The mobile Internet digital divide in Asia-Pacific:

Two personal mobile spaces?

Michael MingesSenior Market Analyst

ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004B1: Defining the personal mobile space

7 September 2004-Busan, Republic of Korea

Mobile =ubiquitous“computer in your pocket”

“The latest … handsets can

offer practically the same

performance as a

computer did 5 years ago.”

— NTT DoCoMo

Sou

rce:

SK

Tele

com

.

0 50 100

Korea

Taiwan

Singapore

Japan “In the coming years, the mobile handset will be the hub of all other devices, enabling people to access information and technology anywhere at

any time….” —Samsung

% households with mobile phone, ‘03

Source: TMG.

“…it is relatively small, you don't need a desk, you don't need to be in a particular place. And

you don't have to be literate to use them or speak English. These are all constraints when it

comes to operating a computer.” — Intel ethnographer Genevieve Bell

0

24

68

10

China Indo. India M'sia Phil. Thai.

Mobile:Fixed Mobile:PC

Source: TMG.

Status of high-speed mobile networks, Asia-Pacific, 2003

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

2000 2001 2002 2003

Developed

ASIA-PACIFC

Develop-ing

High-speed mobile subscribers as % of total mobile subscribers

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

IndonesiaPhilippines

ChinaAustraliaMalaysiaThailand

SingaporeH. KongTaiwan

APN. Z'land

JapanIndia

S. Korea

Asia-Pacific

High-speed networks in Asia-Pacific, June 2004GPRS: 401XRTT: 13EDGE: 4WCDMA: 41XEV-DO: 3

Source: TMG.

The mobile Internet digital divide…

60.6

60.3

52.651.0

47.2

46.2

39.0

34.5

9.66.2

4.9

4.63.0

Japan

S. Korea

N.ZealandSingapore

H. Kong

Australia

Taiwan

Malaysia

Thailand

ChinaPhilippines

Indonesia

India

Internet users as %

of population,

20030.0%

0.1%

0.2%

0.4%

0.5%

0.9%

1.3%

1.6%

2.0%

2.0%

7.9%

24.8%

31.0%

India

Indonesia

China

Philippines

Thailand

Malaysia

N.Zealand

Australia

H.Kong

Taiwan

Singapore

S. Korea

Japan

Mobile Internet users

as % of population,

2003

Source: TMG.

…is worse than the conventional digital divide

Verizon Wireless VZACCESS with Venturi software

Two “killer”Mobile Internet applications

Allows traditional credit card functions to be performed by chips embedded in cellular handsets. 1.2 million subscribers at December 2003

Starbucks, Gimpo Airport, Seoul

SMS “problem”High text message revenue makes operators reluctant to invest in

mobile Internet…SMS works on virtually any phone and does not need high speed network

Philippines

Singapore

Japan

S. KoreaIndonesiaAustralia

Malaysia

ChinaN. ZealandIndia

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

0 50 100 150 200SMS per subscriber per month, 2003

Mob

ile d

ata

as

% to

tal m

obile

re

venu

e, 2

003

Source: TMG.

SMS “problem”High text message revenue makes operators reluctant to invest in

mobile Internet…SMS works on virtually any phone and does not need high speed network

0%10%20%30%40%50%

60%70%80%90%

100%

Philippines China Japan Korea0

50

100

150

200

250SMS as % of mobile data revenue (left)

SMS per subcriber per month (right)

Note: SMS revenue % for Philippines refers to SMART, China to China Mobile (HK), Japan to Vodafone and Korea to KTF. SMS usage figures refer to whole country.Source: TMG adapted from operator reports.

Handset divide

0% 50% 100%

IndonesiaPhilippines

IndiaChina

TaiwanThailand

MalaysiaAustraliaH. Kong

SingaporeJapanKorea

% of mobile subscribers with Internet-

enabled mobile phone,2003

“…for the upgrade market, camera phones and phones with other multimedia features”

“…launched a line of affordable, entry level phones…”

-6-4-202468

10121416

Milli

ons

Handset salesNew subscribersDifference

Indonesia Philippines India

2003

Source: TMG.

SEGMENTATION

Developing nations have best demographics for mobile Internet!

27

50

2G 3G

% of users less than 30, by mobile

service, NTT DoCoMo, 2004

Source: NTT DoCoMo.0 20 40

JapanH.Kong

S. KoreaAustralia

SingaporeN.Zealand

ChinaThailand

IndonesiaIndia

MalaysiaPhilippines

% population < 15, 2003

Source: UN.

Conclusions• Ubiquitous

– Mobile widely available relative to other ICT devices• High-speed

– Now available• Yet a two-track mobile Internet is developing

– Some nations way ahead– Others still “stuck” in text-mode

• Solutions– Regulatory incentives such as more competition, especially

technological, and assisting mobile industry to meet broadband aspirations

– Manufacturers and operators to re-think “segmentation”

Thank you!This presentation is based on:

Asia-Pacific Mobile Multimedia Outlook 2004

Featuring an overview of mobile multimedia trends in 13 key Asia-Pacific markets covering 98% of subscribers in the region.

Available from www.tmgtelecom.com/reportsMore information: reports@tmgtelecom.com