Abstract

This study looks at the development of the mobile communications services markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 2005, mobile subscriptions doubled in this region but, with mobile penetration at 35%, the market is still far from saturation. Waiting for this huge market potential to become actual growth, CIS operators face a challenge: how to approach these incredibly price-sensitive markets without triggering a sharp decline in ARPU?

This study contains five-year forecasts for all of the CIS mobile markets, with data on subscription numbers segmented as prepaid or contract. The study analyzes end-user spending on voice, SMS, and other mobile data services. The study covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

"The CIS mobile market offers huge growth potential, although the untapped portion of the market has much less purchasing power than do current subscribers. To ensure continued growth, operators must adapt their offerings, finding products that will satisfy low-spending end users while keeping ARPU at satisfactory levels." – Krešimir Alić, Senior Analyst, IDC CEMA