Voice and text will only account for half of phone usage by 2016, according to a new report from analysis firm, Analysys Mason. 

The report, titled A Day in the Life: Profiling Consumer Telecoms and Media Usage and Value, says that operators should focus on consumer engagement, as well as simple network-centric services. 

The company also forecasts that consumers in Western countries will increase their use of telecoms, media and technology services by almost 40 minutes per day between 2011 and 2016. This presents an opportunity for operators and media players to reduce churn or generate additional revenue, by increasing engagement with their service, device or brand, says Analysys Mason.

Martin Scott is principal analyst at Analysys Mason and co-author of the report. “Changes in how consumers use devices and networks will have a significant impact on operators pricing strategies,” he says. “Mobile bundles tend to focus on voice and SMS services, but the shift in usage patterns will make the data element of contracts more important.”

“New devices (like tablet PCs) or new services (such as video streaming service Netflix) will be the key disruptions in a consumers use of TMT services – not new networks,” says Tom Rebbeck, research director at Analysys Mason and the other co-author of the report. “Operators should be wary of over-reliance on new networks to drive revenue growth.”

The company is hosting a webinar today at 3pm to discuss the reports findings. You can register for the webinar here.