INTUG

Usage of mobile data services is growing rapidly in the European Union as mobile broadband networks proliferate and prices fall, says the GSMA, the global trade association representing over 750 mobile operators.

The EU’s mobile data market – excluding text messaging – grew by 40 per cent to 7 billion euros in 2007 as operators invested more than 20 billion euros in enhancing their mobile networks and services, according to research by Wireless Intelligence and consultancy AT Kearney commissioned by the GSMA.

In the year to April 2008, the number of 3G users in the EU doubled to 112 million. Europe has adopted 3G faster than any other region of the world. The proportion of people in the European Economic Area/EU27 using 3G is 22.5 per cent compared with 18.4 per cent in the U.S. and Canada and 3.7 per cent in Asia-Pacific, according to Wireless Intelligence.

The cost of 3G services, 3G handsets, 3G-enabled laptops and dongles that enable laptops to connect to mobile broadband networks is falling steadily. In some European markets, mobile broadband services are now priced lower than comparable fixed-line broadband services. For example, mobile data services are available in the U.K. for as little as 10 pounds (13 euros) a month and in Austria for 10 euros a month.

Moreover, AT Kearney estimates (based on data from 38 operators) that the average retail price of data roaming, which enable travelers to access multimedia services using a mobile phone or laptop, fell by 25 per cent in the year to April 2008 in the EU and that EU data roaming traffic grew 75 per cent over the same period. The consultancy firm also estimates that the average price of text messaging roaming services fell 18 per cent in the year to April 2008.

Read the full press release.

Related:

• Share/Save