In this market research report, Technavio covers the market outlook and growth prospects of the global mobile VAS market for 2017-2021. The market is further categorized into two major segments by platform which are mobile internet services and mobile messaging services, of which mobile internet services accounted for close to 69% of the market share in 2016.

“The market has been witnessing steady growth that can be attributed to the rapid evolution of mobile VAS in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Nigeria. The infrastructure required for the growth of the mobile VAS ecosystem, such as penetration of mobile services, mobile devices, and mobile coverage, has improved drastically since the last decade,” says Abhishek Sharma, a lead M2M and connected devices research expert from Technavio.

Technavio’s research analysts segment the global mobile VAS market into the following regions:

• APAC
• Americas
• EMEA

APAC: largest market for mobile VAS

The mobile VAS market in APAC is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 20% during the forecast period. Japan is a potential market for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services market due to the early deployment of 4G LTE networks, and it contributes majorly to the revenue coming from this region. Since service providers have already been offering effective 3G and 4G solutions, the demand for low latency wireless mobile technology will grow during the forecast period.

Other potential markets in the region include countries like South Korea, India, China, and Singapore. As APAC has the largest customer base, the region is expected to have accelerating demand for VoIP services among individual and corporate users.

Americas: popularity of social media among end-users to boost growth

The market growth in the Americas is driven by factors such as the increased penetration of Internet-enabled devices, increasing volume of mobile data traffic, and availability of faster Internet connections. The demand for high-speed broadband access networks has been rapidly accelerating. The advent of different online applications and social media platforms has put pressure on telecom operators to provide high-quality services. This has prompted telecom operators to expand wireless networks to meet the rising customer demand and implement power-efficient solutions to reduce the use of power.

Real-time location based advertising supported by GPS-enabled smartphones has an edge over legacy advertising media. Targeting potential customers through location-enabled search and advertising helps enterprises categorize customers based on their typical behavioral patterns. Doing so improves the ability of an advertising campaign to yield results. The popularity of social media among end-users also significantly contributes to the growth of the advertising market.

EMEA: low-cost data packages and access to high-speed Internet to fuel growth

Telecom service providers are trying to improve the performance of network connectivity to enhance user experiences by rolling out LTE networks across the region. Strategic alliances between telecom companies, such as Telit and Telefonica, aimed at offering premium connectivity solutions to SMEs is also boosting market growth. Increasing demand for personal and enterprise data-based calls is enabling rapid adoption of VoIP services. Around 88% of the UK's smartphone users are engaged in communications via multiple IM services. The UK, France, and Germany are the major countries contributing to the revenue in this region.

“Despite the socio-economic conditions of Africa, South African citizens have an opportunity to access high-speed Internet with the help of project Isizwe. This project has enabled the deployment of free Wi-Fi throughout public spaces with the support of government funds. The trend of deploying free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Africa is continuing, and this will also propel market growth,” says Abhishek.

The top vendors in the global mobile VAS market as highlighted in this market research analysis are:

• America Movil
• Apple
• Comviva Technologies
• Google