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The Asian Communications Boom
It is no coincidence that ITU Telecom World, one of the largest telecom industry events, landed in Hong Kong this year. The vast and diverse region of Asia has become the world’s most connected and a testing ground for advanced broadband and multimedia offerings.
December 4, 2006
With 1.3 billion inhabitants, China is now the largest telecom market in the world in terms of total subscribers. About 400 million Chinese citizens own a mobile phone and the country's broadband market is second only to the United States in terms of total subscribers.
Hong Kong, an early adaptor to mobile telephony, is at the forefront of IP-based media services. One in four residents receives IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) from PCCW, a local operator.
And in the Philippines, mobile subscribers managed to send, on average, a total of 250 million SMS messages every day in 2005 - more than any other nation. Filipinos currently spend more money on data than on voice services.
Indeed, Asia is pulling ahead, and with increasing speed.
No less than 81 million mobile phones were sold in the Asia-Pacific region during the third quarter of 2006 - a 55 percent increase over the same period last year. By comparison, sales rose 19 percent in Eastern Europe, and 14 percent in Latin America, according to Gartner, the American research house.
There are huge differences between markets within Asia, but also striking similarities, says Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, a consulting and research firm.
"People are not afraid of technology," he says. "Northeast Asia in particular - Japan, Korea, Taiwan - is becoming the new California, where new global trends may happen. We've already seen it with games."
For operators who seek to broaden the communication experience for their customers, such markets offer new revenue opportunities as well as new business models. Clark noted that a number of regional service providers have chosen to outsource the operation of their network under a managed services agreement to control costs more efficiently.
But it is China that pulls the region the most.
"China has more people online than any other country in the human history," Clark says.
Locating ITU in Hong Kong is testimony to the enormous importance the region now holds for the industry, says Mats H Olsson, president of Ericsson Greater China.
"Asia, and in particular China, has become a critical driving force in the global telecom market and industry due to its enormous potential and rapid growth," he says.
