60% annual growth in mobile advertising expected

Consultancy Arthur D. Little has said that mobile advertising is going to become a major media platform for brands. Its latest forecast predicts a 60% annual growth in mobile advertising spend over the next four years, with mobile advertising growing as high-speed mobile data availability increases. The company also says mobile operators must take action if they want a significant share of this revenue, otherwise they'll lose it to Google, Yahoo! and other internet advertising companies. [Press release]

50% European mobile broadband penetration within five years

50% of Europeans will be using mobile broadband services by 2012. That's the surprising headline from a report by management consultants Arthur D. Little and investment company Exane BNP Paribas. They also forecast that 20% of this mobile broadband traffic could be carried through fixed networks as the result of partnerships between mobile and fixed-line companies to handle network capacity. [Arthur D Little press release]