ICT

The mobile telephony market in Mongolia is fast maturing, with expanding 2G and 3G coverage set to drive up connections and penetration surpassing 100% by the end of the year.

Discussions are continuing over the long-awaited potential introduction of a new mobile operator in Egypt, which has the potential to dramatically tighten margins in what is already a very competitive sector. If the agreement is concluded, incumbent operators may find themselves looking to further expand value-added services (VAS) to maintain revenue streams and margins.

With mobile penetration already well above 100%, the increasing popularity of high-speed mobile and fixed broadband is proving to be the key to growth in the Omani telecoms sector. Increasing operating costs and declining text usage are cutting into profits, however.

The sale of nine 3G licences in an auction in mid-October raised Bt41.6bn ($1.35bn) for Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), heralding the long-awaited introduction of more advanced data services in the telecoms industry. There are concerns, however, that the bandwidth prices were set too late and will not encourage competition among providers.

Over the past decade of economic growth, India has worked hard to position itself as a pioneer of low-cost manufacturing. Where once the whole world marvelled at the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, the Indian government is hoping that it will once again attract international attention with the world’s cheapest tablet computer, the Aakash-2.

Competition in the Philippines’ telecommunications sector is heating up as the two main players in the market battle for subscribers. While both firms are likely to benefit through an increase in the number of consumers, this may come at a cost if profit margins are deeply impacted, as is expected.