The average revenue generated by each mobile phone user (ARPU) dropped between 6% and 9% globally last year, according to a new report from ABI Research. The company's calculations compare Q3 2009 with Q3 2008.
In Europe, ARPU fell by between 5% and 8% (although Austria's ARPU shrunk by over 9%) – and in India ARPU dropped by over 10% year-on-year as new operators and the introduction of per-second billing put pressure on voice revenues. However, ABI Research estimates that ARPU decline is likely to flatten out in Europe and North America as mobile data revenue increasingly replaces falling voice revenue.