Committed to Connecting the World
International
Telecommunication
Union
Committed to Connecting the World
Asia-Pacific
Telecommunication/ICT
Indicators 2008
Broadband in Asia-Pacific:
Too much, too little?
Vanessa Gray
vanessa.gray@itu.int
Market Information and Statistics Division
Telecommunication Development Bureau
International Telecommunication Union
International
Telecommunication
Union
Asia-Pacific: a region of superlatives
AsiaPacific
48%
Europe
& CIS
26%
Americas
22%
Distribution
of fixed
telephone
lines by
Arab
region,
States
2007
3%
AsiaPacific
42%
Europe
& CIS
25%
Americas
28%
September 2008
Europe
& CIS
28%
Africa
1%
AsiaPacific
42%
Africa
2%
Arab
States
3%
Americas
20%
Africa
5%
Arab
States
5%
Distribution
of mobile
cellular
subscribers
by region,
2007
Distribution
of Internet
users
by region,
2007
3
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.
Committed to Connecting the World
Committed to Connecting the World
Benefits of broadband
ƒ Broadband makes the Internet always
available at a fast speed:
¾ Companies can keep websites up and running 24x7 &
can deliver products & services in real time.
¾ Individuals enjoy a faster and more pleasant Internet
surfing experience and the ability to use bandwidthintensive applications (e.g., VoIP, IPTV).
¾ Broadband also enhances a range of socially desirable
and valuable online services in areas such as
government, education and health.
“Highspeed broadband, which a few years ago was considered a luxury is
today a necessary part of the industrial, commercial and lifestyle
landscapes.” Energy, Water & Communications Minister, Malaysia, Nov. 2006
September 2008
4
September 2008
40
20
15
10
20
5
10
0
0
Source: Fiber-to-the-Home Council.
30
Korea (Rep.)
50
HK, China
60
Japan
25
Sweden
70
Taiwan, China
30
Norway
80
Denmark
35
USA
90
Slovenia
Top 10 economies by broadband
household penetration, 2007
Iceland
Sweden
Macao,
China
HK, China
Taiwan,
China
Norway
Denmark
Singapore
Netherlands
Korea
(Rep)
Iceland
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.
Committed to Connecting the World
Broadband champions
Top 10 economies by FTTH/LAN
household penetration, 2007
5
35
10
5
Fixed broadband Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants, 2007
30
25
Red bars:
Upper & high-income economies
20
15
Blue bars:
Lower middle-income economies
Orange bars:
Low-income economies
0
September 2008
6
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
P.N.Guinea
Bhutan
Micronesia
Kiribati
Guam
Myanmar
Samoa
Iran
Nepal
Cambodia
Laos
Mongolia
Pakistan
Indonesia
SolomonIsl.
India
SriLanka
Vanuatu
Tonga
Fiji
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
BruneiDarus
Maldives
Malaysia
China
NewCaledon
FrenchPolyn.
Singapore
NewZealand
Taiwan,Chin
Macao,China
Israel
Japan
Australia
HK,China
Korea(Rep.)
Committed to Connecting the World
Broadband divide: penetration
Committed to Connecting the World
Cambodia
Tonga
Brunei
Laos
Vanuatu
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Solomon Islands
PNG
Pakistan
Nepal
Fiji
Bhutan
Philippines
Thailand
Maldives
Malaysia
Macao, China
Vietnam
Taiwan, China
India
Singapore
Australia
Hong Kong, China
Korea (Rep.)
Japan
20
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Source: ITU.
Broadband Divide: Speed
30
14
50
50
Mbps
Note: The range of speeds show the advertised lowest and highest speed consumer broadband plan
offered using DSL technology. Higher speed, mass market broadband plans using fiber optic
connections are available in several high-income economies, with speeds from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. For
Bangladesh, speeds refer to a cable modem plan.
September 2008
7
Committed to Connecting the World
Monthly broadband
prices in Asia-Pacific,
minimum 256 kbps,
US$, July 2008
Monthly subscription
% of GNI per capita
Price >
per
capita
income
Macao, China
Taiwan,China
Singapore
Japan
HK, China
New Zealand
Australia
Korea (Rep.)
Maldives
Malaysia
Brunei Darus.
Thailand
Fiji
China
India
Sri Lanka
Indonesia
Philippines
Vietnam
Pakistan
Bhutan
Tonga
Mongolia
Nepal
Banglad.
PNG
Cambodia
Vanuatu
Solomon Isl.
Laos
$100
$90
$80
$70
$60
$50
$40
$30
$20
$10
$0
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Source: ITU
Broadband Divide: Price
High cost of international fibre & scarcity of international bandwidth / Lack of competition & barriers
for new entrants / Economy of scale
September 2008
8
Committed to Connecting the World
Broadband: Too much or too little?
ƒ
Do some high-income
economies have too much
broadband?
¾ “…there is little evidence to
support the notion that faster is
inherently better. Can the
Japanese and Koreans do
something at 100Mb/s that the
Americans, British and Germans
can't at 20Mb/s?”
--The Economist
September 2008
ƒ
On the other hand, the
region’s low and lowermiddle-income economies are
bandwidth deprived, with too
little broadband.
