Developing Telecoms | Asia-Pac region to boast highest number of global subscribers

17 May 2012

Regional Trends

LATEST NEWS:

Thai operator secures wireless distribution agreement Financial services project reaching out to millions of Africans Fibre investment on the way in Algeria Android tablets gaining popularity in Southeast Asia Bharti seeking JV takeover as profits slide Solar-powered learning initiative takes off in Uganda GSMA voices criticism of Indian licensing proposals Enhanced mobile broadband deploying across three Baltic countries Market developments lay the foundation for future growth in Iraq India Feels More Shockwaves from the So-called ‘2G Scandal' Overpriced broadband faces fibre challenge in Angola First commercial 4G services go live in Croatia VimpelCom sells Vietnamese assets TRAI advocates new operators entering 2G auctions Romania’s first MVNE launching imminently Indian tax change could provoke legal action from Vodafone Mobile growth slows in Iran as penetration reaches saturation point Thailand close to finalising 3G auction process Internet Exchange Points Spur Internet Growth in Emerging Markets Incoming fibre boosts investment prospects for Burundi 3G on the way in Djibouti, but competition is required Saudi incumbent looks abroad amidst heated domestic competition Orascom serves Algerian government with arbitration notice Kenya’s mobile sector recovering from slump Download deal aims at attracting Indian Android users Bangladesh set for mobile & internet growth as Indian relations improve Android takes the lead in China by doubling market share Liberalisation driving growth for Bahrain’s broadband Partnership agreement drives roaming costs down across nine African countri... Indian 2G licence cancellations affirmed by Supreme Court TeliaSonera in talks over MegaFon’s future HSPA+ upgrade for Thailand’s state operator Growth set to continue in the Philippines despite looming saturation

Asia-Pac region to boast highest number of global subscribers

Thursday, 24 November 2011 16:00 | James Barton

Attention: open in a new window.

Global mobile subscriptions will reach over six billion by the end of this year and the Asia-Pacific region will account for more than half of the worldwide figure in 2011, according to ABI. Asia-Pacific added nearly one billion connections from two years ago - growth that is fuelled by rapid economic development in the region, where increased rollout of mobile network infrastructure, citizen prosperity, and affordability of mobile handsets have encouraged adoption.

Less than 18% of the three billion connections in Asia-Pacific are 3G and 4G enabled, but that is expected to change quickly. “Mobile broadband connections will experience rapid growth over the next two years, driven by 3G network rollouts in India and China and 4G deployments in Japan and South Korea,” says practice director Dan Shey.

China successfully surpassed 100 million 3G subscriptions in September 2011, just 10% of its total mobile population. “Subscription growth for the China-developed TD-SCDMA standard has been slow due to lack of compatible handsets, but 16 million new connections over the past two quarters suggest growth is accelerating,” comments research analyst Fei Feng Seet. TD-SCDMA subscriptions are forecast to hit 100 million by the end of 2013.

3G adoption is expected to ramp up in India as well, where 3G networks went live only last year. India’s largest operator by subscribers, Bharti Airtel, launched early in 2011 and gained three million 3G customers in less than six months of operation. Low-cost smart feature phones are already entering these markets to drive 3G connections among consumers.

Tags: