Australia's third largest mobile phone company Vodafone Australia says it is on track to increase mobile data revenues to 25 per cent of total revenues by 2004/2005.
Chief operating officer Grahame Maher said that Vodafone's New Zealand and Australian operations currently derived around 6-8 per cent of their revenues from mobile data applications.
Mr Maher said that the Australasian operations were on track to match Vodafone's global target of deriving 25 per cent of revenues from mobile data by 2004/2005.
He said that mobile data revenue growth would be incremental in that it would be "on top of what (revenues) we already have".
He would not disclose total revenue forecasts in the period to 2004/2005.
Vodafone is basing its drive for increased mobile data revenues on wireless workplace solutions.
Mr Maher said that the corporate sector and small to medium enterprise (SME) customers would eventually replaced fixed line telephones and other workplace solutions with mobile or wireless alternatives.
He said around 21 per cent of employees in business worked on a mobile basis and were increasingly accessing email and internet or intranet applications via their phone.
He said Vodafone was committed to a strategy of offering customers true mobility through the development of in-house third party applications by partnering with key industry players to offer end-to-end wireless workplace solutions on a global scale.
Partners UK-based parent Vodafone Plc was already working with included Finnish-based Nokia, US-based Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and Swedish-based Ericsson.
Vodafone provides services to 2.15 million Australian customers, and 1.09 million New Zealand customers. At the end of last year Vodafone around 18 per cent of the overall Australian mobile phone market with Optus holding 33 per cent share and Telstra holding 46 per cent.
Mr Maher said Vodafone competed against Telstra and Optus in the corporate market by offering mobile solutions on a regional or global basis. Partnerships helped its customer penetration.
"Vodafone is the only wireless specialist in the market of any size, and its a global player and a regional player - if you're in a large business and you want a decent mobile solution you've only got one choice if you want a global solution," he said.
Mr Maher said Vodafone's Irish and Japanese markets were leading the mobile data revenue push with up to 20 per cent of revenues from data applications.
Mr Maher said that picture or photo messaging - that had "taken off big time in Japan" - would be launched in Australia in 2002.
"We expect that to be a high volume consumer application," he said.
Mobile data applications could be relatively cheaply run on General Packet Radio Services, with Vodafone Australia having no date set for launch of a third generation network.