U.S. cellular market nearing 250M connection mark

The U.S. cellular industry added 18 million connections during 2006, bringing the total number of U.S. wireless connections to 232 million, according to Wireless Intelligence, a joint venture of Ovum and the GSM Association.
Connections include subscribers, but also potentially machine-to-machine applications.
Wireless Intelligence said the market is expected to grow 9% this year, or add around 20 million connections. The firm predicts the United States will pass the 250-million-connection mark by the fourth quarter of this year.
The research firm said Verizon Wireless is closing in on AT&T Mobility’s market share, which was 26% at the end of last year. Meanwhile, Sprint Nextel Corp.’s market share has been stagnant since the second quarter of last year, said the company.
Wireless Intelligence said the uptake of date revenues could be notable this year. From the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2007, major carriers experienced non-voice average revenue per user grow between 30% and 60%, said the company.
“As carriers expand their network coverage, good handsets become widely available and data services become widespread, end users now have at least three good reasons to use high speed connections on their mobile” says Joss Gillet, author of the report.