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]

Ofcom says messaging revenue is falling as volume increases

Ofcom has just published its Telecommunications Market Data Update for the second quarter of 2008. It says the number of SMS and MMS messages sent was 4.8% higher than in the previous quarter. although messaging revenue fell by 1.7% over the same period. Total mobile revenue across the four mobile operators in the survey (Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile) increased by 1.2% compared to the previous quarter, driven by a 1.9% increase in revenue from calls and other charges. [Press release]

Jailed VAT fraudster ordered to sell helicopter

Craig Johnson, who is serving 12-and-a-half years in prison for his part in a multi-million pound mobile phone related VAT fraud, has been ordered to repay £26 million to the UK government. It means he'll need to sell his helicopter, his stately home and several luxury cars. He faces an additional 10 years in prison if he doesn't repay the money: £8m within the next 12 months and the remainder within a further year. [Source: BBC News]

Ofcom report shows UK top for mobile broadband coverage

Ofcom has published its third annual International Communications Market Report, which looks at take-up, availability and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV and radio in a number of countries. Some of the key mobile-related points include:

• HSDPA mobile broadband availability covers 87% of the UK population; the highest of all 16 countries surveyed.
• In all of the countries covered by the report, total mobile revenues last year were higher than fixed-line voice and broadband combined.
• Mobile call volumes grew by 21% in the UK during 2007. However, increases in call volumes have not been matched by corresponding increases in retail revenue.
• Text messaging volumes increased by 36% in the UK, 90% in Poland and over 100% in the US and Canada.

[Ofcom report]

O2's parent publishes Q3 results

Telefónica, which owns O2 in the UK, says its profits for the third quarter of 2008 were down 50% year-on-year... although it's worth noting that last year's figure included the sale of television company Endemol. In the UK, O2's revenue was up 8.7% and a record-breaking 277,593 'contract' customers had been added. [Sources: Telefonica press release; FT.com; Bloomberg.com]

Vodafone publishes half-year report

Vodafone has published its half-yearly figures (April - September 2008), which show that Group revenue is up 17.1% to £19.9 billion, data revenue is up 48.6% to £1.4 billion and European revenue is up 14.3%. Profits, however, were down 34% to £2.17 billion. Chief Executive Vittorio Colao says the company plans to improve operational performance through customer value enhancement and by cutting £1 billion of costs. [Press release]

Only 14% of mobile TV owners will pay

A new study from Juniper Research says less than 14% of people with mobiles capable of receiving broadcast TV will pay for premium services. They've forecast that more than 330 million mobile customers worldwide will own TV-enabled handsets by 2013, with the US having the most users, but say most people will use them for free-to-air broadcasts. Revenue from users in 2013 is expected to be $2.7 billion, much lower than previous forecasts. [Press release]

Mobile phone fraudster jailed for 12 years

35-year-old Craig Johnson from Staffordshire has been jailed for over 12 years for laundering more than £6 million through so-called 'carousel fraud' that involved the import and export of mobile phones. He's one of 21 people jailed following a £138 million VAT fraud investigation by HM Revenue and Customs. Craig Johnson bought a stately home with his gains, along with a yacht, two helicopters and luxury cars. [Sources: BBC News; Mobile News]

Mobile data revenue to hit £100 billion this year

The latest report from Informa Telecoms & Media says annual revenue from mobile data services is set to exceed $200 billion (£100 billion) for the first time this year. Total revenue from mobile data was approximately $157 billion in 2007 and was up by over 42% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008. Non-SMS data is estimated to account for around 35% of total data revenue. Japan's NTT DoCoMo currently generates the highest non-voice revenue, while Smart Communications in the Philippines has the largest proportion of data revenue: more than 50% of its income is from non-voice services. [Source: Telecoms.com]

SMS still big earner

Text messaging is still the biggest revenue generator of all mobile messaging services - and it will remain so for several years, according to new figures from ABI Research. They say SMS will account for 83% of all mobile messaging revenue until 2013, when it'll provide networks with $177 billion worldwide. The company also pointed out differences in the ways text messaging is used worldwide: North America and Europe have the highest messaging ARPUs, Asia-Pacific subscribers sign up for the most SMS alert services, and Latin Americans are heavy SMS users but prefer pay-as-you-go for all messaging services. [Press release]

3 plans to double its customer base in 4 years

UK mobile network 3 has said it is aiming to double its customer base (to at least 6.8m) by 2012 - and it plans to double its net revenue as well. [Source: FT.com]

Vodafone wins £2 billion tax case

Vodafone has defeated HM Revenue & Customs over a £2 billion tax claim. HMRC had wanted to impose UK tax on Vodafone's Luxembourg subsidiary, which was set up in 2000 when Vodafone took over Mannessman in Germany. Last week the High Court said the UK's tax laws were incompatible with European law in this instance and told HMRC to close its inquiry. HMRC says it'll appeal. [Sources: TimesOnline.co.uk; FT.com]

5.6 billion mobiles worldwide by 2013

There'll be 5.6 billion active mobile phones worldwide by 2013, compared with 3.9 billion in 2008, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. 80% of the growth is coming from the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa regions, although they don't contribute the same percentage to global revenue. 3G networks will account for half of all mobile subscriptions by 2013. When users with more than one phone are removed from the calculations, this means that more than half of the world’s population will be using mobile phones by early 2010. [Press release]

Vodafone now has over 250 million customers worldwide

Vodafone has released a financial statement for the three months to 31st December 2007. It now has 252.3 million 'proportionate' customers worldwide - which include a percentage of customers from companies it has partial control of - and says it hasn't changed its outlook for the current year. Overall revenue is up 15.8% to £9.2 billion, with data revenue up 51.6%.