TIA study: Global telecom market at $3 trillion

The Telecommunications Industry Association this week issued its “2007 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast” for the global telecommunications industry. The study, conducted by Wilkofsky Gruen Associates, found that telecom revenue worldwide amounted to $3 trillion in 2006, up more than 11% from the previous year.

Among other findings, the U.S. telecom market, experiencing its largest percentage growth in revenue since 2000, grew 9.3% in 2006 to $923 billion. “Technologies like VoIP and broadband video, as well as new mobile data services, are sparking new growth in the telecommunications industry,” said TIA President Grant Seiffert.

Still, Wilkofsky Gruen principal Arthur Gruen said annual growth will moderate the next few years to an average increase of about 7.6%, as consolidation, bundling and increasing competition affect pricing and revenue. The U.S. market should hit about $1.2 trillion in 2010, the same year that the global market reaches $4.3 trillion, Gruen said.

The study forecasts that about 77% of all residential telecom service subscriptions will be part of a broader service bundle in 2010, up from 28% last year. Meanwhile VoIP will be part of 34% of those residential subscriptions in 2010, an increase from 10% last year.

The total U.S. wireless industry revenue came in at $129 billion for 2006, and is expected to grow to $184.5 billion in 2010.