Wireless data service revenues for the first half of 2008 reached $14.8 billion, a 40 percent increase over the first half of 2007, when data revenue totaled $10.5 billion, according to the CTIA-The Wireless Association latest survey.
Wireless data revenues now account for 20 percent of all wireless service revenues, and represent money that people spend on non-voice services.
The survey found that text messaging again set new records, with 75 billion messages reported in the month of June, an average of about 2.5 billion messages a day. This is an increase of 160 percent over the 28.8 billion messages in June 2007.
Wireless subscribers continue to capture and send more pictures and other multi-media messages, more than 5.6 billion MMS messages in the first half of 2008, almost as many as were sent in all of 2007.
As of June 2008, there were more than 262 million wireless users. This is a year-over-year increase of close to 20 million subscribers. The 12-month record for subscriber growth was reached in 2005, when 25.7 million new users came online.
Wireless customers used more than 1.12 trillion minutes in the first half of 2008, up 10.9 percent over the first half of 2007, and generated more than $72 billion in total wireless revenue in six months.
“These statistics prove that wireless service in today’s marketplace means so much more to American consumers than just voice-calls,” said Steve Largent, CTIA-The Wireless Association President and CEO.
“More and more people are using wireless devices to access the Internet, take photos, get directions, watch videos, download music and send text messages. But this is just the beginning. When wireless customers want even more from their handsets and networks, the industry will continue to respond, evolve, innovate, and deliver to meet this growing demand.”
