U.S. wireless subscribers close to $250m in the fourth quarter of 2004




U.S. Wireless Content and Application Download Revenues Approached $250 Million in Fourth Quarter of 2004, IDC Finds

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., -/9 May, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology Forum/- As the wireless market matures and voice services become more of a commodity, the dynamics of competition among U.S. wireless carriers is evolving. IDC research found that total revenues from paid downloads by U.S. wireless subscribers approached $250 million in the fourth quarter of 2004, on volume of almost 100 million units.

"Verizon edged out Cingular for the top spot in terms of total content downloads and application revenues in Q4 of 2004, which suggests that Verizon's BREW platform and its associated developer, aggregator, and content provider ecosystem is currently performing well relative to other carrier approaches to this category," said Lewis Ward, senior research analyst in IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program. "However, from an average spend per customer perspective during the quarter, Sprint PCS was out front and Nextel had a very strong showing in the business applications category."

IDC's comparison of data services and applications currently supported by the 5 major U.S. wireless carriers is divided into three broad categories: messaging, content and application downloads, and other services and content. From a download revenue standpoint, ring tones and games led the way, with graphics, consumer and business applications comprising the remainder.

In the study, IDC offers recommendations to U.S. wireless carriers as they continue to focus on key strategies that allow them to achieve and sustain growth involving data services and applications, including building a value-oriented data strategy, fine-tune marketing strategies for the youth and young adult markets, and looking for new customers by exploring emerging opportunities such as MVNO's and prepaid.

The IDC study, U.S. Wireless Carrier 4Q04 Data Services and Applications Analysis (IDC #33291), presents a competitive analysis of the wireless data services and applications delivered by the major U.S. wireless carriers for the fourth quarter of 2004, as well as an aggregated view of the rest of the market and the market as a whole. Details on download revenue and traffic are presented as part of this study as well. IDC plans to deliver this study and associated data metrics on a quarterly basis moving forward, and a more granular look at individual carrier's performance is additionally available under inquiry.

To purchase this document, call IDC's Sales hotline at (508) 988-7988 or email sales@idc.com.