60 / 76
M
obile revenues now represent
more than half of total tele-
communications revenue, in
virtually every market, and
continue to grow share.
That should raise some
immediate questions: For which industry segments is
mobile participation essential? For which segments is
mobile helpful, but optional, and for which segments
does mobile not directly matter?
For some participants – heavily weighted toward
large retail service providers in the consumer seg-
ments – being in mobile arguably is essential. That
might be especially true in developing regions where
mobile represents 80 percent to 90 percent of all
retail telecom revenues. But mobility also has under-
pinned telecom revenue growth in developed nations
for decades as well.
In other cases, mobile is desirable, if not essential.
That is why cable operators in North America and Eu-
rope are preparing to enter the mobility business.
On the other hand, there always are niches within
the broader telecom value chain and industry that are
exploited by specialists, and which might be, at best,
insensitive to specific mobile exposure. In other words,
mobile might be optional.
Channel
By
Gary
Kim
The Role of Mobile
in the
60
Channel
Vision
|
January - February 2016