The value of transactions conducted over mobile phones in Europe is set to reach $US23.7 billion) by 2003, according to a new study from Durlacher Research.
Europe's mobile phone service operators are poised to increasingly derive revenue from Internet content and services, and will become leading Internet portals in future, Durlacher Research said in a statement issued Friday as it released a new report titled Mobile Commerce.
The report predicts that the European mobile commerce market is expected to grow from 323 million Euros in 1998 to a massive 23 billion by 2003. It also states that the US is two years behind Europe in developing this market, Durlacher said.
Europe has adopted a clear lead in usage and application development, fueled by its high penetration of mobile phones and successful adoption of GSM as the single digital mobile phone standard. The U.S., meanwhile, has not been able to reach a single standard nor to settle on a generic type of terminal, thus retarding the establishment of a critical mass of handsets in the market needed for the introduction of new services, Durlacher said.
Durlacher Research, in London, can be reached via the Web at http://www.durlacher.com.