The US wireless market continued to enjoy robust growth rates in 2008 in terms of subscriber numbers and total revenues. Subscriber numbers increased to approximately 266 million by late 2008. Most wireless companies continued to register solid performances underpinned by growth in data revenue, although Sprint Nextel continued to lose considerable market share. Increases in data ARPU largely offset the ongoing decline in ARPU for voice services. As the deployment of 3G networks gathered momentum, with AT&T Mobility joining the 3G race, so too did developments in the 4G outlook with the launch of the Sprint Nextel-Clearwire WiMAX network and with both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility announcing their intentions to deploy 4G LTE networks. In January 2009 Verizon Wireless completed its acquisition of Alltel, making it the largest US wireless operator by subscriber numbers. This report provides analysis, key statistics and forecasts of the US wireless market.
