In many countries, the pre-paid ARPU (average revenue per user) has also been falling.
These market trends underscore the need for mobile operators to look at data service plans in order to increase ARPU, and boost their total revenue figures.
There are also other factors inhibiting the growth of 3G--price, content and consumer perception, to name a few.
According to John Stefanac, Nokia Networks' Asia-Pacific vice president, 3G adoption is very much dependent on market readiness and user demand.
Consumers need to be able to relate to the value of 3G, he said, adding that while they understand 3G as a technology, its benefits are not obvious to them.
According to Paul Jesemann, Asia CTO and vice president of technology strategy, LogicaCMG Telecoms, the comparatively higher price of 3G handsets--compared to 2G devices--remains prohibitive. This consequently affects operator revenues.
Although videoconferencing has been touted as 3G's killer app, existing 3G handset users are unable to make video calls to a large portion of their friends who still do not own a 3G handset.
As a result, they will choose not to subscribe to 3G services and stay with existing GSM/GPRS network.
Nokia's Stefanac agrees that price is a factor. Price elasticity played a key role in the adoption of 2G and 2.5G services, and 3G is no exception.
Total cost of ownership will ultimately determine the uptake of the high-speed cellular service, he noted. Stefanac added that lower handset and service charges, coupled with creative and innovative service bundling, will help accelerate the adoption significantly.
According to IDC's Wong, Singapore operators are generally very competitive with their 3G price plans, even offering video calls at the same rate as normal voice calls. MobileOne (M1) recently slashed its unlimited 3G data prices, reducing it from over S$190 (US$120) per month to S$68 (US$43) per month.
In Korea, one key success factor behind its strong 3G growth has been content.
"When Korea launched their CDMA EV-DO service, they also launched a lot of content and applications," Wong said. "The network alone is not enough. You also need a lot of multimedia applications."
She singled out mobile TV and video streaming, as examples of 3G content that are popular amongst subscribers. She added that mobisodes, short episodes of TV programs specifically tailored to fit mobile screens, have received keen interest from users.
A recent report from Informa Telecoms and Media predicted that the ongoing World Cup will clock some US$300 million in revenues for mobile TV.
Video calls, however, have been unable to ring in the profits.
Wong said: "Video calls seem like a nice novel way to communicate, but how long can this interest be sustained? I think it's great for special occasions but probably not for everyday use."
Oo Gin Lee is a freelance IT writer based in Singapore.
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