The revenue possibilities during this reported shift from voice to data usage on mobile phones are remarkable, considering there are now 225 million broadband subscribers worldwide, according to a recent study by Informa.

This staggering number represents a 93 percent year-over-year growth rate for non-voice mobile broadband subscriptions. With statistics like that, it is impossible to ignore that mobile broadband services have and will continue to be a significant source of growth for wireless carriers as revenue generators and retention tools.

"A major finding in this study is that Asia pacific is the largest region for data revenues holding 37 percent of the market," said Marisol Gomez, research analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, London.

"Asia Pacific is even ahead of Western Europe which takes 26 percent of the market," she said. "This means big things for mobile operators generating revenue as well as the opportunity to provide more services."

The Informa Telecoms and Media World Cellular Data Metrics report shows that there is significant data usage growth in developed markets as well as emerging markets.

Asia Pacific still holds the largest chunk of the market with more than 90 million broadband subscribers.

However, the growth in Latin America is staggering at a rate of 385 percent year-over-year to more than 10 million subscribers.

The study found that in many emerging markets, it is difficult to gain access to fixed broadband.

Because of this, wireless carriers have a huge opportunity to take advantage of recently deployed third-generation networks.

By making use of this new technology, carriers can create new revenue streams by giving an Internet connection to those who would normally never have access to the Web.

The study also noted that the rapid evolution of mobile devices and the technology that accompanies them has contributed to a spike in mobile data traffic.

Informa speculates that the jump in non-voice service usage has produced total data revenues of $46.5 billion worldwide during the first quarter of 2009. That is an 8.5 percent year-over-year jump from the same quarter in 2008.

The total value of the non-voice market in 2008 accounted for more than 20 percent of total service revenues at $180 billion.

The iPhone has also had an effect on the boost of mobile data usage for the carriers that distribute the device.

Telefonica O2, a British wireless carrier, reported that 40 percent of its data traffic in Britain comes from the smartphone market.

What was once the market of the corporate segment has now become mostly dictated by the consumer market, which is pushing the evolution of the mobile data market forward.

Surprisingly, the value of the global data market has actually decreased by 1.8 percent in the last quarter.

Informa claims that the reason for this value drop is global currency exchange volatility.

The economic downturn is playing its part in this developing market, so carriers have started offering packages for broadband data usage as a way of retaining customers.

Despite the rise in SMS traffic, many carriers have been forced to lower costs for SMS to maintain a competitive edge financially.

The study concluded that while mobile data services such as mobile banking, messaging or Internet are becoming more of a focus for mobile carriers, they act more as retention tools than revenue generators.

"We expect mobile broadband subscriptions to continue growing, especially in emerging markets where fixed broadband is limited," Ms. Gomez said.

"Data revenues will continue to grow in importance and we expect to see many new partnerships between vendors, service providers and operators, which will drive services forward," she said.