FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Along with research firm IDC’s report entitled “Attack of the Phones: Worldwide Handset Market Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2006,” program manager Kevin Burden predicts that a “wireless revolution is waiting in the wings.”
Burden’s rosy outlook is backed by the report’s optimistic numbers: mobile phone shipments are projected to increase from 391 million this year to an astounding 606 million in 2006, a compound annual growth rate of almost 10 percent.
As the wireless handset industry drags itself out from its worst year ever, mobile phone makers will likely find respite from the gloom in replacement handset sales boosted by new advanced networks and applications. But that growth is contingent on the timely deployment of those networks and content.
“When mass wireless adoption occurs, it will result in a paradigm shift comparable to that created by the World Wide Web,” said Burden, program manager for IDC’s Smart Handheld Devices division. “However, until that happens, handset vendors must continue to research and develop enhanced features and functionality that will drive higher average revenue per user.”
