Traditional ARPU distorting consumer mobile spending trends - Individuals spending twice as much on mobile services as reported

Average revenue per user (ARPU) is traditionally based on mobile connections (ie SIM cards), and on this basis has been in decline in most regions over the last decade. However, when ARPU is considered on a ‘per subscriber’ (ie individual person) basis, our research shows that consumers in more than a third of countries worldwide have actually increased their spending on mobile services over the same period.

Our research found that at $27 in 2011, global subscriber ARPU stands at around twice the level of connections-based ARPU ($14). In the developed world, subscriber ARPU is $55 compared to $36 for connections ARPU; in the developing world the figures stand at $16 and $7, respectively.

Even though subscriber ARPU growth is also showing a negative trend globally, its annual rate of decline was around half that of its connections equivalent during the period 2001-2011. Our data shows that while only ten countries displayed positive growth in connections ARPU in the decade, some 74 countries registered positive gains in subscriber ARPU over the same period.

Average annual ARPU growth, 2001-11
Source: GSMA Intelligence