Spanish mobile data market will double in five years, claims study

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:51 -0400

Despite undergoing a pronounced economic slowdown, the revenues generated from the Spanish mobile data market are set to double within the next five years, says a new study from Pyramid Research.

According to the author, Stela Bokun, mobile data revenues will double from US$4.1 billion in 2009 to US$$8.3 billion in 2014. "Mobile data ARPU, which accounted for 15 per cent of the total in 2008, will grow considerably over the next five years, accounting for 28 per cent of the total ARPU in 2014."

"Remote connectivity and infotainment service revenues are expected to skyrocket, driven by operators' efforts to boost adoption of advanced data services," said Bokun. "Vodafone, for example, currently offers a 15-day free trial and two months of service free for clients who sign up for its mobile broadband service. Similarly, Orange offers all new subscribers the same service at a 60 per cent discount for the first three months."

This predicted increase in mobile data usage will be helped by Vodafone's recent decision to offer DRM-free music tracks in Spain following agreements with Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Warner Music and other labels. The service enables dual delivery of DRM free music to a range of mobile phones and PCs with no need to sideload or synchronise.

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Nokia's Comes with Music--an operator turnoff

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:19:48 -0400

Nokia's glitzy launch in London of its Comes with Music service will have pleased music lovers and the gadget press alike, but UK mobile operators have expressed their displeasure by vowing not to sell the service over their networks.

While these operators will closely monitor this free music download service, their refusal to cooperate with Nokia stems from two, significant issues. Firstly, Nokia is insisting upon a profit-sharing deal albeit that operators can see little margin in selling the handset. Secondly, the operators will be saddled with much increased network traffic caused by the unlimited downloads associated with the service. The fear is that this could run into several Gigabytes per month per handset, which could cripple operators' existing data networks.

Insisting that the situation was not all gloom, Nokia claims to be negotiating with several operators in the hope it can sign several deals in time for Christmas. However, given the majority of the larger European operators already have, or are planning, a music download service, Nokia's Comes with Music can only be seen as a threat. The market research firm CCS Insight said it expected some operators to participate in the new service, but only if it proves popular and draws in new subscribers.

This resistance by UK operators could well be echoed by their counterparts in Europe and the US. Nokia's Ovi service, an umbrella concept for mobile Internet, has also experienced pushback from the operator community not wanting the handset giant to cream off revenues they strongly maintain belong to them.

However, a recent study by market researcher TNS Technology revealed that people aged 16 to 64 wanted to download 64 music tracks a month--which, on a yearly basis, equates to over £600, making the Comes with Music service at £130 look more of an attractive proposition.

For more on this story:
- go to IT Proportal

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Spanish mobile data market will double in five years, claims study

Nokia's Comes with Music--an operator turnoff