Asia-Pacific to lead global wireless growth: Executive
Asia-Pacific to lead global wireless growth: Executive
SINGAPORE (AFP): The Asia Pacific region will remain the fastest-growing market for wireless telecommunications, with China projected for more explosive growth, a top industry executive said on Thursday.
Kurt Hellstrom, president and chief executive of Swedish handphone maker Ericsson, said the current slump in the industry will just be a "blip."
"In spite of the current turmoil in the business, we still expect continued growth in the number of mobile subscribers worldwide," he said in a keynote address at the CommunicAsia telecommunications trade fair here.
The number of mobile phone subscribers worldwide is forecast to grow to between 920 million and 950 million this year, and the industry is on track to meet its target of one billion mobile phones by next year, he said.
"We expect the Asia-Pacific region to continue to be the fastest growing market in the coming years," he said, with the number of mobile phone users doubling from 250 million users in 2000 to 550 million in 2004.
"In total, I think there is no doubt that the whole Asia- Pacific region is in the fast lane in the global telecom race," Hellstrom said.
China, which has a population of 1.2 billion people, leads the way for phenomenal growth after surpassing 100 million mobile phone subscribers in April, more than the entire population of most countries.
More than four million new subscribers are being added each month in China, Hellstrom said.
"We can conclude that China has arrived at the top position as the largest market for mobile phones," he said.
Hellstrom defended the delay in the rollout of the much-hyped third generation (3G) services which allow voice, data and video transmission at very fast speeds through wireless devices such as the mobile phone.
"3G is a major technology shift. It is just as important as the introduction of mobile phones 20 years ago and more important than the introduction of digital technology 10 years ago," he said.
He also said handset makers will soon be releasing handsets compatible with the general packet radio service (GPRS) -- the technology between the current digital formats and 3G.
Manufacturers have come under fire from operators for the delay in the rollout of the handsets despite the infrastructure being ready for GPRS.
By the end of the year, eight vendors will be releasing GPRS- ready handsets in large volumes, he said.
Asian companies such as Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) and NTT DoCoMo of Japan are already positioning themselves ahead of the expected recovery by exploring business opportunities outside their home countries, Hellstrom said.
He cited SingTel's acquisition of Cable and Wireless Optus of Australia and NTT DoCoMo's move to expand into Europe and the United States.
"The Asia-Pacific market is integrating itself in the global telecom industry in a very dynamic manner," he said, adding that local carriers were positioning themselves as regional and global players.