Kurt Hellstrom, CEO of Ericsson, said Wednesday, June 5, that demand for telecommunications equipment won?t improve significantly in 2003. Recovery will be gradual when it comes, he said, forecasting global sales of 400 million mobile phones this year, for an annual increase of only 2.5%. In Brazil, a survey by IDC projects 7% growth in revenue from local voice service in 2002. Market saturation is evidenced by the fact that local telephony will remain stuck on 50% of the total telecommunications pie. The survey also predicts a 10% year-on-year rise in long-distance revenue in 2002 thanks to volume growth stimulated by falling tariffs. This projection implies sharp deceleration from 22% expansion in 2001.
Telecom crisis
