The Asia-Pacific region is leading the global telecommunications sector out of a two-year recession and into an era of stable and universal growth, helped by its resilient economies and steady consumer spending, according to industry experts. Seven of the world's top 10 profitable public telecom operators come from the region, officials from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said at the Telecom Asia 2002 conference yesterday. That showed that the global economic slowdown was not as disruptive here as in North America and Europe, they said. Michael Minges, head of the ITU's data and statistics unit, said the Asia-Pacific region remains the world's largest telecommunications market, posting steady growth in telephone, mobile and Internet subscribers. 'This region continues to push the envelope for universal service,' Mr Minges said, noting that the region had been able to add 'one new telephone user every second for the past decade'. A report released by the ITU yesterday found that growth in Asia-Pacific telephone subscribers was around 10 percentage points above the global average, with the gap increasing over last year. The study also said Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecom, India's VSNL, Singapore Telecom, China Mobile and Taiwan's Chunghwa and Taiwan Cellular Corp were among the world's 10 most profitable public telecom operators. 'This is Asia's new global role,' said Tim Kelly, head of the ITU's strategy and policy unit. He said the experiences of developed and developing markets in the region were setting the agenda for telecommunications development, policy and corporate requirements around the world. This year, the region would have an estimated 225 million Internet users, or an average of 6.3 users per 100 inhabitants, the ITU report said. Mr Kelly said this indicated that content restrictions in Asia had little effect in hindering Internet usage. The report also noted that while Japan and South Korea led the world in Internet-ready, third-generation cellular services, small countries such as Bhutan and Tonga had 'leapfrogged' others to acquire advanced data communication technologies such as wireless local area networks. Hamadoun Toure, the ITU's director of telecom development, said confidence in the region stemmed from 'opportunities represented by the large numbers of those still waiting to be connected'. Graphic: grow02gbz