The Asia-Pacific market for high-speed, Internet-ready mobile-phone systems is expected to achieve steady growth this decade, despite lingering doubts on the success of third-generation (3G) cellular services.
According to industry experts, 3G operators in the region will lead the world in generating revenues and in signing up subscribers by deploying various 3G network standards. Growth areas include Japan, South Korea and Greater China, where operators are predicted to cultivate subscriber interest in mobile data services by exploiting data applications in existing second-generation (2G) and 2.5G cellular services.
Estimates from the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) Forum, an international group promoting 3G systems and services, show that annual 3G revenues for operators in the region will reach US$118 billion (HK$918 billion) by 2010 and that total wireless data subscribers will exceed 700 million. The group predicts annual worldwide 3G revenues to reach US$320 billion by 2010.
Even though mainland authorities have recently delayed the launch of 3G services, UMTS Forum chairman Bernd Eylert says China will become one of the world's most important 3G markets in the next few years.
'With current mobile penetration rates in countries such as China and India far below those in many other Asian markets and the West, there is clearly an enormous opportunity for operators to offer 3G voice and advanced mobile data services in areas where access to fixed-line services is poor or non-existent,' Mr Eylert says.
He expects that the combined markets of China and Japan, where mobile data services have been the most competitive in the Asia-Pacific region, will account for more than a quarter of the total number of 3G subscribers worldwide by 2010.