One way around that is joint ventures with companies such as Virgin Mobile USA Llc. Their customers have a higher churn rate and lower revenue per user, but they still pay, Entner said.
No one in the industry is likely to say this, but the fact is, many companies may not want more customers if those customers won't be big spenders. They would rather focus on getting existing customers to spend more money by signing up for extra services and sending text messages and photos.
At Verizon Wireless, wireless data services contributed US$300 million, or 4.7 percent, to third quarter 2004 revenue, up from 2.3 percent in the same period a year ago. One third of the company's customers use data services, which add an average of US$7 to their monthly bills.
That's one reason that while the number of Verizon Wireless customers increased 16.9 percent in the most recent quarter, revenue increased 23 percent.
What's true for Verizon Wireless holds for the rest of the industry.
The average monthly wireless phone bill bottomed out at US$39.88 in 1988. Since then, it's been edging up, hitting US$49.49 this year, thanks to increased data use.
That's why all the major carriers are adding wireless broadband to their existing networks, so customers can get used to sending more information faster -- and paying more for the privilege of subscribing to such premium services such as video news clips.
The next generation of wireless users may be machines, not people. Services such as OnStar, a subsidiary of General Motors Corp, use a combination of cell phones built into cars and Global Positioning Systems, to call for help in emergencies, Lin said. Cars that call 911 when air bags are deployed use the same technology.
"People who think we're at a point of saturation are not including all the possible uses of technology," Lin said.
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