According to the Bundesnetzagentur, the volume of phone calls in 2007 increased by 5.1% to 253 billion minutes as compared to the year 2006. This corresponds to an average of 51 hours per person and per year. Most strongly grew internet telephony (+78%) followed by mobile phone calls which increased by 19.6%. The number of landline phone calls, on the other hand, fell by 3.4%.
Even though Germans in 2007 made as many phone calls as never before, turnover in the field of telecommunication services is expected to fall slightly in the year 2008, says the German Association for Information Management, Telecommunication and New Media (BITKOM). The reasons for this are said to be strong competition and the technological progress which will cause prices to continue falling. Therefore, in the year 2008 the market for telecommunication services will reach a volume of just 56 billion Euros. This would correspond to a decrease by 1.9% as compared to last year. Low prices for mobile phone calls will also lead to a smaller importance of landline phone calls.
Another alternative to landline phone calls comes in the form of internet telephony, says BITKOM. Accordingly, the business with internet access and data services is growing as well. BITKOM estimates that the turnover in the landline telephone network business is going to increase by 4.7% to 13.4 billion Euros in 2008, while in the field of mobile data services turnover is expected to grow by even 7.1% to 5.1 billion Euros.
If things develop the way forecast by BITKOM, then this will significantly affect the trade of telecommunication products, given that only those choosing the right product and service range will profit from this development. 