Qualcomm and Teleepoch
Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October
6, 2007
MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband
Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6,
2007
Brazilian government to
publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007
KTF 3G service suffers
from technical problems, October 6, 2007
Argentina’s Personal
lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007
Russia has it's first 3G
network, October 6, 2007
AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent
as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007
Enea Extends License Agreement
with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007
LG to unveil premium handsets
in Brazil, October 2, 2007
KTF 3G subscribers doubled
in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007
3G policy in India will
be non-uniform, October 2, 2007
- previous news
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TNS reveals Asia's keenness to adopt 2.5G and 3G mobile services
June 9, 2003
The latest findings from TNS reveal that Asia is ready to adopt next
generation wireless services and pay extra for them, supporting its role
as one of the world's most sophisticated mobile markets.
The 2003 Asia Telecoms study (ATI), which was conducted in April across
11 Asian countries, reveals that 25 per cent of mobile phone owners are
using, or likely to start using, 2.5 and 3G services within the next 6
months.
TNS found that people are willing to pay extra for these services, with
half of those questioned stating that they would be happy to pay 20 per
cent more on their current monthly bill for 2.5 or 3G services, increasing
to 30 per cent amongst those wishing to have these capabilities within
the next 6 months.
Hanis Harun, Regional Director for Telecoms Asia Pacific, at TNS, commented:
"For telecoms providers in Asia, these findings provide a strong reassurance
that there is a significant level of early adopters of next generation
services. With these specific users being willing to pay extra for such
capabilities, the providers must focus their business efforts on satisfying
their needs in order to boost sales and in crease their return on investments."
The mobile applications which have gained the most interest amongst 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). With regards to popular information based applications,
these include searching yellow pages and directories (52 per cent) and
location-finding based services (49 percent).
Chi Wing Chan, Regional Director of Telecoms and Technology, at TNS,
explains: "For service providers to truly capitalise on market potential,
they 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 and it is clear that they
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 amongst 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, the indications are that about half of the users of
services such as real time TV and videophones, have expressed dissatisfaction
and requested improvements from service providers.
Hans added: "Whether or not 2.5 or 3G manages to attract the early adopter
group revealed by the ATI, and indeed whether it manages to convert the
remainder of the market, will depend very much on the mobile suppliers.
If they prove to be a disappointment, then bad word of mouth will surely
stunt the growth of the technology in the market, from which it can take
a long time to recover."
Serving as an industry benchmark for mobile, fixed internet and broadband
market measurements, the Asia Telecoms Index identifies emerging trends
in 3G technology and applications as well as providing consumer attitudes
and insights.
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3G Motorola A920
