[eccr] European infrastructure market continues to fall in 2002

Title: European infrastructure market continues to fall in 2002

European infrastructure market continues to fall in 2002

The European market for mobile infrastructure is projected to continue to fall in 2002 as heavily indebted operators delay 3G network roll-out, after waiting for terminals, according to a new report from IMS Research. 
The report on the worldwide mobile market estimates that only 582,000 mobile transceivers/channel cards will be shipped in Europe, down 11 per cent from last year. 

Demand for new infrastructure is driven by increases in subscriber numbers, by increased average traffic per subscriber and by the roll out of new networks. "At 12.5 per cent, the projected subscriber growth in Europe in 2002 is far lower than the estimated 23.3 per cent in 2001. Although average traffic per subscriber has started to increase, it is doing so only slowly without putting much pressure on network capacity. 3G operators have delayed their network launches as handset availability has slipped. The 3G roll out in 2002 will now mainly consist of limited network trials" stated the report's author, Alex Green. 

The report forecasts, however, that 2003 will see some limited market recovery, as the 3G network roll out gathers pace. Further increase in the subscriber base and in traffic per subscriber will force operators to invest further in capacity-stretched 2G/2.5G networks to improve quality of service. However, growth in the 3G infrastructure market from 2003 to 2007 is predicted only to compensate for falling 2G/2.5G investment. This will leave the market flat at only a little above 700,000 transceivers/channel cards a year, 25 per cent less than the boom year of 2000. 
Cathy O'Sullivan is assistant editor of Europemedia.net. She has just completed an Honours Degree in English and Sociology at University College Cork in Ireland. During her time at U.C.C. Cathy was Editor of The University Examiner and Current Affairs Producer for Cork Campus Radio.

Source: http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12122