LatAm Mobile Content Market to Reach US$2.62bn by 2011

Revenues from mobile content in Latin America are expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 28% to reach US$2.62bn in 2011, compared to US$594mn in 2005, according to a study by international consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

The mobile content market is expected to grow at these rates due in large part to mobile operators in the region switching their growth strategies from growing market share to increasing their average revenue per user (ARPUs), Frost & Sullivan analyst Alex Zago said during a webinar presentation.

Declining voice ARPUs, pushing operators to offer mobile data services, and the growing coverage of 2.5G networks, were mentioned as key drivers impacting the Latin American mobile market.

"We see the high penetration of low-end handsets in the region as one of the restraints holding back growth of mobile content services and we need to overcome that. Besides, operators are not making the necessary efforts to educate their clients which results in a reduced adoption of mobile content services," Zago said.

Due to handsets capabilities, the services in most demand in Latin America are music and information downloads.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the Colombian mobile content market is still the least developed in the region, while in Chile, despite having the largest mobile penetration in Latin America, the contribution that mobile content makes to overall revenues is still low.

"Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela can be characterized as markets where the population values handset personalization which results in a higher demand for mobile content," the analyst added.

Argentina was ranked as the country with the highest mobile content participation in total mobile telephony revenues.

BNAmericas.com"

Posted to the site on 23rd August 2006