SOUTHEAST ASIA'S MOBILE USERS TO HIT 453.3 MLN BY YEAR END

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Mobile users in Southeast Asia is expected to hit 453.3 million subscribers by year-end, up 18.4 per cent from 2008.

International consultant Frost & Sullivan, in its outlook for Southeast
Asia, said billings were expected to grow 13.6 per cent, year-on-year, to US$32
billion in 2009.

The company estimated the region's mobile subscriber base to reach 606
million by 2014, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of eight per
cent.

Company industry analyst Shaker Amin said based on the diversity of
Southeast Asia markets, the growth would be driven by a mix of subscribers,
including those in rural areas, who would receive mobile connectivity for the
first time as networks continue to expand beyond urban areas.

He said the increase in data usage and higher-end services, brought on by
3G, was also expected to contribute to the increase in mobile users.

Amin added that growth in the saturated markets of Singapore and Malaysia
would be marginal but it would be largely fuelled by user migration to 3G,
mobile broadband uptake and higher consumer appetite for mobile content and data
services.

He said mobile usage in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines
would continue to be dominated by voice and basic text messaging services.

" Although 3G will be making its entry into many of these markets, it will
be some years still before 3G services become commonplace," Amin added.

Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam each have no less than six
mobile operators but Indonesia has the most with 11.

" As operators compete fiercely to enrol new subscribers, 3G will be the
technology to eventually deliver mobile broadband to the rural communities that
are not likely to ever receive fixed broadband access," Amin added.
-- BERNAMA