The real numbers ...
These numbers mean very little. I happen to work for one of the largest multinational telcos and I know for a fact that average revenue per user in data usage in the european market is triple that of our american counterparts. Coverage is also sketchy in the US. Apart from a couple of major cities hsupa is not available let alone first gen 3G. In the UK we have approx. 88% 3G penetration for the big 4 telcos, and about 45% hsupa coverga across the country. Per head, that's a lot more covergae. Also having 3G is slightly pointless without enriched content services. The avergae american usage of 3G is limited to browsing and video calls, while in europe these services have been around for some time. We're now into music downloads, tv broadcast, and location based services.
Make no mistake, the US telcos will eventually realise that their businedd model is restrictive and will eventually follow the european model.
I still believe that the US will be playing catch-up with europe for at least a couple of years to come.
How do i know? Most of what we've implemented in europe across our natcos are being picked up by our US natco (about 2 years later). The european market is oversubscribed at around 120%! That indicates more sofisticated usage, while in the US they are still in acquisition mode. When they reach saturation, that's when things will pickup.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
