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Telecom
Outlook 2003
December
7, 2002
Asia's biggest
growth is yet to come
HONGKONG
-- Strong economic growth, coupled with greater consumer
spending power, saw a growth in telecommunication services
in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a new report
by ITU. The effects of the 2001 global economic slowdown
have been milder in this part of the world. A ranking
of the ten most profitable public telecommunication
operators shows that seven originate in Asia.
ITU
Asia-Pacific telecommunication indicators released by
ITU, report that as a global player the Asia-Pacific
region distinguishes itself in size of its telecommunication
market and growth in teledensity.
In
2001, the region emerged as the world's largest telecommunication
market, having added more than one new telephone user
every second for the last decade. The report observes
that South Asia, currently the least developed sub-region
with a teledensity of 4 in 2001, could provide the next
great spurt of growth for the region as this is where
the potential for 'catch-up' is greatest.
While
Japan and the Republic of Korea continue to lead the
world in commercial deployment of 3G networks, small
countries like Bhutan and Tonga have also leapfrogged
to leading edge technologies such as wireless LANs and
IP networks.
Singapore
and Hong Kong withdrew exclusivity of their operators'
licenses in order to introduce competition in international
services. Likewise, Thailand and Vietnam found ways
to introduce alternative suppliers and foreign investment
into their markets.
Mobile
and Internet Economy
In
the mobile economy, the Asia-Pacific region is poised
to overtake Europe as the world's largest market during
2002, although mobile penetration is still below 10
percent. The region also hosts the economies with the
largest number of mobile Internet users: Japan and Korea.
The notion that restrictions on content would hinder
Internet usage has been disproved in Asia. Innovative
schemes for community access, such as Indonesia's warung
internets or warnets, have boosted internet usage, as
have prepaid cards and the boom in online gaming and
e-government.
Asia-Pacific also leads the world in broadband Internet
with five Asian economies among the top 12 worldwide
in penetration. Capacity on Internet bandwidth has leapt
eightfold over the last two years from 8 Gbit/s to 65
Gbit/s at the end of 2001.
According
to co-author Tim Kelly, the region's developing nations
now have a much wider range of technical solutions for
extending access than at any time in the past. These
solutions include mobile, satellite and fixed-wireless
access and well as traditional copper-based networks.
"Asia's
success story is evident in its rapid strides towards
competition, and its sustained growth in the face of
regional, and then global challenges," said Hamadoun
Touré, director, ITU's telecommunication development
bureau. "However, the real reason for confidence
lies not so much in the numbers of telephone, mobile
and Internet subscribers in the region, but rather,
the digital opportunities represented by the large numbers
of those still waiting to be connected," Touré
added.
Contact:
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
Tel: 41-22-730-5519
Email: Michael.minges@itu.int
Web: www.itu.int
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