High-speed data provision by mobile networks in the Asia-Pacific region

Date14 May 2018
Pages225-243
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-10-2017-0057
Published date14 May 2018
AuthorPeter Curwen,Jason Whalley
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information policy
High-speed data provision by mobile
networks in the Asia-Pacific region
Peter Curwen and Jason Whalley
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine in a fully up-to-date manner the position in respect to
the licensing and launch of long-term evolution (LTE) in a region that attracts relatively little attention when
treated as a whole because the emphasis is usually upon the very large individual markets (China, India
and Japan) contained within it. The purpose is also to examine the role of international groups and the
extent to which the licensing of LTE can make a difference to the structure of mobile markets in the region.
Design/methodology/approach The initial step was to compile extensive databases with respect to
the licensing and launch of high-speed networks in the region defined both narrowly and also to
encompass countries that are often treated as part of the Middle East arranged so as to emphasise the
status of dominant incumbents. There is a discussion of new entry and its potential to disrupt incumbents.
Findings For historical reasons, the region contains countries that have strong differences whether
defined in terms of economic, social or cultural characteristics, and hence it has not been easy for a
network with international aspirations to expand outside its home market nor for, say, European-based
operators to gain a foothold. Attempts to introduce competition via new licences has also been
problematic because of the strong, and sometimes very large, incumbents already present.
Research limitations/implications This is necessarily an overview that uses selected data to
describe the overall picture because of the substantial number of quite different markets surveyed.
Practical implications It is possible to forecast how certain structural changes will occur primarily
the withdrawal of international groups such as Millicom that prefer to concentrate upon other regions.
Originality/value The databases that underpin the analysis are author-compiled and entirely original.
Keywords Asia-Pacific, 4G, Market structure, Mobile communications, Long-term evolution
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
This paper is effectively the last in a sequence of papers in this journal (Curwen and
Whalley, 2015, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c, 2018) that examines a similar theme that of the
introduction and spread of high-speed mobile technologies and its consequences for the
structure of the mobile sector in a variety of countries and continents. In this particular case,
attention is focussed on the regions of Asia and Australasia commonly referred to as the
Asia-Pacific region.
One readily available version has it that there are 48 sovereign states, six states with limited
international recognition and six (dependent) territories in Asia with Russia treated as part of
Europe (Wikipedia, 2017a). The most obvious problems with this list for analytical purposes
where mobile communications are concerned are:
n It excludes Australasia.
n It includes what is elsewhere commonly known as the Middle East.
n It excludes Hong Kong and Macau as being Special Administrative regions of the
People’s Republic of China.
Peter Curwen is Visiting
Professor of Mobile
Communications and
Jason Whalley is a
Professor both are based at
Newcastle Business
School, Northumbria
University, Newcastle, UK.
Received 31 October 2017
Accepted 4 February 2018
DOI 10.1108/DPRG-10-2017-0057 VOL. 20 NO. 3 2018, pp. 225-243, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2398-5038 jDIGITAL POLICY, REGULATION AND GOVERNANCE jPAGE 225
n It excludes Russia as in essence European, but includes both Southern Cyprus and
Turkey that were included within the definition of Europe (as was Russia) in Curwen and
Whalley (2015).
In addition, whereas the six states with limited recognition include Abkhazia, Nagorno-
Karabakh, Northern Cyprus and South Ossetia which can readily be ignored, they also
include Taiwan which obviously cannot and Palestine which is a marginal case. However,
the six (dependent) territories definitely have no relevance for the analysis.
Australasia can alternatively be analysed in the guise of Oceania (Wikipedia, 2017b) which
allows for the inclusion of a large number of islands in the South Pacific. However, given that
92 per cent of the population of Oceania is accounted for by Australia, Papua New Guinea
and New Zealand, it could be argued that only, say, the 13 largest of the 25 listed countries
and dependent territories need to be included in the analysis.
In considering how to deal with these issues, the decision has been taken to continue with
the principle established in the previous articles in the series, namely, to concentrate first
upon the countries where the latest generation of high-speed networks is currently being
licensed and/or launched and second, upon network operators with international empires
when assessing which countries/territories to include and which to leave out. Hence,
countries where neither licences nor launches appear to exist and no international operator
is present have been omitted from the analysis.
However, given the number of countries qualifying for inclusion, the decision has been
taken to treat the Middle East as a separate sub-set of the Asia-Pacific region while
accepting that it is often analysed as part of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region. MENA did not figure as a region in Curwen and Whalley (2018) so this adds an
element of completeness to the full series of articles.
At the end of 2015, GSMA (2016a) estimated that there were 2.5 billion mobile subscribers
in the Asia-Pacific region, albeit with four markets India, China, Indonesia and Japan
accounting for three-quarters of this total. This number of subscribers, the growth in which
has arguably driven the increase in mobile subscriber numbers globally (GSMA, 2016b),
has generated a considerable amount of economic activity. Across the region, the mobile
telecommunications contributed more than $1.3tn to the region’s economies this
contribution derives both from the mobile telecommunications industry itself and the use of
the services that it provides in other sectors (GSMA, 2016b). Indeed, the indirect
contribution that comes from the use of mobile services in other sectors is double than that
of the sector itself.
The rapid growth in mobile subscriber numbers, coupled with the significant contribution
that the mobile sector makes to the economy, has attracted the attention of commentators.
While some have sought to investigate the diffusion of information and communication
technologies (ICT) more generally (Samarajiva and Zainudeen, 2008; Hjorth, 2009), the
greatest interest to date has probably focussed on the diffusion of mobile services.
Inevitably, the diffusion that has occurred in the larger markets has been explored. With
regard to India, for example, not only have those factors that encourage diffusion as well as
the switch from one generation to another have been investigated (Gupta and Jain, 2012;
Tanguturi and Harmantzis, 2006). China, the largest market in the region, has also attracted
interest. The role of the state in the development of the mobile market has been explored
(Gao, 2015; Hong, 2017; Vialle et al., 2012) as has mobile diffusion at a provincial level (Lim
et al., 2012).
While the larger markets have attracted most attention, the smaller ones have not been
overlooked. Via the application of Logistic, Gompertz and Bass diffusion models, Sultanov
et al. (2016) identified two factors population and the number of fixed-wire subscribers
as being particularly important determinants of the diffusion and adoption of mobile
telecommunications in Kazakhstan. A broadly similar study looks at the Taiwanese market,
PAGE 226 jDIGITAL POLICY, REGULATION AND GOVERNANCE jVOL. 20 NO. 3 2018

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