Wireless phone sales will shoot through the roof over the next several years according to Cahners In-Stat Group.
The high-tech market research firm predicts that more than one billion wireless handsets will be sold worldwide in 2003. In the U.S. alone, more than 400 million handsets will be sold in 2002, up from 277 million in 1999.
In-Stat has found that lower pricing, greater geographic coverage, elimination of roaming fees and lower priced payment plans will all contribute to an increase in the wireless phone's popularity.
In addition, 2.5G+ service will continue to drive subscriber rates, and in fact, will make the wireless handset the most pervasive method of accessing the Internet within the next four years.
According to Ray Jodoin, Principal Analyst for In-Stat's Global Wireless Service, "Soon, all digital phones will be Web-enabled. Applications such as instant messaging and mobile e-commerce will transform the handset from being a 'nice to have' wireless phone to a 'must have' information appliance."
Advancements in handset technology such as bigger screens, color, holographic displays, voice recognition and GPS-driven location position functions will also propel the market. The one hurdle that the market faces is the ability to obtain a steady supply of components.
Component manufacturers, especially those in the semiconductor industry, will be hard-pressed to keep up with demand, especially as dual and triple-mode handsets become the norm.
In-Stat has also found that:
-- The growth rate in industrialized nations continues at a very steady, controlled rate. However, growth in the emerging nations such as Brazil, China and Eastern Europe, is accelerating very rapidly, as significant cellular deployments are made.
-- Up until recently, most wireless carriers competed almost exclusively on price. This is changing, however, as wireless carriers tout Web access as a key differentiator. Sprint PCS was the first U.S. wireless carrier to heavily advertise their wireless Web strategy and other major carriers, like AT&T, Verizon, and VoiceStream, are rushing to mark with their Internet access programs. -- Digital wireless phones are taking over from analog. In-Stat estimates that in 1999, digital handsets in the United States comprised more than half of total sales. In 2000, digital is projected to have a 78.5% market share.
The report, The Component Manufacturers Black Hole: 2000 Handset Forecast (No. GW0006HS) provides worldwide wireless handset sales and unit shipment forecasts.
The report also breaks down forecasts for the U.S., Europe, Japan and R.O.W. To purchase this report, or for more information please visit http://www.instat.com/catalog/cat-cw.htm#gw0006hs or call Matt Woods at 617/630-2139; mwoods@instat.com. The report price is $2995 USD.
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