The wireless industry hit the mother lode when it began tapping the 12- to 17-year-old teen market. However, according to MultiMedia Intelligence, that market may be drying up.

In 2007, the research firm reports that the teen market accounted for more than 16 million new subscribers. By 2012, the number of teen subscribers is projected to reach 17 million, a difference of only 1 million subscribers.

“Teen ARPU has been growing higher than that of the overall market,” said Frank Dickson, MultiMedia’s chief research officer, in a statement. “Teens simply use their phones to do more, from text messaging to purchasing premium content. However, pricing pressures and teen cellular saturation are bringing an end to the teen cellular gold rush.”

Other findings include:

• More than half of teens are subscribers by the age of 13.
• Subscriber growth is seasonal, with Q3 and Q4 the stronger quarters.
• Even at the higher age groups, teen female subscribers outnumber male subscribers. However, the gap among those in the 17-year-old age group has narrowed greatly.
• The Hispanic teen market has become significant, projected to approach 3 million subscribers by 2012.