Abstract
This IDC study assesses the state of wireless local loop (WLL) services in
India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, and Thailand. Although
subscriber growth in slowing in the region' s largest market, China, revenues
from the service is increasing as the volume of mobile-WLL calls increases. In
India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, competition has spurred uptake of the
service as WLL offers competitive tariff. The service is deployed by the
incumbent in Malaysia as a substitute to fixed-line service, and growth
prospect remains as WLL is more efficient to deploy than copper or fiber
infrastructure. Thailand is the only market in the region where the future of
WLL service is bleak. The monopoly service provider (SP) has very little
incentive to promote the service and competition from mobile services is
leading to a decline in WLL.
"WLL will stay relevant in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) or APEJ in the
foreseeable future as it is an affordable means to bring connectivity to the
underserved. Regulators should encourage competition so that more people would
benefit from WLL. In markets where there have been competition within the WLL
sector such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, WLL has taken off and
more individuals have access to telephony services," says Dorothy Chan, senior
research manager, Asia/Pacific Communications.
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