Mobile Analytics really does enable us to better serve our customers,” said Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Product Management.
“Mobile Analytics is able to aggregate usage data and generate meaningful reports in a timely manner which means we have a far better understanding of what our customer base as a whole is using and what they are after,” he said.
“As demand for mobile data continues to grow exponentially, mobile analytics is quickly emerging as a critical necessity for operators to understand current and future demands on their networks, as well as provide more relevant content and services based on subscriber behavior, profile and device,” said John Giere, senior vice president, products and marketing, Openwave.
“Openwave Mobile Analytics provides operators like Telstra with the customer intelligence management platform they need to improve their understanding of mobile data usage, view mobile traffic patterns and make adjustments accordingly to optimize their network assets, deliver targeted content to users and monetize relevant services.
“Through interactive and customizable reporting with intuitive drill-down capabilities, Mobile Analytics helps operators identify and proactively manage bandwidth allocation as well as make business critical decisions based on subscriber behaviors and usage patterns and trends.”
Openwave Mobile Analytics enables an operator to monetize their detailed knowledge of their subscriber base in order to unlock innovative new revenue streams.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Synapse takes iPhone world by storm with 'iWet T-shirt' app
NOIDA, INDIA: Have you ever fantasized over throwing water on busty beauties to sneak a view of their body basics inside the clothing? Well the commonest of male fantasies is ready to be materialized via the men’s commonest possession -- an iPhone!
For the seekers of unadulterated, harmless fun, Synapse Communications has developed the iWet T-Shirt –- an iPhone application that has already grabbed eyeballs for its fun-filled concept and simple interface.
The application calls its users to have fun by jetting liquid on buxom beauties (a never advisable activity in real life, though). One can select from a bevy of beautiful girls to wet, and after completion of the deed, can zoom in to view the particular body part.
The application also lets its users to ‘undo’ a wetting session or select ‘smooth nozzle spray’ feature for additional fun during the game.
While the game database is constantly populated with addition new girls, a simple menu with easy gaming instructions makes the application even more exciting.
iWet features as one of recent and most talked after games added by Apple in its repository. Apple has released the game under a PG-13 rating and is ready to be downloaded.
Synapse Communications is a leading iPhone application developer and software solution provider from India has stamped its credentials of an expert application developer with a list of exciting iPhone applications already making prominent presence in iPhone App Store.
Google Voice, no doubt, is a useful application. Rejection of the same would upset many iPhone, and all Google, fans. But the way the scathing remarks have been directed to Apple, I doubt on the (seemingly) ‘purist’s’ credentials. They sound more like Apple’s diehard anti, than ones anyway near to being seekers of an adult /sex theme-free list of iPhone applications.
If Apple has approved iWet, it also did it with a word of caution by rating the same with PG-13. It now entirely remains in the discretion of user to download the application.
Perhaps, days of unnecessary fistfights and derisions against adult theme-oriented applications/websites are over. In the web world, where access to everything interesting is just a click away, we need to be more ingenious in setting our priorities and open towards abiding holistic regulations.
For the seekers of unadulterated, harmless fun, Synapse Communications has developed the iWet T-Shirt –- an iPhone application that has already grabbed eyeballs for its fun-filled concept and simple interface.The application calls its users to have fun by jetting liquid on buxom beauties (a never advisable activity in real life, though). One can select from a bevy of beautiful girls to wet, and after completion of the deed, can zoom in to view the particular body part.
The application also lets its users to ‘undo’ a wetting session or select ‘smooth nozzle spray’ feature for additional fun during the game.
While the game database is constantly populated with addition new girls, a simple menu with easy gaming instructions makes the application even more exciting.
iWet features as one of recent and most talked after games added by Apple in its repository. Apple has released the game under a PG-13 rating and is ready to be downloaded.
Synapse Communications is a leading iPhone application developer and software solution provider from India has stamped its credentials of an expert application developer with a list of exciting iPhone applications already making prominent presence in iPhone App Store.
Google Voice, no doubt, is a useful application. Rejection of the same would upset many iPhone, and all Google, fans. But the way the scathing remarks have been directed to Apple, I doubt on the (seemingly) ‘purist’s’ credentials. They sound more like Apple’s diehard anti, than ones anyway near to being seekers of an adult /sex theme-free list of iPhone applications.
