Asia ICT

While still facing a degree of regulatory uncertainty in 2011, the telecoms sector continued to expand rapidly during the course of the year, backed by strong demand for voice and data services. By the close of 2011 voice penetration had reached 15% in fixed-line (9.8m subscribers) and 109% in mobile (73.7m), according to the Ministry of Information...

The economy’s sizeable industrial cluster of electronics production has contributed to making Thailand’s IT sector one of the most dynamic, even by the region’s high standards. Its global leadership in hard drive and computer production, for instance, has provided fertile ground for software developers. Meanwhile, local demand continues to signal a...

While the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) has promoted ADSL connections since the first national information and communications technology (ICT) plan (2002-08), significant growth in broadband services only started in 2006 as fixed-line operators extended their copper network in larger urban areas. “Broadband penetration...

After a half century of state monopoly control, the telecoms market in Papua New Guinea underwent liberalisation in 2007, resulting in a rapid increase in the sector’s value and contributing an estimated 2.5% to annual GDP growth in 2010.

Mobile network service providers in Papua New Guinea have rapidly emerged as catalysts for growth since market liberalisation in 2007. This has cemented the telecommunications sector’s role as a fundamental component in meeting national development goals.

The merger of two of the country’s three remaining telecoms operators into a single market-dominating force in 2011 marked the latest stage in the consolidation of the sector. With just two providers left from six just two decades ago, the country’s mobile market is now effectively a duopoly.