The number of mobile subscribers downloading navigation routes and turn-by-turn navigation instructions using their mobile handsets is increasing. A new research report by the analyst firm Berg Insight indicates that this number increased twofold from the first half 2008 to the first half 2009 and reached 28 million.

 

According to the research firm, the subscriber base will grow at a compound annual growth rate, or “CAGR,” of 33.7 percent until 2015 and by this time it is forecasted to reach 160 million users worldwide.

 

This rapid increase in adoption is due to the broader availability of GPS-enabled handsets and bundling of navigation applications with mobile devices and service plans. Mass market GPS handsets are already available in countries such as the United States and Japan and Berg Insight says here adoption of mobile navigation services have surpassed 3 and 4 percent of the total mobile subscriber base respectively.

 

In Europe, increasing volumes of GPS handsets have begun to pave the way for adoption of mobile navigation services. Personal Navigation Devices, or “PNDs,” have been the prevailing navigation solution for some years in this region. The research firm noted that in the coming years, rapid uptake of navigation services in other regions of the world will depend on better availability of low-cost GPS handsets and improving map coverage.

 

André Malm, senior analyst, Berg Insight, said that both mobile operators and handset vendors are now starting to experience the business opportunity of a growing installed base of GPS handsets and customers trying navigation services.

 

Relatively few subscribers need turn-by-turn navigation services on a daily basis, Malm said. Therefore, mobile industry should integrate navigation services with other location-based services to improve the total user experience and ensure that customers continue to subscribe.