About the only time we hear the word trillion is in a gloomy report about the national debt. But here it is in a more positive context: A new report from Insight Research predicts global telecommunications services revenue will grow from $2.1 trillion in 2012 to $2.7 trillion in 2017 at a combined average growth rate of 5.3 percent.
Consumer and business spending for wireless services will continue to fuel the growth, the report says. Wireless subscriber growth, particularly in Asia and other emerging markets, will raise wireless revenues by 64 percent from current levels, Insight forecasts, while wireline revenues show only modest growth. Nearly all of the growth in both sectors is expected to occur in broadband services, with wireless 3G and 4G broadband services projected to grow at a compounded rate of 24 percent over the next five years and wireline broadband services projected to grow at a 13 percent compounded rate over the same span.
"Despite global economic uncertainty, the telecommunications industry is showing strong revenue growth, which is being driven by consumer Internet usage and business mobility solutions. These are enabling new applications," says Fran Caulfield, research director for Insight Research. "Even amidst so much economic uncertainty, the fact remains that telecommunications is a key factor in economic growth. Telecommunications facilitates socio-economic advancement and is a critical utility for economic development, much like water and energy."
