2010 U.S. On-Deck Premium Mobile Downloadable Content and Applications Markets

Frost & Sullivan, July 2010, Pages: 75

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled 2010 U.S. On-deck Premium Mobile Downloadable Content and Applications Markets provides current market trends and forecasts for 2011 and for beyond. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following applications: mobile music, mobile games, mobile graphics, mobile video services, and mobile informational services.

Market Overview

Mobile Operators Continue to Rely on Mobile Data Services to Drive Value in the North American Mobile Communication Markets

The U.S. on-deck premium mobile content market is currently under siege by smartphones, which have penetrated a substantial portion of the subscriber base. It is only a matter of time before mobile operators cash in on this trend and offer a voluminous catalog of smartphone applications (where possible) in line with the rising prevalence of smartphones. As the mobile phone is currently the most important communications device, subscribers rely on wireless services for their communication, entertainment, and information requirements. “The large majority of the installed mobile device base continues to use feature phones and mobile operator portals remain an important channel for mobile content discovery and distribution,” says the analyst of this research. “Additionally, applications for open smartphone platforms will be increasingly distributed through operator storefronts and there is a clear opportunity for mobile operators to leverage unique, strategic assets to develop and deliver compelling applications to consumers and enterprise segments.” Apart from the iPhone, almost all other smartphone applications can be distributed through operator storefronts. Further, mid-range, integrated 3G mobile phones that run on platforms such as Java or binary runtime environment for wireless (BREW) will continue to represent a significant opportunity for premium mobile content.

However, mobile operators will be challenged to deliver enough value through operator storefronts to drive adoption and counter the increasing competition from off-deck or independent storefronts that have become prominent largely due to the smartphones. They will also have to justify the significant cost investments to take their premium mobile content offerings to the ‘next level’. “Mobile operators are forced to expand their content catalogs and yet are not able to increase the data plan rates to justify this expansion,” notes the analyst. “At a certain ‘tipping point’, it may become unfeasible to continue doing this without exploring other revenues sources such as mobile advertising.” It is not easy to rapidly launch new devices and the long product development cycles further complicate the matter. Mobile operators will have to find a way to raise their average revenue per user (ARPU) without being drawn into a race to blindly add new services, devices, or network technologies. Operators also need to look at the value they bring to the Smartphone application store ecosystem, as they could again be turning into connectivity providers that mainly provide access to third-party or ‘over-the-top’ services.

“While it is important to always seek new technologies, the question will remain - do network technologies drive content, or does the promise of delivering next-generation content drive investments in network?,” observes the analyst. “To compete successfully, mobile operators need to look at multiple strategic factors including cost and service pricing, network technologies and devices, content lineup, quality of service and customer care, the enterprise segment, and geographical coverage.” For example, mobile operators could classify mobile content into various tiers and match them to their customer demographics to determine the optimum mix for their decks. They should look to enhance the growth of their developer community by facilitating application development, distribution, settlement, and reporting. The enterprise segment also represents an important opportunity for the mobile operators.

Application Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following applications in this research:

- Mobile music
- Mobile games
- Mobile graphics
- Mobile video services
- Mobile informational services

Technologies

The following technologies are covered in this research:

- 3G, 4G
- Next-generation devices
- Mobile advertising and mobile marketing
- Mobile banking and mobile payments

1. Introduction and Overview
1.1 Introduction and Market Definition
1.2 Research Overview
1.3 Mobile Content Market Segmentation - On-deck and Off-deck
1.4 Premium Mobile Content Categories
1.5 Summary of Findings

2. Market Dynamics
2.1 Value Chain
2.2 Industry Challenges
2.3 Market Drivers
2.4 Market Restraints
2.5 Competitive Analysis

3. Market Forecasts
3.1 Revenue Forecasts
3.2 Main Market Observations
3.3 Market Share Analysis

4. U.S. On-deck Mobile Music Market
4.1 Mobile Music Categories
4.2 Key Market Trends - Ringtones
4.3 Key Market Trends - Ringback Tones
4.4 Key Market Trends - Full-Track Music Downloads
4.5 Key Market Trends - Mobile Music Streaming and Other Services
4.6 Mobile Music - Revenue Forecasts

5. U.S. On-deck Mobile Games Market
5.1 Mobile Gaming Categories
5.2 Key Market Trends - Mobile Games
5.3 Mobile Games - Revenue Forecasts

6. U.S. On-deck Mobile Graphics Market
6.1 Mobile Graphics Categories
6.2 Key Market Trends - Mobile Graphics
6.3 Mobile Graphics - Revenue Forecasts

7. U.S. On-deck Mobile Video Services Market
7.1 Mobile Video Services Categories
7.2 Key Market Trends - Mobile Video Services
7.3 Mobile Video Services - Revenue Forecasts

8. U.S. On-deck Mobile Informational Services Market
8.1 Mobile Informational Services Categories
8.2 Key Market Trends - Mobile Informational Services
8.3 Mobile Informational Services - Revenue Forecasts

9. Conclusions
9.1 Conclusions and Final Comments

10. About Frost & Sullivan
10.1 Who is Frost & Sullivan
10.2 What Makes Us Unique
10.3 TEAM Methodology
10.4 Global Perspective

- RealNetworks
- LiveWire Mobile
- Comverse
- Ericsson

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