UMTS: Alive and Well - 4G Americas

APPENDIX B: FURTHER INFORMATION ON WIRELESS DATA DEMANDThe information contained in this Appendix is supplemental to Section 4: The Growing Demands forWireless Data Applications.Further Information on Wireless Data RevenuesThe health of the wireless industry is driven by a careful balance shared by operators, vendors and othermembers of the ecosystem; and that balance could be altered if government regulation is not welladdressed and also if spectrum requirements are not adequately and fairly accommodated. In hisaddress at the CTIA Wireless IT conference in October 2009, Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility andConsumer Markets president and CEO, had some important facts to show how and why less regulation isthe best path to the future for America’s wireless industry. 136 Due to the timing of the show and inquiriesposed by the FCC Commissioners, de la Vega characterized the successful wireless industrydevelopment in the U.S.According to de la Vega, the U.S. wireless industry:1. Is the most competitive in the world: The U.S. has more wireless operators than any otherdeveloped country in the world, with four national carriers and 173 regional, local and specialtyoperators. (1) The U.S. wireless industry is the least concentrated among developed countries.(2) Ninety-five percent of Americans can choose from at least three carriers.(3)Sources: (1) OECD Communications Update (Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment) (2) Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, Bank of America / Merrill Lynch “Global WirelessMatrix 4Q08,” and (3) FCC's Annual CMRS Competition Report2. Offers the best value: Compared to other developed countries, the U.S. wireless industrydelivers the lowest effective per-minute price in the industrialized world. Not only do U.S.customers pay the least, they pay 60 percent less than the average of the 26 OECD countries’prices. U.S. wireless customers also enjoy the highest minutes of use – almost three times theminutes of use of many other developed countries. (1)Source: (1) Bank of America / Merrill Lynch “Global Wireless Matrix 4Q08”3. Offers more choices: U.S. wireless customers can select from among 630 devices from morethan 30 manufacturers. Those devices are increasingly powerful: 84 percent of handsets are webenabledand 89 percent are data-capable. (1) Customers can choose from among nearly everymajor operating system, enjoy an amazing variety of applications and today they lead the world inapplication downloads. (2)Sources: (1) CTIA, and (2) Strategy Analytics4. Is poised for next wave of wireless growth: Industry analysts estimate that the emergingwireless devices and machine-to-machine applications market could generate $90 billion in globalrevenue by 2013. The U.S. wireless industry is investing heavily to nurture this nascent industry.Emerging consumer devices such as personal navigation devices, e-readers, netbooks and otherconsumer electronics are beginning to take off, while Machine-to-Machine applications promise totransform the productivity and efficiency of American businesses. (1)Source: (1) Rethink Wireless136 AT&T Calls for Constructive, Fact-Based Dialog with FCC on New Government Push to Regulate Vibrant U.S. Wireless Industry.AT&T. 7 October 2009.www.3GAmericas.org February 2010 Page 129