[New analysis from Frost & Sullivan says “Content is the new horizon for the European mobile industry.”]

London — The mobile communication market in Europe has reached a saturated and mature phase. Mobile penetration is more than 100 percent in many western and eastern countries, even as many other countries are rapidly reaching full penetration. It is clear that the mobile industry in Europe requires investing and committing in other services and applications in order to grow effectively. Mobile premium content services and applications represent a potential source of significant revenues for the mobile industry.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com), European Mobile Premium Content Markets, finds that the market (including revenues from mobile music, mobile games, mobile video/TV and mobile graphics) was worth €2.68 billion in 2007 and is estimated to reach €11.0 billion in 2012.

“Content is the new horizon for the European mobile industry,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Saverio Romeo. “During the last three years, mobile operators have been observing a slow, but continuous decline in the average revenue per user (APRU) due to the decrease of voice and SMS ARPU. New sources of revenues are needed: content is an excellent candidate.”

Mobile premium content applications and services are increasingly and significantly contributing to the revenue growth of the European mobile industry. By the end of 2012, total revenues from mobile content will reach €11.0 billion.

Content types such as music, video/TV and games are leading this growth. However, new services and applications such as mobile social networking, mobile searching and location-based services are gaining momentum. All these services, which can be defined as content tools, allow users to personalise, search and share content with other users. Business models are also shifting towards ad-based models.

“In order to exploit the variety of revenue-generated business opportunities, the industry has to face some critical challenges,” cautions Romeo. “Consumers will use content on mobile devices if the industry is able to offer high-quality content with an excellent user experience at affordable prices.” 2128

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