Ask anyone who has been in the wireless industry for several years and they will tell you that the U.S. has been trailing behind Europe and Asia in terms of adopting the latest technologies and consumption.
But at this year’s CTIA, speakers have been clear to dispute that image, and in fact, are saying the U.S. is leading the way by any measure. The unlikely speaker to deliver this message today was German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT). The company’s CEO René Obermann, said: “The U.S. is the driver and is becoming bigger than Europe.” U.S. data revenues are growing at 29 percent vs. 11 percent in Europe, he said, and non-voice revenues total $15 a month on average in the U.S. and only $9 in Europe.
Deutsche Telekom also has a stake in the U.S. market through its T-Mobile USA subsidiary, but the viewpoint this morning provided a nice outsider’s perspective. Yesterday, AT&T’s Mobility Chief Ralph de la Vega delivered a very similar message. He said the U.S. adoption of 3G services is unprecedented. The U.S. has 33 percent of the world’s advanced 3G customers (despite only having 7 percent of the world’s wireless subscribers).
In Obermann’s keynote, he skirted the issue of Deutsche Telekom’s plans for T-Mobile USA in the near future. The company has been said to be considering spinning off the company through an IPO, or is seeking outside investors.While the U.S. is one of the more advanced networks, T-Mobile USA has been slow to roll out its 3G network, and now is pouring millions of dollars into building a high-speed network. Yesterday, T-Mobile USA announced at CTIA that it is upgrading its network to support speeds up to 21 mbps. The network is available in parts of of New York City, New Jersey, Long Island and suburban Washington, D.C., with Los Angeles coming soon. It plans to cover more than 100 metro areas and 185 million people by the end of the year.