If Apple has approved iWet, it also did it with a word of caution by rating the same with PG-13. It now entirely remains in the discretion of user to download the application.
Perhaps, days of unnecessary fistfights and derisions against adult theme-oriented applications/websites are over. In the web world, where access to everything interesting is just a click away, we need to be more ingenious in setting our priorities and open towards abiding holistic regulations.
Cell phone shipments return to growth in Q2
EL SEGUNDO, USA: Global shipments of cell phones in the second quarter climbed 4.7 percent compared to the first, marking the first sequential increase for the market since the third quarter of 2008, according to iSuppli Corp.
Worldwide shipments amounted to 265 million units in the second quarter, up from 253 million in the first.
“The moderate increase indicates the worldwide mobile handset market is bottoming out and now is returning to growth,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications for iSuppli. “Much of the growth was generated by two emerging regions: the Middle East and Latin America. Furthermore, several aggressive promotional campaigns boosted sales in North America, with regional shipments rising by 8 percent during the period.”
The rise in shipments is welcome news to a handset industry that has seen nine months of contraction. Shipments declined by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008, by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and by a stunning 16.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009. By the first quarter of 2009, shipments had fallen by 58.8 million units compared to before the downturn began in the second quarter of 2008.
Shipments are expected to rise by 6 percent 280.9 million in the third quarter and by 8.3 percent to 304.2 million in the fourth. Despite the quarter-to-quarter increases, annual shipments are still expected to contract by 9.9 percent in 2009, with the total for the year amounting to 1.1 billion units, down from 1.23 billion in 2008.
“The global economic downturn has had a particularly harsh impact on the worldwide mobile handset as declining disposable incomes dissuaded consumers from making non-essential purchases like upgraded wireless handsets,” Teng said. “The recession brought to an end eight consecutive years of annual shipment growth for cell phones, and will result in the first market contraction since 2001.”
Big handset makers get bigger
The world’s Top-5 handset suppliers dramatically outperformed the smaller players in the second quarter, based on a preliminary estimate from iSuppli. Combined shipments for the Top-5 brands rose by 12.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first, while all other companies together experienced an 18.1 percent plunge.
However, among the Top-5 individual company performances vary dramatically, although the rankings for these companies did not change compared to the first quarter.
The best performance in the second quarter was posted by South Korea’s LG Electronics.
LG's mobile handset shipments rose to 29.8 million units in the second quarter, up 31.9 percent from 22.6 million units in the first quarter. Company market share rose by 2.3 points to 11.2 percent.
“LG strong performance in the second quarter was due to its success in emerging regions, including the Middle East and Africa,” Teng said. “The company also managed to orient its product mix to more profitable handsets including new touch-screen devices.”
Motorola stops the bleeding
Embattled handset brand Motorola Inc. in the second quarter managed to increase its shipments by 0.7 percent to 14.8 million units, up from 14.7 million in the first quarter. While Motorola still underperformed the market and lost share, the rise brought to an end three consecutive quarters of declines in shipments for the company.
“Motorola finally has put a stop to its shipment slide due to its improved performance in North America and Latin America,” Teng said. “With this increase in shipments, Motorola has managed to secure its No.-4 ranking in the market.”
Nokia expands its lead
“The No.-1 player, Nokia, has been defending its dominant position since the third quarter of last year due to rising competitive pressure from Samsung, which has been expanding its sales in Europe and in emerging markets,” Teng said. “The company also has faced rising competition from smart phone players including Research in Motion and Apple Inc.”
Nokia was able to gain 2.1 percentage points of market share in the second quarter, with its shipments rising to 103.2 million units.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. remains on track to achieve its target of more than 200 million mobile handset unit shipments this year. The company’s refreshed product lineup allowed it to increase its shipments by 14.2 percent and its share by 1.6 points compared to the first quarter.
Sony Ericsson, however, had another disappointing quarter!
“The company is known for leveraging the brand strength from Sony and its mid- to high-end multimedia devices,” Teng said. “Sony Ericsson’s product portfolio has not been adequately aligned with the two fastest-growing segments: smart phones and ultra-low-cost handsets.”
