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[Data_Rox]

Telstra expects high digit revenue growth in mobile corp market

AAP NEWSFEED
May 29, 2003
By Alan Wood

Telstra Corp Ltd is forecasting high single digit revenue growth in the mobile voice and data market for corporates and government in 2003/04 as users take up new applications.

Murray Bergin, Telstra's business and government mobile sales and solutions managing director, said most of the forecast growth was based on "business partner growth" rather than winning market share.

"Overall revenues we think year on year in voice (services to business and government) will be flat," Mr Bergin said.

"And we think we'll get into the high single digits growth overall, and so we're going to see some very rapid growth in the data space to drive that," he said.

Telstra believes the overall corporate telecommmunications market as flat.

Mr Bergin said Telstra in the business market expected the year to June 30, 2004 to be a watershed in moving away from the dependance on Short Message Service (SMS) as the main wireless application driving data revenues, with other applications becoming more important.

"I think this could be the hinge year - we have a plan for GPRS (general packet radio service networks), 1XRTT (network) data this year that will see us get to probably close to 70 per cent of the SMS (market) traffic," he said.

"... there have been declining average revenues per user in voice - we actually think that data this year for the first time will start to shut that out and grow again.

"And I think this is the swing year for (other) data (applications) to go past 50 per cent of SMS, and start to go towards 100 per cent."

Telstra launched its 1XRTT technology in March. It upgrades its existing code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile network for third generation (3G) services.

Telstra said today it had an exclusive agreement to bring Research In Motion Ltd's (RIM) BlackBerry wireless solution to its corporate customers.

"It is such an easy thing for a user to do, to pick up a BlackBerry and use it, and it's such a compelling application out of the box - you have a desktop in your hand," Mr Bergin said.

Developed by RIM, BlackBerry features built-in email, mobile phone, SMS and organiser applications.

Mr Bergin said initial sales results had been strong.

He said research study showed a typical user recovers an average of 53 work minutes a day, turning traditional downtime, such as travelling or waiting for meetings, into productive time.

"Almost 100 companies and organisations in Australia have already signed up to use the service since October," he said.

"BlackBerry's popularity has moved up a notch with almost 700 devices sold in the last three weeks," he added.

Mr Bergin said Telstra had expanded the international roaming footprint for BlackBerry to include the United States, Great Britain, Italy and Norway, adding to Singapore and Hong Kong.