Voice and text messaging will continue to be the dominant mobile services in many countries in the Southeast Asia region, as emerging markets experience expanding subscriber bases, said Frost & Sullivan.
The analyst firm's latest research note predicts Southeast Asia will have 453 million mobile subscribers by the end of the year--a market worth US$32 billion.
However, while the number of subscribers grew by 18.4 percent over the past year, billings for the period are estimated to grow by a smaller 13.6 percent.
Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Shaker Amis explained this trend is due to growth in actual subscriber numbers being driven by the lower ARPU (average revenue per user) segment in emerging markets.
"Growing markets like Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, with mobile penetration well below 75 percent and even lower fixed broadband penetration, are likely to see growth in new subscriber additions," said Amis. Low-ARPU prepaid subscribers will form the majority of these new additions, he added.
On the other hand, saturated markets such as Singapore and Malaysia, with 131 percent and 97.8 percent penetration respectively, don't have much room left for actual subscriber growth. These markets will see more take up of 3G and mobile data services, Amis said.
In spite of operators in emerging markets racing to roll out 3G networks, Amis said it will take time before the majority of users hop on.
Only 6 percent, or 22.9 million, of Southeast Asia's total mobile users last year were 3G subscribers. “Although 3G will be making its entry into many of these markets, it will be some years still before 3G services become commonplace,” said Amis.
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