There has been a phenomenal growth in the number of mobile users, especially in Asia-Pacific. Young generation is particularly driving the market as it tends to look for new features in handsets.

 

On December 4, 2007, Nokia Corp. stated that it anticipates a 10% growth in 2008 for mobile devices in the global market, reaching over 1.2 Billion, as per the news published by Herald Tribune.

The largest growth of over 15% anticipated for 2008 would come from the Asia-Pacific region, China, and the Middle East and Africa, as mentioned by the world’s largest phone manufacturer. Also, Nokia is of the opinion that the number of mobile subscriptions would be another key measure of the growth in the market, which is believed to reach four billion in 2009 rather than 2010 as was previously predicted.

There has been a steady growth seen in the Asia-Pacific mobile market. Also, 3G mobile services are being launched in major markets in most Asia-Pacific countries with the most developed markets leading the region.

As per Nokia, China, with its gigantic population and fast growing economy, is a true force in the region’s burgeoning mobile market. Having being recognized as the largest mobile market in the world, China is constantly rising in terms of both subscribers and revenue. Reduced service costs are assisting to push the growth in mobile market of China. In the last few years, growth has been rapid with mobile phones becoming an essential part of the daily lives of the Chinese urban populace.

Just like China, regions like Africa and Middle East are also displaying a growth trend in their mobile markets. As per the World Bank, countries in Africa are increasing at twice the rate of the global market and there are around five times more mobile phones as compared to landline users. But in the Middle East, the factor pushing growth in the mobile phone business is the high number of youngsters who account for a large part of the subscriber base. The young generation keeps changing their mobile handsets as per the latest trend and explore new features introduced in mobile handsets from time to time.

According to a Senior Research Analyst at RNCOS, “It has become very important for the mobile operators to recognize world’s mix of saturated and high-growth rising markets if they want to gain more profit. To take benefit of upcoming markets, new business models and technologies will be required to see to the mounting number of subscribers and low income users.”