WASHINGTON D.C.-Growth continues in the wireless industry, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s newly released mid-year 2003 data survey results.
The survey showed data service revenues jumped 70 percent from the year-ago period to reach $700 million for the first half of this year. U.S. carriers earned service revenues of $41.1 billion in the first half of 2003, up 13 percent from the first half of 2002. Minutes of use were up 30 percent, surpassing 380 million for the first half of the year, and monthly short message service traffic was up more than 31 percent, reaching more than 1.2 billion for June 2003 compared with 930 million for June 2002. In addition, digital subscribership reached 92 percent, with 128.3 million digital subscribers. Total wireless subscribership increased to 148.1 million. And wireless investments were up more than 13 percent with carriers reporting $134 billion in total cumulative capital investments for the first half of the year.
“The wireless industry is sending a clear message to Wall Street and to policy-makers-wireless technology is still the best innovator in business today, as it has been for the past 20 years,” said Tom Wheeler, CTIA’s president and chief executive officer.
