WASHINGTON-Cellular subscriber growth is declining for the first time since 1983, according to a study conducted by the Strategis Group. Nearly 10 million subscribers were added in 1995, while only 9 million were added last year.
“The challenge ahead for the cellular industry is to recognize it is in the first phase of a maturing industry with increasing competition on the horizon,” said Elliott Hamilton, vice president of the Strategis Group’s North American Telecom division. “Whereas in the past subscriber growth alone was paramount, the industry now requires a completely different set of proactive operating and strategic assumptions to endure in the ever-changing telecommunications marketplace.”
The study predicts more than 19 million new cellular subscribers will be added over the next five years, for a total of more than 62 million subscribers in 2001. In addition, the company said there will be 26 million personal communications services subscribers. Together, PCS and cellular will have a household penetration rate of nearly 47 percent.
