Mobile data plans need to evolve: Ericsson

Mobile data plans need to evolve: Ericsson : Page 2 of 2

By Edwin Yapp June 25, 2014

Mobility report findings

Mobile data plans need to evolve: Ericsson : Page 2 of 2

Meanwhile according to this year’s Ericsson Mobility Report, smartphone subscriptions in the South-East Asia and Oceania region is expected to top off at 200 million, forecast to rise to 700 million by 2019.

In terms of mobile data consumption, South-East Asia/ Oceania is expected to consume about 0.5 exabytes of data in 2014, rising five times to about 2.5 exabytes by 2019.

But the report also highlighted the significant disparity between advanced markets such as Australia and Singapore and countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

“The former two countries are characterised by competing high speed mobile and fixed broadband networks, high uptake of broadband services and Internet devices, and over 70% Internet penetration," said the Ericsson Mobility Report.

“But at the other end, the latter four countries mostly have mobile connections over 2G and 3G (second and third generation) networks, and have significantly lower Internet user penetration rates, as well as lower uptake of broadband services and internet devices.”

The dominant technology in Australia and Singapore is 3G/ HSPA, while in other South-East Asian countries, GSM/ EDGE still has a commanding lead.

“By the end of 2014, GSM/ EDGE subscriptions in the region will be around 65%, while 3G/ HSPA subscriptions will be just below 30%,” the report noted, adding that 4G/ LTE (Fourth Generation/ Long-Term Evolution) will only account for about 20 million, or a mere 2% of subscriptions.

“By 2017, it is expected that 3G/ HSPA will be the leading radio access technology in the South-East Asian region and will continue to dominate until 2019, where 3G/ HSPA [use] will be almost five times [that] of GSM/ EDGE."

Meanwhile, beyond 2019, there is enormous potential for growth in LTE, since around 20% of mobile subscriptions in the region will be using this technology, the report said.

The report also said that video and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications would be the main driving forces as more consumers and industries push the mobile data limits in these sectors.

Ericsson said that between 2013 and 2019, video is expected to grow by a factor of 13, while M2M connections will grow by three of four times.

What’s driving growth?

Mobile data plans need to evolve: Ericsson : Page 2 of 2 The Ericsson Mobility Report also said that two major factors would drive mobile data usage in the South-East Asian region: Youth culture, and trends such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD).

With an estimated 170 million youth aged between 10 and 24 in the region, South-East Asia/ Oceania is expected to be crucial in driving the adoption of apps, smartphones and mobile data services, particularly in its developing markets.

“The youth segment is enthusiastic about technology and is conscious of ICT developments,” the report said. “Young people are also more active in using their smartphones for multiple purposes, from basic services such as voice and SMS, through to Internet browsing, social networking and video streaming.”

The annual study also showed that consumers believe BYOD enables a good work-life balance in cities, especially in the case in developing markets such as Jakarta.

“Consumers here [in Jakarta] expressed a higher preference for achieving a work-life balance and were in favour of BYOD policies, ahead of other metropolitan cities in the global study,” it said.

“The proportion of online purchases made whilst commuting in Jakarta is among the highest studied. These findings exemplify how ICT impacts work and personal lives in the region,” the report added