According to the Mobile Entertainment Forum's fourth Business Confidence Index (BCI), mobile media entertainment companies predict revenue growth of 28 percent for 2010.

More specifically, the industry predicts that half of the projected revenue to come from applications in the next quarter will be from paid for apps.

Central and South America are also set for substantial increase in market share

"Our industry has faced a difficult period, but these latest findings clearly show that confidence in the growth of our industry has not diminished," said Andrew Bud, the Global Chair of MEF.

"81 percent of respondents report their performance for the last quarter was either better than or in line with budget, and viewed alongside the consistent and significant market growth predictions being made by our industry is very positive news as we move into a new year," Bud added.

"Following some uncertainty in the market over the last 12 months, headcount growth actually exceeded the projections made last quarter and respondents predict further headcount growth in the coming quarter," commented Mark Harding, director of digital content at KPMG, which analysed the survey.

"Applications have developed considerably as a driver of growth over the past six months, illustrating the dynamism of this new business model for monetising mobile content.

“The findings also identified regional variations in outlook. Central and South America have demonstrated great potential and confidence, with growth predicted for this region for each quarter to date, up from a projected 2 percent share to an actual share of 9 percent of the market for the year ending September 2009.”

The responses to the BCI survey, which was completed by MEF member companies, are analysed by KPMG.

MEF members were surveyed from across the mobile entertainment value chain, from operators to content owners, billing aggregators and service providers. MEF members were asked a total of fifteen questions relating to their confidence in the mobile entertainment value chain. Questions relating to revenue, headcount and marketing decisions were asked alongside those about the confidence in different types of mobile content.

The MEF BCI is conducted on a quarterly basis, with a report on the findings of the Business Confidence Index available to MEF members at www.m-e-f.org.