Communications Regulatory Authority

AGCOM’s regulatory intervention concerning ceiling prices for termination of calls to
the networks of mobile operators as aforementioned. The segment of value-added
services increased by 21.8% reaching a total turnover of 3.4 billion euros at year’s end.
This is a very significant figure: this segment outstripped several segments of the fixed
telephony market (such as data transmission). The more traditional component (SMS
messaging and peer-to-peer MMS) confirms itself as the leading one among valueadded
services (VAS): however, an increase has been recorded in the percentage of
innovative VAS, which reached about 32.5% of the total revenues from mobile VAS
(from 23% in 2004).
Figure1.22. National market of mobile services (€ billion)
Source: IDC, 2006
SIM reached 71.5 million units compared to about 63 million units in 2004. This figure
is very high, even higher than the growth recorded in the previous year, which confirms
the presence on the market of double and triple SIM. The growth is expected to slow
down in the following years, at the end of 2007. The total number of SIM is envisaged
to stabilize around 79.6 million units.
The most significant figure refers to the growth, exceeding expectations, of UMTS
connections (from 2.6 million users at the end of 2004 to about 10 million at the end of
2005; figure 1.23.). The increase is due also to the extremely advantageous launch
policies of mobile operators. The spreading of the 3G mobile technology places Italy at
the forefront worldwide, outstripping not only the other European countries but also the
United States and Japan. UMTS technology is expected to continue to grow at fast pace
in the coming years. In 2007, over 25 million of 3G mobile lines are envisaged.
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