On the Cutting Edge of Wireless

Pondering the future of wireless? Look to the Asia-Pacific region, home to some of the most advanced networks in the world. Japan and South Korea, long in the vanguard of mobile phone service, will soon be joined by Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, thanks to recent 3G network launches. Less mature wireless markets such as China, India, the Philippines and Indonesia also abound in the Asia-Pacific region, and subscriber growth will be far brisker in these countries than in either advanced or mature markets.  

Statistics may vary about which region’s wireless subscriber population is expanding the fastest, but on the basis of net additions, there is no denying that the Asia-Pacific region is the world’s primary growth engine. By a good margin, it also is the largest regional wireless market in the world, thanks primarily to the presence of China, which is home to an enormous and still-expanding user population that dwarfs subscriber bases elsewhere in the world. Steep growth lies ahead for India as well, and by the end of the decade it will develop into a major force in the region in its own right. Continue