European mobile service revenues are expected to undergo a "slight" decline to 2016, as a result of economic turmoil and intensive competition, according to research firm Infonetics.
Infonetics said overall global operator revenues will increase by 6% increase overall to 2016, with the highest growth coming from Asia Pacific and Latin America. That will mean gobal operator revenues from mobile broadband data, voice, and messaging services will reach $976 billion by 2016.
In terms of service sector growth, mobile broadband connections will rise from 15% to nearly 40% of all mobile subscribers between 2011 and 2016. Voice revenue declined in 2011, Infonetics said, dipping 0.8% in 2011, as mobile data revenues grew in every region.
"The mobile world is undeniably shifting from voice to data, as mobile operators migrate as many subscribers as they can to data service plans and smartphones. Already in North America and Asia Pacific, mobile operators derive over 40% of their mobile revenue from mobile broadband and messaging. But, while mobile broadband is no doubt the fastest growing revenue stream for operators, mobile messaging and voice aren't dead just yet, not by a long shot," notes Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research's principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics.
Téral adds: "The prophecies of doom for mobile operators' SMS/MMS cash cow are being overplayed. Despite the popularity of over-the-top messaging applications like Apple's iMessage and WhatsApp, our data shows SMS growing every year from 2012 to 2016, delivering a cumulative $1 trillion in operator revenue during those 5 years. And over that same period, voice revenue will decline only slightly, still making up a sizable chunk of operator revenues."
Infonetics released its findings in its biannual 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE) Services and Subscribers: Voice, SMS/MMS, and Broadband report.