With news of the cheaper iPhone being launched this summer, is it part of the mobile industry having to undergo profound changes? Or did O2, which sells the phone in the UK, and T-Mobile, the German distributor, significantly overestimate the number of first version iPhones that would sell in Europe just because of the ‘hype’?

Mobile operators experienced significant losses and unsold stock with the first iPhone. A new report highlights that these losses in the mobile market have forced the industry to find new revenue streams.

O2 announced it was cutting the price of the iPhone by more than a third- from £269 to £169- and two weeks ago T-Mobile made an even more drastic cut, from £319 to £78.

However, a new report says the worldwide mobile subscriber base is still growing and this can be attributed heavily to the growth in these markets, with many regions such as Asia Pacific having room for more growth ahead. In 2008 there are now more than three billion mobile subscribers worldwide and some of the more mature markets have over 100% penetration.

So, how come so few people bought the first iPhone? The report shows that operators still struggle to acquire satisfactory Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) from prepaid mobiles, despite its popularity. Prepaid mobiles now account for more than 60% of the worldwide mobile subscriber base and continue to grow by around 60% per annum. The prepaid model has taken off around most of the world with many countries seeing an ongoing high level of growth. So perhaps the new price of the iPhone will make it more attractive, we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s hard to think that people would spend money on ‘design’ in a market where you have to struggle to buy food at a decent budget.