The latest report from researchers at Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts total revenue from mobile services around the world to exceed $1 trillion in 2013 (which equates to a slightly less impressive-sounding £614 billion).
This new record is expected despite a projected fall in voice revenue. The growth, perhaps unsurprisingly, is being driven by data revenue. Around a third of that $1 trillion total - $330 billion – is expected to come from data services. In fact, Informa predicts that data revenue and data ARPU in Japan will surpass the country's voice revenue and ARPU in 2014.
Mark Newman, Chief Research Officer at Informa Telecoms & Media, said "The backdrop to this transition in the industry is the fact that the internet has started to dominate the landscape for new services and applications, and telecoms operators are under increasing pressure to remain valuable and relevant in the eyes of their end-users."