According to a market study by Portio Research, mobile data services have become an important tool for generating revenue now that mobile handsets are used not only for voice calls but also for other services -- such as messaging, music, video, etc.
The shift in focus from voice to data services has largely been due to the decreasing growth of voice revenue and the increasing pressure on voice service profit margins. As voice services becomes more of a commodity, mobile operators need to look at other sources to generate new income.
This fact has provided the impetus to formulate and implement strategies to create successful data services that help increase overall data average revenue per user (ARPU).
Their report analyzes the strategies that have been adopted by mobile operators in both advanced and developing countries to make their data services successful and, thereby, drive up data ARPU.
Portio has also covered the strategies adopted by the mobile vendors to push its mobile phone handsets, as they ultimately led to increased data ARPU for operators.
Looking at the growth of non-voice mobile services from 2006 to 2013, Portio anticipates that mobile data revenues, expressed as a percentage of total mobile services revenues, are growing form just 16 percent in 2006 to reach over 25 percent in 2012.
As data service become increasingly important, operators and other players in the value chain must learn best practice operating procedures from the leading service providers.
By and large, the leaders are still in the Asia-Pacific and European markets, with North American carriers on the trailing edge.
