Development of 3G market in Asia
The turning point of mobile markets from 2G to 3G brings along an opportunity for newly entered handset manufacturers to change their market positioning. It is on account of the transition from simulated signal handset to digital signal that Nokia surpassed Motorola. Asian handset manufacturers are all making great efforts in the course of 3G transition.
The increasingly prominent role of Asian equipment manufacturers is the most noticeable. With regard to 3G terminals, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are the leading manufacturers in markets of Asia and North America. Currently, they are trying their best to expand the market shares of 3G mobile phones in Europe. Concerning 3G network equipment in China, Huawei and ZTE are exploring overseas markets so as to pave the way for the development of Chinese 3G market and to change the layout of 3G equipment markets. As far as the operation of 3G network is concerned, Japanese manufacturers and South Korean ones all made a great success whether in WCDMA or CDMA2000. The only uncertainty rests with Chinese TD-SCDMA whose development in China will have an effect on the layout of 3G markets worldwide in the future.
Development trend of Asian telecom industry
The year 2005 is another consecutive year for the transition of telecommunication industry in Asian region. The notion of concentration-style network is gradually acknowledged among telecom industry, enterprises and consumer markets. 3G services are more and more available in 2005. However, there is still a long way to go for 3G to become the mainstream. It is estimated that the telecommunication industry in Asian markets will be developing fastest with an annual average rate of 9.3 percent in the next five years.
In the past decade, the Chinese telecommunication industry has maintained a rapid growth rate of more than 20% annually. It is forecast that the number of telephone subscribers will exceed 820 million in China by the end of 2006. Of which, handset subscribers will be more than 440 million, while fixed telephone customers will surpass 380 million. In markets of western developed countries, the popularity of telephone subscribers have been over 80 percent.
The compound annual growth rate of wireless communication equipment markets in China will get to 5.9 percent during the year 2004-2009. Total output value of this market will increase from 42.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 44.6 billion U.S dollars in 2006. Besides, the compound annual growth rate of cable communication equipment markets will be 4 percent and the total output value will rise to US$15.7 billion in 2006 from US$15.2 billion in 2005. Namely, the market size of wireless equipment is three times that of cable equipment.
Indonesia is one of the countries in which the telecom industry will develop fastest worldwide. Indonesia has a population of 240 million at present. By the end of 2005, the number of handset subscribers was 38 million. A significant growth will occur since mobile penetration is not up to 16% in Indonesia. According to the official statistics, Indonesia needs to import telecom equipment valued at 500- 600 million U.S. dollars annually. The total investment of various telecom enterprises will reach approximately one billion U.S. dollars per year in which 70 percent or 80 percent will be used for purchasing raw materials and equipment.
The telecom market is extraordinarily prosperous in Vietnam with a population of 82 million. In the past few years, its telecom industry is developing at a speed of 10% annually and the growth rate of its GDP also gets to as high as 7% per year. Even some research and investigations show that the Vietnamese index of consumer confidence tops the highest among Asian countries, above 90 marks. Concerning communication fittings, mobile communication equipment, telecom equipment, IP telephone program/equipment and network equipment will develop rapidly in the future. The Government and several foreign-funded groups will invest huge capital into the construction of local infrastructure.
The telecom industry is developing the fastest among all sectors in India. Meanwhile, GSM mobile communication is in the leading position in the development of telecom market. In the next few years, handset subscribers will be expanding dramatically with an expected growth rate of more than 50 percent. The figure will add up to 200 million in 2008, accounting for 75 percent of all telecom subscribers. In the past five years, the number of GSM handset users increases ten times. In virtue of great market potentials, it will take a shorter time than expected for consumers to exceed 100 million.
The Pakistani telecom industry is progressing slowly in a long period of time. However, with the deepening of its reform and innovation, the Pakistani telecom industry is recovering its vitality. At present, the rate of telephone popularization per million people is only 2.9%. Besides, the popularization rate of mobile communication is 5% which means huge market potentials in Pakistan. Currently, the Pakistani government attaches great importance to the future development of its telecommunication industry and adopts effective measures to gradually reduce control on markets.