Company shipments declined by 4.8 percent and market share dipped by 0.5 percent from the first quarter.
The figure presents iSuppli’s preliminary share estimates of the mobile handset market during the second quarter.
Source: iSuppli, July 2009
Worldwide shipments amounted to 265 million units in the second quarter, up from 253 million in the first.
“The moderate increase indicates the worldwide mobile handset market is bottoming out and now is returning to growth,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications for iSuppli. “Much of the growth was generated by two emerging regions: the Middle East and Latin America. Furthermore, several aggressive promotional campaigns boosted sales in North America, with regional shipments rising by 8 percent during the period.”
The rise in shipments is welcome news to a handset industry that has seen nine months of contraction. Shipments declined by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008, by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and by a stunning 16.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009. By the first quarter of 2009, shipments had fallen by 58.8 million units compared to before the downturn began in the second quarter of 2008.
Shipments are expected to rise by 6 percent 280.9 million in the third quarter and by 8.3 percent to 304.2 million in the fourth. Despite the quarter-to-quarter increases, annual shipments are still expected to contract by 9.9 percent in 2009, with the total for the year amounting to 1.1 billion units, down from 1.23 billion in 2008.
“The global economic downturn has had a particularly harsh impact on the worldwide mobile handset as declining disposable incomes dissuaded consumers from making non-essential purchases like upgraded wireless handsets,” Teng said. “The recession brought to an end eight consecutive years of annual shipment growth for cell phones, and will result in the first market contraction since 2001.”
Big handset makers get bigger
The world’s Top-5 handset suppliers dramatically outperformed the smaller players in the second quarter, based on a preliminary estimate from iSuppli. Combined shipments for the Top-5 brands rose by 12.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first, while all other companies together experienced an 18.1 percent plunge.
However, among the Top-5 individual company performances vary dramatically, although the rankings for these companies did not change compared to the first quarter.
The best performance in the second quarter was posted by South Korea’s LG Electronics.
LG's mobile handset shipments rose to 29.8 million units in the second quarter, up 31.9 percent from 22.6 million units in the first quarter. Company market share rose by 2.3 points to 11.2 percent.
“LG strong performance in the second quarter was due to its success in emerging regions, including the Middle East and Africa,” Teng said. “The company also managed to orient its product mix to more profitable handsets including new touch-screen devices.”
Motorola stops the bleeding
Embattled handset brand Motorola Inc. in the second quarter managed to increase its shipments by 0.7 percent to 14.8 million units, up from 14.7 million in the first quarter. While Motorola still underperformed the market and lost share, the rise brought to an end three consecutive quarters of declines in shipments for the company.
“Motorola finally has put a stop to its shipment slide due to its improved performance in North America and Latin America,” Teng said. “With this increase in shipments, Motorola has managed to secure its No.-4 ranking in the market.”
Nokia expands its lead
“The No.-1 player, Nokia, has been defending its dominant position since the third quarter of last year due to rising competitive pressure from Samsung, which has been expanding its sales in Europe and in emerging markets,” Teng said. “The company also has faced rising competition from smart phone players including Research in Motion and Apple Inc.”
Nokia was able to gain 2.1 percentage points of market share in the second quarter, with its shipments rising to 103.2 million units.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. remains on track to achieve its target of more than 200 million mobile handset unit shipments this year. The company’s refreshed product lineup allowed it to increase its shipments by 14.2 percent and its share by 1.6 points compared to the first quarter.
Sony Ericsson, however, had another disappointing quarter!
“The company is known for leveraging the brand strength from Sony and its mid- to high-end multimedia devices,” Teng said. “Sony Ericsson’s product portfolio has not been adequately aligned with the two fastest-growing segments: smart phones and ultra-low-cost handsets.”
Company shipments declined by 4.8 percent and market share dipped by 0.5 percent from the first quarter.
The figure presents iSuppli’s preliminary share estimates of the mobile handset market during the second quarter.
Source: iSuppli, July 2009
Mobile services to account for over 76pc of total services revenue in China by 2014
DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets announced the addition of the "Communications Markets in China - 2009 Edition" report to its offering.
