Industry Information

Overview

Wireless technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy. Why not capitalize on the growth of ever changing technology? According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), industry sales were $142 billion nationwide last year and have nearly doubled over the past 5 years. Furthermore, the CTIA in 2008 estimates that there are 52,854 new wireless subscribers added in the U.S. every day. At the close of 2008, there were 262 million wireless subscribers in the United States today, a near twenty percent increase over 2007. Reported wireless minutes of use grow 11% Year-over-Year, with reported minutes of use exceeding 1.1 Trillion in first half of 2008!  Additionally, according to wireless data surveys, aside from the growth of non-wireless subscribers, 30% of users will change carriers in the next year.

Growth within the sector

There are trends within the sector that will keep the wireless sector relevant in our economy. There is no other industry that has emerging markets growing from such a mature industry.

Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access, which should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technology. According to Goldman Sachs, in the U.S. wireless market, a positive industry catalyst during the current year is the upgrade to enhanced data networks and to third-generation (3G) handsets with web-based capability, supporting stable growth in the U.S. market. Strong promotion of family plans have lowered monthly customer churn to date. In emerging wireless markets around the world, they continue to see double digit subscriber and revenue growth. Wireless carriers are investing in their networks mostly for geographic expansion or higher teledensity, but in some cases, wireless carriers are investing in 3G enhanced networks for data and video services capability. Sprint is at the forefront of these technologies and other emerging opportunities in the marketplace. Sprint is developing and deploying the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission.

Emerging technologies are spurning growth in cellular, creating opportunities that were not in existence even a few years ago. Wireless PC cards, GPS tracking, wireless email and wireless imaging are among the largest growing trends in the cellular industry. These functions, once high level applications, are the norm, becoming billion dollar applications within the wireless sector.

The industry is as strong as ever, looking for more and more distribution for its products and services. Coupling new activations, upgrades, feature selling, and our other products that help compliment WorldWide Wireless’ product portfolio with our proven systems and processes, the timing has never been better to be a wireless retailer.