Market researches - 02/11/06

A few set of market information released this week:

• According to Merrill Lynch, handset sales forecasts should be upgraded for 2006 and 2007. In 2006, ML increased its forecast to 970m, up 6%, that could constitute the peak year for the global market. They expect the CAGR of handset unit shipments to slow to 10% in 07-10, from about 25% in 03-06. The WCDMA handset market should accelerate to 168m in 2007

• MuniWireless.com expects a massive growth in spending on metro-scale networks to reach $3bn spending over four years.

• According to Compete, 14% to 15% of mobile shoppers are interested in mobile on-demand content such as news, sport or movies. Focusing on this segment is of high value for operators as they spend more money in handsets (more frequent replacement), phone purchases are over $100 and and remain more loyal to their mobile operator.

• In-Stat found that line shipments of IP PBX systems would almost double to almost 38m in 2010. They also highlight that mobility is becoming an ever more important part of IP PBX player strategies.

• According to IMS Research, shipments of Bluetooth-enabled wireless technology equipment reached 250 units in 2005, and could exceed 1bn in 2008 ad 1.5bn in 2010.