UNITED KINGDOM-The number of wireless users in Asia is on par with the number of mobile subscribers in western Europe, but Asia’s subscriber base is expected to increase twice as fast as Europe’s cellular markets, according to a new study from CIT Publications.
In its Yearbook of Asia-Pacific Telecommunications 1997, CIT noted the Asia-Pacific region has 22.6 million mobile connections, while western Europe has slightly more than 22 million. Japan logged the most subscribers in the region with 8.7 million, followed by China with 3.9 million and Australia with 3.2 million. South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia all had more than 1 million subscribers, and Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia and India each had fewer than 1 million subscribers.
“While penetration rates in the developing Asian countries remain low, cellular subscriber growth rates of 185 percent for Indonesia, 151 percent for China and 108 percent for the Philippines underline the potential for telecom growth in the area,” said CIT Editor Ross Parsons.
The report warns licensing procedures in Asia-Pacific countries can be difficult, and several potential investors have withdrawn bids due to conflicts with the government. “Some major players have found that agreements which they thought were watertight were open to re-interpretation,” said Parsons. “This has been particularly true in India and Malaysia.”
