BOSTON: Mobile digital services will generate $1tr globally in 2015, with ecommerce worth over $540bn and advertising taking more than $100bn, the Boston Consulting Group has predicted.

In an article entitled Through the Mobile Looking Glass, the firm argued that an increasing number of web users, especially in developing markets, are experiencing the online environment only via mobile.

This is driving innovation across companies and economies, as "there is big money at stake". By 2015, BCG expects the worldwide digital services ecosystem to reach $1 trillion in size.

Ecommerce will be the biggest part of this market, worth $540bn, and led by firms like DeNa, Tarad and Pramool, alongside the more widely-known names of Amazon, Rakuten, eBay and Taobao.

Content and information is due to be the second-biggest sector, worth $129m. The bulk of this will be split between games, on $55bn, and music and video, on $54bn. EA, King.com, Ubisoft and OnLive are due to be leading operators in the former area, as are Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and Grooveshark in the latter.

Advertising follows in third place, worth $102bn. AdMob, Placecast, 4Info, Jumptap, Google AdSense, Flite, BuzzCity and iAd are among the player set to hold a significant position in this field.

In emerging markets, India is cited as a "compelling example of the creativity and entrepreneurialism that can define a largely unencumbered mobile ecosystem".

Lacking 3G and widespread WiFi connectivity, a wide array of value-added services has been developed around slower 2G networks and feature phones. As well as employing these devices for entertainment and information, many consumers are now using them for mobile banking.

This is an area with huge potential in a country with more mobile-phone subscribers than people with bank accounts. BCG has predicted that mobile payment and banking transactions could overtake credit and debit card transactions by 2015.

"The mobile pump is primed, and a gusher of activity can be expected to flood India as smartphones penetrate the market," its report said, noting the falling costs of smartphones and internet access.

Data sourced from Boston Consulting Group; additional content by Warc staff