¾ “…the current population of
broadband subscribers is
geographically dispersed and
thereby not a single area
appears to be sufficiently
served…the major cities of the
country are not optimally
served. The situation in the
rest of the country is even
more dismal, where most of
the cities are showing almost
zero % penetration...”
--Government of Pakistan
9
Committed to Connecting the World
Top broadband providers versus
top mobile providers in Asia-Pacific
Top 10 broadband operators, 2007
Top 10 mobile operators, 2007
Subscribers
000s
Subscribers
000s
Operator
Operator
%BB
China Telecom
35,650 China Mobile
369,339 0%
China Netcom
19,768 China Unicom
162,491 0%
NTT (Japan)
12,960 Bharti (India)
55,163 0%
Korea Telecom
6,516 DoCoMo (Japan)
53,150 79%
Softbank (Japan)
5,164 Telkomsel (Indonesia)
47,890 7%
Telstra (Australia)
4,598 Reliance (India)
40,960 0%
CHT (Taiwan)
4,243 Vodafone (India)
39,865 0%
Hanaro (Korea)
3,658 BSNL (India)
36,810 0%
KDDI (Japan)
2,135 Mobilink (Pakistan)
30,613 0%
LG Powercom (Korea)
1,721 PLDT (Philippines)
30,041 4%
Low & lower-middle income economies
September 2008
Source: Adapted from company reports.
10
Mobile opens the way for new applications
ƒ Asia-Pacific: 30% CAGR
over last 5 years; today
one out of 3 inhabitants
have a mobile phone
ƒ Mid-2008: China and
India had 600 and 280
million mobile
subscribers
ƒ Spread of mobile data
applications
¾
¾
¾
¾
¾
SMS
Entertainment
m-banking
m-government
m-commerce
September 2008
Pakistan
India
HK, China
Australia
China
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
SMS per subscriber
per month, 2007
0
200
Other
18%
GPRS/
MMS
19%
SMS
41%
400
AIS Thailand
Distribution of
mobile data
revenue 2007
22%
Calling
melodies
11
Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.
Committed to Connecting the World
Committed to Connecting the World
ƒ A growing number
September 2008
India
New
Zealand
Indonesia
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Singapore
Philippines
China
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Thailand
Millions
of users in low &
lower-middle
income economies
are using mobile
phone as browser
to access Internet
Using mobile phone to access Internet
% of mobile subscribers
% of Internet users
12
Source: Adapted from Nielsen Mobile.
Mobile browsing
Committed to Connecting the World
Wireless technologies for broadband access
ƒ Broadband mobile
(>256 kbps)
¾ End 2007: 120
million mobile
broadband
subscribers in AP,
almost all in highincome economies
¾ Indonesia, Maldives,
Philippines & Sri
Lanka have
launched 3G
networks
September 2008
ƒ Wi-Fi & WiMAX to
set up hot-spots
and connect rural
areas
¾ Thailand: BMA and
True to use Wi-Fi to
cover 400m2 area in
Bangkok
¾ WiMAX used to offer
broadband in Fiji,
Tonga, and Vanuatu
13
Committed to Connecting the World
Two different broadband trends
ƒ In high-income economies,
ubiquitous access is progressing
through a competitive race to
provide ever faster fixed
broadband speeds; deployment
of mobile broadband at ever
lower price
ƒ Four Asian tigers and Japan are
world leaders in broadband
penetration, fibre deployment,
IP-based voice and video
applications and 3G mobile use
ƒ Fixed and mobile technologies
complement each other so that
many users enjoy uninterrupted
high-speed connectivity
ƒ In low and lower-middle-
income economies, mobile
phones have become a
substitute for fixed lines and
fixed broadband access
ƒ Many data needs are being
fulfilled by the mobile phone,
often at non-broadband
speeds and delivered to small
screens
ƒ Visits to Internet cafes are
made (where available) when
higher speed, PC-based access
is needed
ƒ While ICT access is growing, it
is often low-speed, not always
convenient and not ubiquitous
BB4D: Low and lower-middle-income economies cannot be complacent about broadband. High-speed
connectivity is crucial for many applications that have an important impact on development.
September 2008
14
Committed to Connecting the World
Recommendations
ƒ Recognize importance of broadband; formulate actions and targets
ƒ Award licenses and spectrum for wireless broadband technologies
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
(3G, WiMAX)
Diversify provision by opening up the broadband market to new
operators and stimulate competition to lower prices
Create investment incentives
¾ Aggregate demand by pooling dispersed broadband users together
¾ Reduce customs duties on ICT equipment and offer tax credits for
broadband investment
Utilize universal service funds to bring broadband to rural and
underserved areas, as well as schools
Promote development of local content
¾ To minimize dependence on expensive international connectivity
¾ Encourage more citizens to access relevant services and
applications
Encourage convergence and the transition to NGN including adoption
of regulations allowing the use of voice and video over broadband
networks.
September 2008
15
Committed to Connecting the World
Asia-Pacific Telecommunication/ICT
Indicators 2008 includes:
ƒ Analytical section
ƒ 20 regional tables covering
telecommunication/ICT indicators
ƒ 43 individual country pages with a
five year profile
ƒ A directory of telecommunication/ICT
ministries, regulators and operators
in the region
September 2008
16