More Philippines IP Communications Stories

The Philippines will continue to be a huge prepaid mobile market until at least 2015. However, the rise in postpaid numbers during the same time may be influenced by the expected increase of mobile internet and broadband, according to a Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) report.

Currently, GSM systems are being used by all three major operators in Philippines. In 2006, Smart and Globe introduced 3G services, while Sun Cellular introduced them in 2008. However, 3G did not gain major traction during this time.

In 2009, 3G connections accounted for about 6% of the total market share. This adoption was stimulated by smartphones and faster data speeds from High Speed Packet Access, also known as HSPA. Frost & Sullivan reports that the number of 3G connections, excluding mobile broadband, is expected to reach 28% by 2014.

In a release, Nitin Bhat (News - Alert), Partner at Frost & Sullivan said, "We forecast that data as a whole will rise to 55% by 2015 and non- SMS data will rise to 22% of the total data, as increasing voice usage, SMS bundling and mobile internet adoption contribute to the data portion of the average revenue per user (ARPU). However, both these numbers have upside potential based on the continued success of operators' mobile broadband offerings.” Bhat added that in order to meet the increasing demands in data traffic, mobile operators will need to upgrade their back-haul networks.

Currently over 50% of ARPU in the Philippines is comprised by mobile data. 54% of the total data usage in the region comes from the Philippines.

With increase in wireless broadband adoption, future revenue is expected to grow along with the increase in the number of wireless competitors. Furthermore, growth opportunities in the Philippines telecom market are expected. Competition is expected to increase with the regulatory reforms underway.

Frost & Sullivan will be again visiting the Philippines to further discuss the potential growth opportunities in the country’s telecom industry. Philippines Telecoms International Summit 2010 will be held by Frost & Sullivan in Manila. The guest of honor will be a key representative from the CICT (News - Alert), Office of the President of the Philippines.