Asia Pacific’s telecom market set to grow
KOTA KINABALU: Asia Pacific’s telecommunications (telecom) services market’s growth pace is expected to exceed other regions, driven by the thirst for data services in the region, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said.
In its Worldwide Telecom Services Database, IDC noted that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services reached US$1,662 billion in 2017, an increase of 1.4 per cent yearover-year (in constant dollar terms).
IDC expected that the growth rate could accelerate to 1.6 per cent in 2018, bringing worldwide spending on telecom and pay TV services to US$1,689 billion.
It also pointed out that the Asia Pacific region could see its share increase from 32 per cent to 34 per cent.
“The Asia Pacific market is growing faster than other regions due to the thirst for data services – spending on fixed data services is set to grow by six per cent over the forecast period, which is significantly higher than other regions and this, coupled with mobile data growth, is driving the overall market growth,” said Eric Owen, group vice president, EMEA Telecommunications & Networking at IDC.
The single-digit growth rates clearly show that the worldwide market for telecommunications services has matured, IDC said.
It added that this situation requires changes on the supply side.
“Growth in telecom revenues requires innovative strategies and tactics and a steadfast approach to the market,” said Denise Lund, research director, Mobile Enterprise Research at IDC.
“Establishing and growing a base of connections has never been more challenging, yet it is critical to communications service providers that want to claim a stake in the future revenue growth opportunities,” Lund added.
Aside from that, it noted that the market is forecast to continue its positive growth until the end of the five-year forecast period (2018 to 2022), growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1 per cent.
IDC explained that this stable positive trend would entirely be a consequence of increasing demand for data services.
“The global telecoms market will maintain steady growth of two per cent over the forecast timeframe of 2018 to 2022.
“Communications service providers are in transition, facing a flat voice market, but steady growth in fixed and mobile data services. Fixed data services will grow by four per cent due to strong demand for broadband, Ethernet, and high-speed fiber connectivity.
“While mobile voice revenues are declining, this sector will be sustained by strong growth in data and other services,” said Courtney Munroe, group vice president, Worldwide Telecommunications Research at IDC.
On a geographic basis, IDC said the Americas would remain the largest services market until the end of the forecast period in 2022. However, due to somewhat slower growth compared to other regions, its share of total worldwide spending will decline from 38 per cent in 2017 to 36 per cent in 2022.
The Asia Pacific market is growing faster than other regions due to the thirst for data services – spending on fixed data services is set to grow by six per cent over the forecast period, which is significantly higher than other regions and this, coupled with mobile data growth, is driving the overall market growth. Eric Owen, EMEA Telecommunications & Networking group vice president