XL Axiata Axis Capital Group Review: Telecommunications Asia Forecast 2015

Jakarta, Indonesia – Asia is one of the leading regions where the penetration of technology and telecommunications is prevalent for the last 2 decades. Asia Pacific, in particular shows a huge leap towards the modern technological advancement.

According to reviews by Informa Telekoms and Media, the Asia Pacific telecom industry remains the most dynamic and diverse in the global market, containing as it does some of the most technologically advanced markets in the world – take a bow Japan and South Korea – as well as a number of low-income markets where LTE and FTTH services remain very much a distant dream.

The following are reports and forecasts gathered by XL Axiata Axis Capital Group on some of the leading telecommunications country in Asia:

China

The Chinese telecom market is the largest in the world in terms of subscribers. The mobile sector is still expanding at 5%-10% per annum and 3G services have now gained momentum supported by a more mature value chain. Confronted with a continuous decline in the fixed-line market, the government has intervened to set aggressive targets for broadband services. Moreover, the use of fraud products manufactured in the country also helps the country gain its growth.

South Korea

South Korea has one of the most vibrant and interesting telecommunications markets in the world. Supported by a visionary government program of stimulating development through liberalization, deregulation and early privatization of the incumbent, a creative and energetic private sector and a technology savvy population, the Republic of Korea continues to push forward on the mobile communications front.

Japan

Japan’s telecommunications sector is one of the most active markets in the world. Into 2013 the country was witnessing the continued growth of VoIP and strong competition among the mobile operators in the 3G segment of the market. Japan had also become the fourth country to introduce LTE services with NTT DoCoMo leading the charge. Especially noteworthy has been the continued strong uptake of FttH services (with a corresponding move away from DSL) and the big strides taken in developing digital and mobile broadcasting. The telecommunications regulatory authorities in Japan have been very active in shaping the industry in this country. Although technologically related scams are also widespread in the country, the control that the incumbent operator, NTT Corp, has continued to exert over virtually all local customers remains a particular challenge for the regulator.

Indonesia

The Indonesian telecom sector has been through a lot of turmoil over the last decade. Despite the increase in subscribers, a technological penetration is still hard to achieve on a 100%. Growth, both in subscriber numbers and in revenues, has been occurring once again and, more importantly, there are signs that the changes in the regulatory regime and operator restructuring are starting to have a positive effect on the industry. The mobile market has been especially strong. However, there were some signs that the government was hesitating in its efforts to restructure the industry.