2011 mobile communications device revenue up 29%

The market has been boosted by consumer usage of wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets. This year's growth exceeds the 19% increase of 2010 and IHS believes it will be higher than any future projected increase until at least 2015, when it forecasts revenue to cross the half trillion dollar threshold. The 3G handset sector is the largest contributor to the mobile communications device industry with 44% of the market and revenue of $149bn. IHS notes that the fastest growth this year belongs to the media tablet segment, which will reach $36.5bn – a year on year increase of 217%. 4G mobile handsets are set to reach $4.6bn, representing growth of 187% over 2010. According to IHS, the 3G handset segment will continue to account for the largest share of the mobile device revenue in the next few years, with revenue starting to decline in 2015. The analyst forecasts that the 4G standard, LTE, will start to dominate infrastructure spending among wireless carriers in the developed world by 2013. IHS believes global carrier infrastructure spend on LTE will grow from $2.05bn in 2010 to $36.4bn in 2015. The 2011 semiconductor market for mobile communications is projected to reach $69bn, a 15.5% increase on 2010.