Mobile operators in Western Europe beating recession

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to the latest Telecoms Market Matrix analysis from Analysis Mason, mobile operators in Western Europe are steadily beating the recession.

As reported by cellular-news, the latest research shows an improvement in mobile service revenue across Western European operators during the past 12 months. However, the same cannot be said for mobile operators in Eastern Europe, as many continued to struggle through the difficult economic period.

Mobile service revenue declined for the first time - quite suddenly in some cases - in most European countries during 2008 and 2009, while customer bases largely continued to grow. In 2010, mobile subscriber bases continued to grow in most European countries - only Romania exhibited a static base, and the Netherlands lost 2% of its active subscribers during the year.

In terms of mobile service revenue, results are mixed. Total revenue in Western Europe was stable in nominal terms in 2010 - a good result following a 2% decline in 2009. Revenue grew in most Western European countries, which is encouraging - particularly for markets that contracted in 2009, such as Germany and the UK. In the markets where revenue decreased during 2010, the rate of decline has usually slowed: the exceptions are the Netherlands and France, which posted worse declines in 2010 than in 2009.

According to Emma Buckland, Senior Analyst and leader of European telecoms market research, data services - particularly mobile Internet services on smartphones and connected tablets - will also be a key focus during 2011. Operators will need to find ways of using them to kick-start their revenue or stimulate the emerging growth of 2010.