New York:
As smartphones increasingly penetrate the market, with nearly a quarter of mobile users owning one, data consumption is becoming more stratified: the heaviest users most frequently use their phones' advanced features while many people hardly touch them, according to a Nielsen report.
Average monthly data use increased 230 percent from early 2009 to early 2010, to 298 megabytes. Still, 99 percent of smartphone users would get all the data they need from the limited data plan that AT&T has begun offering and would have no need for unlimited access - yet.
In fact, many smartphone users signed up before carriers required data plans and do not have any data coverage at all.
"Voice calls are increasingly commoditized, and the average revenue per user on voice has been falling," Roger Entner, a Nielsen senior vice president, wrote in the report. "Operators with the right cost structure will still be able to operate efficiently, effectively and profitably in this increasingly challenging voice segment, but most operators are condemned to sink or swim in the new data-centric world."
Average monthly data use increased 230 percent from early 2009 to early 2010, to 298 megabytes. Still, 99 percent of smartphone users would get all the data they need from the limited data plan that AT&T has begun offering and would have no need for unlimited access - yet.
In fact, many smartphone users signed up before carriers required data plans and do not have any data coverage at all.
"Voice calls are increasingly commoditized, and the average revenue per user on voice has been falling," Roger Entner, a Nielsen senior vice president, wrote in the report. "Operators with the right cost structure will still be able to operate efficiently, effectively and profitably in this increasingly challenging voice segment, but most operators are condemned to sink or swim in the new data-centric world."
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