As mobile growth eases, Asia’s top operators keep expandingAcross Asia a total of around 3.8 billion mobile subscribers were being served by a large number of mobile operators heading into 2016. The operators are continuing to drive the market, expanding it by between 5% and 10% annually at the moment. Whilst the overall growth rate in the region has moderated the sheer numbers are impressive. This market report presents a wide-ranging review, providing details on around almost 200 of the mobile operators to be found in Asia in 2015.
The list of operators ranges from the giant China Mobile with more than 800 million subscribers right through to a number of much smaller operators with only a few thousand subscribers each. And of course there are the mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). BuddeComm’s overview of mobile operators in the region does not claim to present an exhaustive list of the licensed operators but it is truly indicative of the breadth and variety of operators to be found in the region. It also reflects the highly commercial and competitive nature of the mobile sector in this region.
The focus of this report is on the operators within the individual national markets. Of course, in addition to these individual operators there are those companies such as SingTel, Vodafone, and Axiata (formerly Telekom Malaysia International) that have built a substantial presence around the region beyond their own domestic market through their shareholdings in operators in multiple other markets. While this aspect of the regional operations is not discussed in any detail, it is mentioned in passing in the relevant country reviews.
Asia – total mobile subscribers – 2002 - 2015
Year | Subscribers (million) | Annual growth |
2002 | 430 | 32% |
2003 | 548 | 27% |
2004 | 679 | 24% |
2005 | 836 | 23% |
2006 | 1,078 | 29% |
2007 | 1,398 | 30% |
2008 | 1,773 | 27% |
2009 | 2,167 | 22% |
2010 | 2,643 | 22% |
2011 | 3,057 | 16% |
2012 | 3,205 | 5% |
2013 | 3,457 | 8% |
2014 | 3,691 | 7% |
2015 (e) | 3,865 | 5% |
(Source: BuddeComm based on industry data)
In table below the top 15 operators in Asia are shown ranked by subscribers as of end-2014. The table also shows the available subscriber numbers for 2015. It is noted that of the region’s operators these 15 (as listed in the table) have a combined share of 70% of the total regional mobile subscriber base. In other words, less than 10% of the total number of operators in the regional market control 70% of the total subscriber base. This list of top operators has remained relatively stable over the last year or so, with few changes to the leading group.
Table 2 - Asia - top 15 mobile operators by subscribers – 2014 - 2015
Rank1 | Operator | Country | 2014 | Subscribers | (million) | 2015 | Subscribers | (million) |
1 | China Mobile | China | 807 | 817 (Jun) |
2 | China Unicom | China | 299 | 289 (Sep) |
3 | Bharti | India | 221 | 231 (Jun) |
4 | China Telecom | China | 186 | 191 (Jun) |
5 | Vodafone Essar | India | 179 | 184 (Mar) |
6 | Idea Cellular | India | 151 | 162 (Jun) |
7 | Telkomsel | Indonesia | 141 | n/a |
8 | Reliance Communications | India | 106 | 111 (Jun) |
9 | BSNL | India | 81 | 77 (Mar) |
10 | Aircel/Dishnet | India | 79 | 81 (Mar) |
11 | Smart Comms (PLDT) | Philippines | 70 | 70 (Mar) |
12 | Tata Teleservices | India | 66 | 66 (Mar) |
13 | NTT DoCoMo | Japan | 63 | 67 (Jul) |
14 | Indosat | Indonesia | 63 | 69 (Sep) |
15 | Viettel | Vietnam | 55 | 55 (Jun) |
(Source: BuddeComm based on industry data)
Note: 1ranked by number of subscribers at end-2014
While the overall regional growth rate has eased considerably in the last few years, there are still some countries (and therefore operators) with growth rates well in excess of the regional average. Then of course there are the various growth patterns within the overall subscriber numbers. In this respect, the phenomenal growth of mobile broadband must be mentioned. Operators across the region have been responding to the huge demand for mobile broadband access.
