The investment in 5G network will drive mobile communications services revenue in the Asia Pacific region to reach $398.4 billion in 2026 from $320.9 billion in 2021, mainly driven by the mobile Internet segment.
The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the mobile communications services revenue in the Asia Pacific region will be 4.4 percent during 2021-2026, forecasts GlobalData.
At the same time, mobile voice service revenue in Asia Pacific will dip at a CAGR of 4.2 percent during the forecast period, as consumers will continue to migrate towards OTT/internet-based communication services.
5G services are already available in most countries like China, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, and Korea. 5G will also be launched soon in countries like India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
Operators like Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel in India, and Viettel, VinaPhone and Mobifone in Vietnam, have conducted 5G network trails in major cities in their respective countries and are gearing up for 5G service roll out by year end.
Government support for 5G expansion will strengthen the mobile data services market in the region. Telecom regulatory bodies and governing authorities in countries like South Korea, Japan, Australia, China and Taiwan have launched national 5G strategies/action plans, outlining the vision and guidelines to establish 5G ecosystems.
China is currently the largest 5G market in the world with an estimated 778 million 5G subscriptions in 2021, which is projected to increase to 1.8 billion by the end of 2026.
“APAC has become the center of a technological race for 5G+ supremacy. South Korea, Japan, and China have gone beyond just the deployment of 5G to the development of the wider 5G ecosystem. This also means supporting the vast electronics manufacturing and ICT industries in these countries,” Hrushikesh Mahananda, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, said in a news statement.
China’s telecom regulator MIIT released a plan in March 2021 to develop industrial internet over 2021-2023, which includes the construction of 30 connected 5G facilities in 10 key industries by 2023 along with the development of fusion applications such as intelligent manufacturing, network-based collaboration, personalized customization, and development of technologically innovative enterprises.
