Lost in Australia: 10,000 jobs thanks to mobile phone services

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by Stuart Corner

Monday, 30 June 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! Have I got your attention? Good. The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Assocation has just released a report on the economic significance and contribution of the mobile phone industry to the Australian economy, but that makes for a far less attention grabbing headline. Related stories Optus launches big caps for small businesses Get a $29 per month mobile plan for $10, plus a few adverts People Telecom to resell Vodafone mobile services AMTA slams KPMG international roaming report Loop founder to replace CEO as rights issue launched The report follows three preceding reports published annually between 2003 and 2005, and is an update of the report prepared by Access Economics in 2007. Its aim is "to promote increased public awareness of the economic and social importance of Australia's mobile telecommunications industry and the factors likely to shape its future." Access Economics has sought to determine the direct contribution of the mobile phone industry to the Australian economy by calculating the direct value added, but it notes that "the main contribution of the industry is through the provision of productivity enabling services." According to Access Economics, much of the benefit to the wider economy has been the result of mobile service prices falling steadily since 2001: "if mobile price levels had not fallen relative to the CPI from 2001, and there were no flow-on effects to PSTN prices or labour productivity, Australia's GDP would have been $7.7 billion lower in 2007. The report compares Access Economics estimates of the direct and indirect contribution of mobile services to the Australian economy in 2006 and 2007: GDP, consumption, investent, exports and imports have all increased as a result of more widespread usage of mobile services and lower prices but employment has fallen by 10,000 full time equivalents because of "the increased productivity that technological advancements have facilitated; as the technology improves further it is possible to attain the same amount of output using fewer workers." CONTINUED page 2 << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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