Revenue in the U.S. wireless market totaled $174.7 billion in 2005, up 10.7 percent from 2004, with an acceleration in handset revenue and a ramp-up in new wireless subscribers as key drivers of growth, according to the newly released TIA’s 2006 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast. Some highlights of the report:
- The wireless handset and device market totaled $15 billion in 2005 and is expected to increase 19.3 percent in 2006 climbing to $17.8 billion.
- Twenty-five million new wireless subscribers were added in 2005, more than in any other year, and the 21.4 million subscribers added in 2004 matched the previous high in 2001.
- TIA projects the overall wireless market, including transport services, devices, wireless equipment and services in support of the wireless infrastructure, to grow at an 11.0 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), reaching $265.2 billion in 2009.
- Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population currently subscribes to a wireless service.
- Due to current penetration, TIA expects a drop to single-digit increases in wireless subscribers (wireless telephony and paging) beginning in 2007, with growth averaging 8.2 percent on a compound annual basis through 2009, when there will be an estimated 278.5 million wireless subscribers, representing 88 percent of the population.
- Revenue generated from all wireless services rose 14.8 percent in 2005 to $118.6 billion. TIA expects revenue to increase to $180.4 billion in 2009, growing 11.1 percent on a compound annual basis.
- Overall wireless equipment revenue totaled $29.4 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow at an 8.3 percent CAGR reaching $40.4 billion in 2009.
- A substantial roll-out of third-generation infrastructure will contribute to increased capital spending during the next few years. Capital expenditures is forecast to grow at a 7.5 percent CAGR reaching $32 billion in 2009.
- Spending on services in support of the wireless infrastructure rose 18.0 percent in 2005, accelerating from the 13.6 percent increase in 2004. New wireless applications and wireless infrastructure upgrades are fueling growth in this area. Total spending on services in support of wireless infrastructure in the United States will increase to a projected $20 billion by 2009, up 14.1 percent CAGR from the $11.8 billion total of 2005.
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