According to a report released Tuesday by IDC, mobile phone users are downloading data at increasing rates. The 230 million wireless subscribers in the United States bought a total of $4.1 billion in data services in Q3 2006. Julien Blin, a research analyst for IDC"s Wireless and Mobile Communications program, said Verizon leads in total wireless data revenue, data percentage of average revenue per user (ARPU), and data spending. Competing national carriers pace the market in some selected service offerings. The most popular paid download is the ringtone, according to the IDC report.
"Our research found that at $7.27 spent per-customer on data services in 3Q06, Verizon Wireless became the new market leader among the national operators, eclipsing Sprint Nextel, the long-time leader in this metric at $7.15. Continued support from leading record labels, media companies, and brands will remain a factor driving future sales," said Blin.