KD Consulting MR Vacancies



Asia Pacific Mobile Phone, WAP and Internet Survey
12/5/01



Hong Kong leads the Asia Pacific region in terms of mobile phone ownership (83% amongst 15 to 65 years old), followed by Taiwan (79%), Japan (77%) and then Australia (69%). This is according to findings from a recent Asia Pacific mobile phone, Internet and WAP survey from TNSofres Interactive (TNSi).

The survey is based on results from research into mobile phone, Internet and WAP usage trends across eight of the major Asia Pacific countries. These are Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. As such, the report allows direct country comparisons on product ownership, Internet access and WAP online behaviour.

The results themselves give a clear picture as to the potential growth of mCommerce. Overall, an estimated total of some 57% of the region’s adult population have a mobile phone, 14% of which have a WAP function. Japan has the highest WAP phone ownership (44% of total population), followed by Korea (21%) and Taiwan (16%).

Other key findings include:


  • Across all countries surveyed, Internet access averages 37% and the main users are young, male white collars or professionals with high personal incomes.
  • Only 9% of Internet users access via WAP phones although the score is exceptionally high in Japan where 40% use WAP phones to access the Internet.
  • 17% of all respondents said that they would be "very likely" or "quite likely" to buy a WAP phone in the next 12 months; purchase intent was highest in Japan (26%) followed by Taiwan (22%) and Thailand (19%).


Arno Hummerston, Director at TNSi UK, said "While only 14% of the total population of the region have WAP capability - driven by the more affluent and developed countries like Japan - the popularity of mobile communications in general would appear to suggest a similar trend to that which is being seen in UK and the rest of Europe. Obviously the economics of some of the region will mean that mobile Internet access is bound to be more popular in the coming months and years, as the relative costs and infrastructure required make it a preferable option when compared to PC ownership. However, as the average results in this region are affected by considerable extremes at a country level, it would be jumping the gun to draw too many comparisons and conclusions about what could be happening in Europe and the US. We need to wait to see whether A-P is a pioneer region for this kind of technology adoption and use. But there is no doubt that the results are positive for the future of the mobile, connected world." Chi Wing Chan, Regional Director of TNSi in A-P, added "Technological advances made via broadband services will help to speed up Internet access via mobile phones, especially with the introduction of GPRS and 3G technologies in this region. However, mCommerce still has a long way to go before it achieves wide acceptance among Internet users here. The major obstacle is that most WAP phone owners do not perceive it as a tool for accessing the Internet." The TNS Interactive Asia Pacific M-Commerce study was undertaken across 8 countries in the Asia Pacific region between December 2000 and February 2001. A total of 8,164 adults aged 15 and 65 were interviewed via telephone. Free copies of the report are available by visiting www.tnsofres.com/apmcommerce.