The USA telecom service revenue reached US$302.0 billion in 2008
Isabelle Paradis
March 2009
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According to the information released by HOT TELECOM (www.hottelecom.com) in its latest report “USA Telecom country profile”, the US should continue to be the largest global telecom market in terms of revenues with telecom service revenue estimated to have reached US$302.0 billion at the end of 2008. Currently, approximately one quarter of the world’s telecom service revenue is generated by the US.

Since 2003, the US fixed market has been suffering from stagnation, with its number of fixed subscribers decreasing at an average of -3.7%, this mainly due to growing fixed/mobile substitution. At the end 2008, the US had 151.6 million fixed subscribers, representing a penetration of 49.7% and a decrease of 4.3% compared with 2008. The declining trend in the fixed market is set to continue in the next five years, with the number of fixed lines forecasted to reach 133.6 million by the end of 2013.

The mobile market, on the other hand, has seen a steady increase in the last decade and remains a key market driver, as carriers introduce advanced data applications and high-speed third-generation (3G) services. The number of mobile subscribers grew by an average of 11.8% over the last 5 years to reach an estimated 276.4 million subscribers and a penetration of 90.6% at the end of 2008. “Mobile growth is expected to slow significantly over the next 5 years as saturation nears, brining the number of mobile customers to 342.9 million at the end of 2013” HOT TELECOM’s president Isabelle Paradis said.

Internet revenue increased rapidly in the past few years, fuelled by rising broadband penetration. At the end of 2008, there was an estimated 151.8 million Internet subscribers and 250.4 million Internet users, translating into a penetration level of 49.8%. Broadband surpassed dial-up in 2004 and now represents about 90.9% of all Internet connections. Broadband subscribers increased by an estimated 18.9% in 2008 to reach 144.1 million (including links over 200 kbps in at least one direction). This number should grow by an average rate of 6.7% over the next five years to reach 198.6 million at the end of 2013. Dial-up/broadband substitution continues, with broadband forecasted to represent 100% of all Internet customers by the end of 2010.

Find out more in HOT TELECOM’s new 48-page global report: http://www.hottelecom.com/usa-copr.html