Wholesale Insights: Asia has been a real leader in global telecoms growth. Is that still the case, looking back over the last 12 months?  

Rozaimy Rahman: The telecommunications industry has changed radically in the past 10 years as data-hungry customers with smart devices consume even more bandwidth. The era of expanding mobile coverage is over for mobile operators in many developed and developing countries, where operators have expanded their service portfolios and overhauled their price plans to meet explosive demand.  

Most of the areas that offer economic values have been covered since the last five years or more. Operator performance varies significantly by region, with Asian telcos outperforming other regions. However, all entities in the digital ecosystem are now seeking new points of differentiation in order to maximize their share of customer spending, thus competition in retail and distribution is becoming more intense.  

Carriers have faced some real challenges over the last few years, as everyone knows. How do you assess their ability to transform and innovate, and address some of the challenges they have faced? 

Rapid 4G deployment worldwide has been helping the mobile industry maintain its momentum. Many carriers are now considering holistic mobility strategies. This is where wholesale carriers can play a vital role in enhancing mobility experience for mobile service providers.  

According to a research from Ernst and Young, “Customers are increasingly focused on data, as media and video were less than 10% of traffic in 2010; but in 2015, it [represented] almost 50%.”  

Many carriers are now considering holistic mobility strategies. This is where wholesale carriers can play a vital role in enhancing the mobility experience for retail service providers.  

Disruptive competition is the leading industry challenge, with the potential promised by OTTs reshaping demand scenarios.  

Where are mobile services at in their current stage of development? They are a growth driver, and yet services are uneven. Would you agree?  

Breakthroughs in wireless innovation will drive economic and societal growth in entirely new ways. Mobility is a critical asset in business; it increases efficiency and productivity while driving new revenue generation and competitive advantage.  

Affordable smart devices drive faster adoption of mobile services, while 4G improves mobile users’ experience accessing webpages, applications and content. OTT applications are becoming increasing important in daily life as mobile access to the internet becomes fundamental to doing business in all industries   

Asean Telecom