Fueled by mobile penetration into the rural market and by uptake of 3G services, China's telecommunications market will generate $187 billion by 2014, according to this latest report.
Communications Markets in China offers a precise profile of the country's converged telecommunications, media, and technology sectors based on proprietary data from our research in the Chinese market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services, and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies such as WiMax, IPTV, and VoIP.
Published annually, this executive study provides a comprehensive view of the Chinese communications market by analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing upcoming risk factors.
China's telecommunications market generated US$110 billion in 2008, making it the second largest telecommunications services market in Asia/Pacific after Japan, notes Daniel Yu, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report.
"Given continued demand for connectivity and rising adoption of mobile and fixed broadband services, the Chinese market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent between 2009 and 2014, reaching $187 billion by 2014, surpassing Japan as the largest telecommunications services market in Asia," Yu says.
"China, like many emerging markets, is becoming an increasingly mobile market, adding 71.2 million mobile subscriptions in 2008, roughly 12 percent of all additions worldwide and second only to India's 113.3 million net additions," says Yu.
Mobile service revenue growth will be supported by a penetration increase from 58 percent at year-end 2009 to 80 percent at year-end 2014. The author expects mobile services to account for more than 76 percent of total services revenue in China by 2014.
Despite the declining rate of growth in the economy, the author expects the mobile industry to experience healthy growth in 2009 as mobile operators roll out 3G networks and extend coverage to rural areas.
"China Mobile, for example, is dedicating 30 percent of its total Capex on 2G network expansion, and 70 percent of the allocated portion will be used in the rural market," Yu says.
Key findings of the report include:
* Chinese regulators restructured the industry in 2008, creating three full-service operators by consolidating fixed and mobile assets of China's five leading players.
* Although Pyramid Research does expect the reshuffle to help China Unicom and China Telecom to compete better against China Mobile, the giant's position will remain unshaken.
* 3G represents one of the most interesting opportunities in China in the near term. * In the next two years, Chinese operators will spend an estimated $41bn to develop the 3G market, presenting a golden opportunity for equipment and handset vendors.
Fueled by mobile penetration into the rural market and by uptake of 3G services, China's telecommunications market will generate $187 billion by 2014, according to this latest report.
Communications Markets in China offers a precise profile of the country's converged telecommunications, media, and technology sectors based on proprietary data from our research in the Chinese market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services, and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies such as WiMax, IPTV, and VoIP.
Published annually, this executive study provides a comprehensive view of the Chinese communications market by analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing upcoming risk factors.
China's telecommunications market generated US$110 billion in 2008, making it the second largest telecommunications services market in Asia/Pacific after Japan, notes Daniel Yu, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report.
"Given continued demand for connectivity and rising adoption of mobile and fixed broadband services, the Chinese market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent between 2009 and 2014, reaching $187 billion by 2014, surpassing Japan as the largest telecommunications services market in Asia," Yu says.
"China, like many emerging markets, is becoming an increasingly mobile market, adding 71.2 million mobile subscriptions in 2008, roughly 12 percent of all additions worldwide and second only to India's 113.3 million net additions," says Yu.
Mobile service revenue growth will be supported by a penetration increase from 58 percent at year-end 2009 to 80 percent at year-end 2014. The author expects mobile services to account for more than 76 percent of total services revenue in China by 2014.
Despite the declining rate of growth in the economy, the author expects the mobile industry to experience healthy growth in 2009 as mobile operators roll out 3G networks and extend coverage to rural areas.
"China Mobile, for example, is dedicating 30 percent of its total Capex on 2G network expansion, and 70 percent of the allocated portion will be used in the rural market," Yu says.
Key findings of the report include:
* Chinese regulators restructured the industry in 2008, creating three full-service operators by consolidating fixed and mobile assets of China's five leading players.
* Although Pyramid Research does expect the reshuffle to help China Unicom and China Telecom to compete better against China Mobile, the giant's position will remain unshaken.
* 3G represents one of the most interesting opportunities in China in the near term. * In the next two years, Chinese operators will spend an estimated $41bn to develop the 3G market, presenting a golden opportunity for equipment and handset vendors.
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