The UK mobile content and services market is on the verge of becoming a multi-billion dollar industry, provided that operators can attract 50 per cent of UK mobile users, a report claims.

Results from a survey of 2,000 mobile subscribers in the UK carried out by Informa Telecoms & Media, Orange UK and Starcom MediaVest reveal that the UK mobile content market was worth £661m in 2006.

Half of these revenues came from "mobile cash rich" 25 to 34 year-olds, and overall revenues look set to "skyrocket" if the wireless industry can generate more consistent spending behaviour.

"The regular buyers of mobile content, those who purchase a minimum of one item of content every three months, represent one fifth of mobile users," said Nick Lane, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, and author of the report.

"However, the survey uncovers a further 30 per cent of occasional consumers who will purchase at least one item of content per year.

"If the wireless industry can encourage these occasional spenders to regularly consume content, the addressable mobile content market spend over a three-month period will expand by 150 per cent."

While 50 per cent of respondents said that mobile content prices are too high, the survey revealed £5 as the optimum figure consumers are willing to spend per month on top of their voice and messaging fees.

Services and content priced above the £5 monthly threshold will appeal to fewer than five per cent of UK mobile users.

"This is presenting the industry with a dilemma as premium rate pricing for services such as mobile TV could potentially cannibalise revenues from other services within the mobile content ecosystem," said Lane.

"The door is now wide open for mobile advertising to subsidise mobile content and inflate the mobile content user base."