News / Research
IDC expects US operators to court business users
An IDC forecast in 2006 argued that US mobile operators would place greater emphasis on business customers as consumer voice revenue came under pressure.
What was announced or reported
The research treated business accounts as comparatively less mature and higher in average revenue per user. It projected revenue from that segment to rise through 2010 while expecting price competition to restrain growth in average revenue.
Context and limits
The source anticipated cheaper voice bundles and data access as operators tried to attract companies. All growth and revenue figures are IDC forecasts from 2006 rather than confirmed results or current market data.
Why the distinction matters
The forecast linked the business segment to both opportunity and pricing pressure. That combination is important: adding higher-value customers did not necessarily imply that revenue per user would rise at the same pace as the customer base. Its assumptions remain those of the analyst forecast.
Business revenue growth is not the same as price power
IDC's projection treated business users as an attractive growth segment as voice revenues faced pressure. The article also says that competition would push charges down, which is a useful tension: a segment can grow in total revenue while its average revenue per user grows more slowly. These are different measures and should not be used interchangeably.
Business users combined revenue opportunity with demands
The IDC forecast treated business customers as more valuable targets as consumer voice revenue faced pressure. That does not mean a business segment is merely a higher price tag. Business users can create different expectations around devices, access, support and account management. The forecast is therefore useful for showing why operators might shift attention toward a segment whose needs and service relationship could differ from a mass consumer voice offer.
Rate pressure remained part of the picture
The same forecast connected opportunity with pricing pressure, which prevents a simple reading that more business focus automatically raises revenue per user. An operator could pursue corporate accounts while still competing on price or facing changes in consumer voice economics. The item captures that tension: segment mix may matter to revenue, but it does not remove the underlying question of what customers will pay for the service.
Corporate demand met a pressured consumer market
The mention of voice bundles and data access suggests that the offer to business customers was a package decision, not a single-service one. Operators could try to win accounts through pricing and combinations of services, while customers would assess whether those combinations fit mobile work rather than simply comparing a headline rate.
Segment focus did not guarantee pricing power
For a planner, the practical task is to separate subscriber growth, total revenue, ARPU, and margin. A forecast about one does not automatically establish the others. This dated IDC outlook documents an expectation and its stated mechanism; it does not establish current enterprise demand, pricing, or operator performance.