GENEVA-The Asia-Pacific region continues to show strong telecommunication market growth, according to research from the International Telecommunication Union, which kicked off ITU Telecom Asia 2004 in Busan, Korea, this week.
The group found that growth rates for mobile subscribers, fixed lines and Internet users during the past few years have soared in a number of countries across the region. Mobile subscriber numbers rocketed by 31 percent per year between 2000 and 2003 to reach 560 million-overtaking North America as the world’s largest market.
Next generation IMT-2000 services have been launched across the region, and Japan and the Republic of Korea are emerging as global leaders in the field. Indeed, Japan has the world’s highest penetration of mobile Internet users.
Numbers of fixed lines in the region also grew by 14 percent in the same period, surpassing single-digit growth rates seen in most other regions. The number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region grew 38 percent year on year from 2000-2003.
