Recession hits mobile spending in Europe

The mobile phone market in Western Europe stopped growing in Q3 2008, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. Mobile data revenues continued to perform well but the voice market saw revenue growth slow more than expected, with revenue falling for some operators. [Press release]

It's a trillion-dollar industry

Cheer up, everyone. Annual revenue from mobile phone customers globally will exceed a trillion US dollars by 2013 (that's twelve zeroes), when there'll be more than 5.3 billion customers. In fact, by the end of 2013, revenue from mobile operators is expected to be up a third since the beginning of this year - and customer numbers will be up 56%. Needless to say, most of those new customers won't be coming from North America and Western Europe but from the Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin American markets. The figures - from Informa Telecoms & Media - also say voice revenue will make up the majority of that $1.03 trillion figure, although data revenue will more than double from $148 billion in 2007 to $347 billion in 2013. [Source: Telecoms.com]

Mobile usage hasn't changed for 5 years

Research from connectivity specialist AppTrigger reveals that 57% of UK adults and 30% of North Americans say they've not changed the way in which they use mobiles since 2003. Voice calls and text messages are still the main applications. [Source: Cellular-News.com]

The perfect phone call lasts for 9 minutes and 36 seconds

The ideal phone conversation should last for 9 minutes and 36 seconds, covering family news, personal problems, work, current affairs and the weather, according to new research from the Post Office. And during that call, you'll spend 102 seconds laughing plus 12 seconds in silence. [Source: Telegraph.co.uk]

Ofcom chairman gives final lecture

Ofcom chairman David Currie has given the organisation's 2008 lecture; his last before he leaves the organisation. He contrasted the current state of the market with Ofcom's first report from early 2004, when mobiles accounted for almost a quarter of voice calls and each person sent an average of one text message a day. Today, mobile calls account for 40% of voice minutes and text messaging has grown by 27% per year. [Ofcom Annual Lecture 2008]

North Americans still prefer voice calls for social contacts

Software company AppTrigger has conducted a survey that shows North American mobile users prefer voice calls for social contacts - although they also want advanced applications. The survey of (just) 250 users said 74% wanted additional services but preferred voice as the main communication channel. In addition, 50% use voicemail at least once a day and 23% now use mobile email. [Press release].

Mobile data comes home

Within the next five years, more than half of all mobile data is expected to be generated at home. New research from Informa Telecoms & Media says 40% of last year's mobile data traffic was generated at home but it's expected to reach 58% by 2013. Voice usage at home is also expected to increase, from 42% in 2008 to 49% in 2013. [Source: Telecoms.com]

Voice Short Codes available on all UK networks

Voice 'short codes' will be available across all the UK's mobile networks from October, according to telecomms platform provider MX Telecom. These codes operate in a similar way to text codes, enabling customers to call companies or enter competitions by using a short codes instead of a conventional telephone number. They've been available for a while by connecting on a 'per network' basis. O2 is the last UK network to implement the cross-network deal. [Press release]

Data exceeds voice on T-Mobile

T-Mobile says data traffic exceeded voice calls during the first quarter of this year (although it hasn't explicitly said what it means by this). In addition, 25% of all new contract customers were choosing its mobile broadband service - up from 4% in 2007 - and it's on course to quadruple the number of mobile broadband customers in 2008. [Press release]

Mobile calls to overtake fixed-line calls this year

The volume of voice calls on mobile phone networks will soon exceed that on traditional fixed networks in Western Europe, says according to a new report from Analysys Research. It says mobile calls will overtake fixed-line calls in the UK and generally in Western Europe by the end of this summer. Mobile voice usage has already surpassed fixed voice in France, although Italy isn't expected to experience this until 2009, with Germany following in 2010. [Press release]