Wireless winners

According to the CTIA–The Wireless Association semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey, the industry posted $19.4 billion in revenue for the first half of 2009, a 31% increase from the same period in 2008.

Also, wireless data services — texting, applications, non-voice use — revenue was 25% of total wireless company revenue.

“Once again, the new survey results indicate that mobile broadband is an integral part of everyday life for many Americans,” Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA -The Wireless Association, said in a statement. “The wireless ecosystem — infrastructure suppliers, service providers, device manufacturers, operating system providers, and applications developers — are simultaneously working together and competing against one another to generate valuable and unparalleled products and services for consumers.”

OTHER SURVEY FINDINGS
• More than 246 million data-capable devices are in the hands of consumers today. More than 40 million of these devices are Smartphones or wireless-enabled PDAs and more than 10 million are wireless-enabled laptops, notebooks or aircards.

• Text messaging continues to be enormously popular, with more than 740 billion text messages carried on carriers’ networks during the first half of 2009 — breaking down to 4.1 billion messages per day. That’s nearly double the number from last year

• Wireless subscribers are also sending more pictures and other multi-media messages with their mobile devices — more than 10.3 billion MMS messages were reported for the first half of 2009, up from 4.7 billion in mid-year 2008.

• As of June 2009, there were more than 276 million wireless users. This represents a year-over-year increase of nearly 14 million subscribers.

• Wireless customers used more than 1.1 trillion minutes in the first half of 2009 — breaking down to 6.4 billion minutes-of-use per day — and six-month wireless service revenues of nearly $76 billion.