Telecom Revenue To Hit $1.2 Trillion By 2006: Report

Global telecommunications industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the close of 2006 and its growth will be driven by mobile demand, according to a new report from Insight Research.

At the start of 2006, over 1.8 billion subscribers worldwide will be depending on mobile wireless telephones, the report found. By the end of the year, wireless revenue will account for 49% of all telecommunications services revenue and will grow to 55% of all telecommunications industry revenue by 2010.

The telecommunications industry faced a brutal slump during the first part of the decade, but will experience substantial growth in 2006. The report predicts that the industry will grow by nearly 6% every year and the revenue will increase from $1.2 trillion to $1.6 trillion in 2010.

"The malaise of the past few years is finally beginning to dissipate, and while we see an industry-wide return to historic levels of growth, we anticipate that growth will be uneven across various geographic regions and product types," Insight Research president Robert Rosenberg said in a statement.

The report also found that the Asia-Pacific and Latin America will experience faster growth than North America and Europe. As the number of wireless 2.5G and 3G data services increases, wireless will continue to increase its popularity over wireline.