With the increasing popularity of mobile devices, the demand for mobile communication technology continues to rapidly grow all around the world. The global mobile data traffic, for example, is forecast to increase from 3.7 exabytes per month in 2015 to 30.6 exabytes per month by 2020. Wireless data telecom services are projected to generate about 554 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2019, a significant increase from the 2014 figure, when spending stood at about 393 billion U.S. dollars. As of June 2015, the number of mobile wireless subscriptions worldwide already was at around seven billion, with the GSM technology accounting for the majority of connections.

The penetration rate of mobile phones is also forecast to increase. About 67 percent of the total population is projected to own a mobile phone by 2019, which means there will be more than five billion mobile users in the world by that year. This growth also reflects on the number of mobile connections worldwide, which is forecast to increase from about four billion in 2008 to around nine billion by 2020. Samsung has been the leading global mobile phone vendor for the last few years. Nokia/Microsoft and Apple also hold a significant share of the mobile phone market.

Mobile broadband access using the 3G and now the 4G/LTE networks has continued to expand as users continue to add tablets, modems and phones to use alternative communication methods and cloud based services. In the longer term, with the increased availability of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, the amount of mobile data downloaded is likely to at least double yearly for the next few years.

A major threat to the smartphone business arises from the limitations of the mobile broadband infrastructure. The mobile industry can develop all of these new applications and services, but if the infrastructure cannot handle the capacity, there will be little use for them. Developed markets are eating up new spectrum with a voracious appetite. WiFi could be a good customer access alternative; it is already used to access mobile broadband in the home, but mobile operators have problems with the idea of changing their business models to better utilize WiFi.
Driven by the growing usage of smartphones and mobile broadband services, mobile messaging continues to gain popularity throughout the world. But the scene is changing. The traditional SMS market, which peaked in 2012 and is now gradually shrinking, is being replaced by Over-The-Top (OTT) social messaging and messaging apps. This decline in traditional SMS usage is particularly evident in countries and regions where there is high smartphone and mobile broadband penetration.

Despite the positive future ahead for the mobile sector, it must also be acknowledged that many carriers are currently facing financial woes, with stagnating revenues, declining ARPUs and increasing competition.
Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator for mobile operators and used as an important benchmark by investors and analysts. The current economic climate has driven down ARPU for operators around the world. Roaming prices are a controversial issue around the world, with customers complaining that roaming prices are too high. Many mobile users are turning to alternatives solutions such as Wi-Fi hotspots and local SIM cards. Regulators in many countries have ordered companies to lower their roaming fees and increase billing transparency, thus lessening the chance of bill-shock. However, for mobile operators, roaming remains an important source of revenue.

Customer experience has become a key issue in the overall retail market, not just in telecoms – and dissatisfied customers are no longer taking a passive approach. In search of better prices and better services, more and more mobile subscribers around the world are opting to change service providers. As a result, churn rates are on the rise. Bearing in mind that the cost of acquiring customers is expensive, reducing churn rates can offer significant savings to telcos.

Key developments:
•Infrastructure sharing has become increasingly popular, and carriers throughout the world are selling or leasing out their mobile towers in an attempt to monetize these assets.
•Tower Companies or TowerCos have made a lucrative business out of buying towers and leasing tower space back to operators – at the same time developing new sites for operators to share as their networks grow. TowerCos have been particularly successful in the Americas and Africa.
•Smartphones account for over 70% of global mobile handset shipments in 2015.
•Although Samsung and Apple remain the leading smartphone suppliers globally, their market share is being eroded by lower-priced phones from China. Moving beyond their vast domestic market, several Chinese brands are expanding internationally, especially to India and southern Asia.
•In 2014, Beijing-based Xiaomi became the rising star among smartphone vendors, overtaking Lenovo, Huawei, Coolpad, and even Samsung in China, to become the country’s smartphone market leader.
•Android continues to increase its share of the operating system market. Low-cost Android smartphones are expected to drive much of the smartphone growth in coming years, particularly in emerging countries such as China, India, and Brazil.
•Wearable technology is expected to be the next large growth area for consumer electronics with smart watches, fitness trackers, augmented reality glasses and remote home monitoring devices all emerging from this new sector.
•In March 2015, WhatsApp added mobile VoIP (MoIP) to its messaging app. WhatsApp’s user base has more than tripled in only two years, topping 700 million users in 2015. Meanwhile, SMS has declined to less than 70% of global messaging revenues.
•In February 2014, WhatsApp was purchased by Facebook for $16 billion, and Viber was acquired by Japan-based Rakuten for $900 million.
•Succumbing to competition, Samsung’s ChatON was discontinued in February 2015.
•The migration to LTE is driving a surge in data usage, which has pushed up ARPU rates in some countries.
•Operators who offer application-centric plans generally have higher ARPU and lower churn rates.
•Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) continue to decrease throughout the world, reined in by regulatory intervention.
•The European Commission is preparing regulations aimed at phasing out roaming charges in the European Union. 5G will be the next development in mobile technology.