Global telecoms services hit €1.4tr

The worldwide telecoms market is on track to be worth €1.4 trilion (US$2 trillion) this year, according to a Gartner report.

The report also said the Asia Pacific telecoms market is set to surpass North America this year, growing 8% to €361.1 billion (US$513.1 billion).

The fastest growing region is the Middle East and Africa, with a predicted CAGR of 8.6% between 2007 and 2012, Gartner said.

The decline in fixed line services is forecast to continue, with mobiles expected to outnumber fixed lines by at least a 4:1.

While revenue from mobiles is increasing - and is expected to top €703.68 billion (US$1 trillion) by 2010 - Gartner predicted that the mobile voice market will stagnate as a proportion of the market by 2012.

Data services in the legacy sector are now outgrowing both mobile and fixed-line services.

Asia-Pacific smartphone market meanwhile has declined 4.6% despite average worldwide increases of 15.7%.