LONDON-The Western European cellular service market will grow from US$31 billion in 1997 at an annual growth rate of 7.6 percent to become a US$52 billion industry by 2002, according to a new forecast from International Data Corp.
“The cellular market in Europe is maturing rapidly,” said Guila Rancati, a research analyst in European Wireless and Mobile Communications research for IDC. “Despite variations in the rate of progress between different countries, we expect to see that the number of cellular subscribers in Western Europe will exceed 133 million by the year 2002.”
Falling prices and greater competition between operators fostered by liberalization in the marketplace are the main factors that will sustain the growth rate, Rancati explained.
