Global telecoms growth set to slow
The global telecoms market will grow 9.1% on a compound annual basis to become a $4.3 trillion industry in 2010, after rising as much as 11.2% to $3 trillion last year, a report from the Telecommunications Industry Association of equipment suppliers found.
Wired telephone line revenue is set to grow less than half a percent a year to $703bn from $693bn in 2006, as growth in regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America barely offset declines in telephone lines in the United States and Europe.
At the other end of the spectrum, broadband internet access service revenue is set to grow 16.5% annually to $208bn in 2010 from $113bn in 2006, according to the report.
In the same time frame wireless service revenue is expected to grow 11.7% a year to $1.07 trillion in 2010 from $689bn in 2006 on the same basis, the TIA said.
Global wireless service revenue is expected to surpass wired services in 2007, the TIA said.
The global market for telecoms gear, including everything from phones to big service provider network gear, is expected to grow 7.6% a year to $654bn in 2010 from $488bn in 2006, when the growth rate was 10.2%.
The United States telecoms industry, which represented a $923bn market in 2006, is set to grow at a slower 7.6% annual rate in the same period, down from its 9.3% growth in 2006, according to the report.
The European telecoms market, which was the biggest in 2006 with $1 trillion in revenue, is expected to grow 7% a year in the same period, while the Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing region, with 12.5% annual growth.
The Middle East and Africa and Latin America are expected to be next in line with a growth rate of 12.2% a year.