Data revenue growth and challenges

Data revenues have been growing substantially on a quarterly basis to reach around 22% of total recurring revenues, compared to 19% a year ago (across selected operators). The US & Canada is the region showing the fastest growth since 2006. Asia Pacific is following a flat trend, while European operators are growing at a steady pace. While SMS traffic accounts for the majority of data revenues, non-SMS data revenue growth is picking up in Western Europe. Data revenues are affected by seasonality patterns and the split between contract and prepay in the market. Among the factors inhibiting data revenue growth are coverage, capacity, price and user experience.