"The number of new mobile phone subscribers reduced steeply in the 4th quarter of 2008. For the first time the growth of mobile data revenues remained stagnant" says a report by Informa Telecoms & Media, a London based telecoms industry consultancy. The report made an indepth study into the influence of the global economic recession on the mobile phone industry.
According to Informa Telecoms figures, new subscribers to global mobile phone services fell by 15% to 162 million in the final quarter of 2008, the weakest quarter of the year and very much against the usual trend where the 4th quarter is the strongest period. Sales fell in the UK market too with statistics indicating that several UK companies are facing a downturn in growth of their non-voice revenues. The steep drop in data revenues is worrying the industry because most network operators, especially developed markets like Western Europe, are trying to expand revenues from data services like Internet browsing and multimedia downloads to counterbalance falling revenues from traditional voice traffic.
Though the global recession is the prime reason for the present situation, market saturation too played an important role. Financing has become very hard to get and investors are not showing any interest in going for large deals.
HanseNet may be worth GBP1bn. However, bids are substantially lower due to the present situation. Buyers aren't showing any interest to buy assets unless they're available at bargain prices. Despite the current recession, Vodafone is still planning on acquisition to increase its base.