Huge Growth in Asian Mobile

The emerging mobile markets of Asia, chiefly Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, are now worth over US$3 billion, according to a new study by IDC. The four main markets displayed an astonishing average annual growth of 72.9% with the total number of customers growing by 118.5%.

According to the US-based research company, voice services in the countries grew by 66.4% while non-voice services rose by 103.6%. In fact, mobile data accounted for just over one fifth of all revenues in the new markets. However, despite this growth, mobile penetration remains low at only around 30%.

The pre-paid element dominates all of the emerging markets and this sector continued to boom showing growth figures of 124%, while contract customers grew at only 42%. IDC forecasts a strong compound annual growth rate of 25.9% for the total revenue of the mobile services market in all four countries over the next five years. IDC's forecast for the region's subscriber base is similarly upbeat with a CAGR of 28% from 2007-2012.