Asian Demand for Next Generation Mobile Services

Asian telecoms consumers, among the world's most sophisticated, are showing interest in the next generation of wireless services - even if it means paying 20-30% more on their monthly phone bill. TNS' 2003 Asia Telecoms Index (ATI) study found 25 per cent of mobile phone owners either using 2.5 and 3G services, or at least 'quite likely' to start using them within the next six months.

The study was conducted in April across 11 Asian countries. Half of those questioned stated that they would be happy to pay 20 per cent more on their current monthly bill for the services, increasing to 30 per cent among those wishing to have these capabilities within the next six months.

According to Hanis Harun, Regional Director for Telecoms Asia Pacific at TNS, the findings give telecoms providers in Asia 'a strong reassurance that there is a significant level of 'early adopters' of next generation services'. Providers will presumably be in need of such reassurance after the sorry showing of the much-hyped WAP technology.

The survey suggests that the mobile applications which have gained the most interest among current mobile users are those which offer communications and information capabilities. Apart from SMS, the main communication services that customers are keen to make use of are MMS for photos (50 per cent) and emails with attachments (48 per cent). Popular information based applications include searching yellow pages and directories (52 per cent) and location-finding services (49 per cent).

Chi Wing Chan, Regional Director of Telecoms and Technology, at TNS, draws a distinction between two main strands of development: 'Service providers... should ensure that they do not take their eyes off the communication and information related applications which are going to be the pillars of 2.5 and 3G. It is evident that games and other capabilities, coupled with m-commerce offerings will have a following which will be more niche than the likes of MMS and news services'.

On the whole, the ATI study results are regarded as good news for telecoms providers, even though many users are still sceptical and are adopting a 'wait and see' attitude. Even among the 'early adopters', most respondents said they were 'quite', rather than 'very' likely, to adopt 2.5 or 3G in the next six months.

There are also early signs that 3G services might not be living up to the hype. In Korea for example, although the number of users is still relatively small, indications show that about half of the users of services, such as real time TV and videophones, have expressed dissatisfaction and requested improvements from service providers. TNS' Hanis warns that 'If they [the mobile suppliers] prove to be a disappointment, word of mouth will surely stunt the growth of the technology in the market, from which it can take a long time to recover'.

TNS conducted the Asia Telecoms Index 2003 survey by interviewing a representative combined total sample of 8,736 adults aged 16 to 69 in Malaysia, Philippines, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, India and Pakistan. The interviews were conducted in April 2003 face to face and by telephone, using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing). Further information on the TNS Asia Telecoms Index is available at www.tns-global.com/ATI

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

• Kantar TNS
• All news
• MrWeb info