'
1. Region overview - statistics
2. Afghanistan
2.1 Operator statistics
2.2 Market Overview
2.3 Afghan Wireless (AWCC)
2.3.1 Background
2.3.2 Statistics
2.3.3 Developments
2.4 Roshan
2.4.1 Background
2.4.2 Statistics
2.4.3 Developments
2.5 MTN Afghanistan
2.5.1 Background
2.5.2 Statistics
2.5.3 Developments
2.6 Etisalat Afghanistan
2.6.1 Background
2.6.2 Statistics
2.6.3 Developments
2.7 Aftel (Afghan Telecom)
3. Armenia
3.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
3.2 ArmenTel (Beeline)
3.2.1 Overview
3.2.2 Background
3.2.3 Operational statistics
3.2.4 Financials
3.2.5 Business development
3.2.6 Background developments
3.3 VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom)
3.3.1 Overview
3.3.2 Licensing
3.3.3 Service launch
3.3.4 Operational statistics
3.3.5 Development
3.3.6 4G / LTE
3.4 Orange Armenia
3.4.1 Overview
3.4.2 Licensing
3.4.3 Service launch
3.4.4 Operational statistics
3.4.5 Business development
3.5 Ucom
4. Azerbaijan
4.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
4.2 Azercell
4.2.1 Overview
4.2.2 Background
4.3 Bakcell
4.3.1 Overview
4.3.2 Background
4.4 Azerfon (Nar Mobile)
4.4.1 Overview
4.4.2 Corporate structure
4.4.3 Background
4.5 Catel
5. Bangladesh
5.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
5.2 Overview
5.3 CityCell (PBTL)
5.4 GrameenPhone
5.4.1 Overview
5.4.2 3G and 4G Network Rollouts
5.4.3 Developments
5.4.4 Financials
5.4.5 Proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO)
5.4.6 Background
5.5 Banglalink
5.6 Robi Axiata
5.7 Teletalk
5.7.1 Overview
5.7.2 3G development
5.7.3 Proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO)
5.8 Airtel Bangladesh
5.8.1 Overview
5.8.2 Background
6. Bhutan
6.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
6.2 B-Mobile
6.3 Tashi InfoComm
7. Brunei Darussalam
7.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
7.2 DSTCom
7.3 Progresif Cellular (formerly B-Mobile)
7.3.1 Operational and financial problems - background
8. Cambodia
8.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
8.2 MobiTel (CamGSM)
8.2.1 Overview
8.2.2 Statistics
8.3 Mfone (CamShin)
8.3.1 Overview
8.3.2 Statistics
8.3.3 Uncertainty followed by Bankruptcy
8.4 Smart Axiata (formerly Hello Axiata)
8.5 AZ Communications
8.6 Metfone (Viettel)
8.7 CadComms (QB)
8.8 GT-Tell (Excell)
8.9 Smart Mobile (Latelz)
8.10 Applifone (Star Cell)
8.11 Beeline Cambodia (Sotelco)
8.12 CooTel (Xinwei)
9. China
9.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
9.2 China Mobile Ltd (CML)
9.2.1 Company overview
9.2.2 China Mobile: Financial statistics
9.2.3 China Mobile: Operations statistics
9.3 China Telecom
9.4 China Unicom
9.5 MVNOs
10. Georgia
10.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
10.2 Overview
10.3 Geocell
10.4 MagtiCom
10.5 Mobitel (Beeline)
11. Hong Kong
11.1 Hong Kong Telecom / CSL
11.2 Hutchison Telekom Hong Kong Holdings (3)
11.3 SmarTone
11.3.1 Company overview
11.3.2 Company background
11.3.3 Financial statistics
11.3.4 Operational statistics
11.4 China Mobile
11.5 Mobile virtual network operators (MVNO)
12. India
12.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
12.2 Major operators in India
12.2.1 Market overview
12.2.2 Unified Access Service Licences (UASL)
12.2.3 Mergers and acquisitions
12.2.4 BSNL/MTNL
12.3 Aircel
12.3.1 Overview
12.4 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
12.4.1 Overview
12.4.2 Mobile business
12.5 Bharti Airtel
12.5.1 Overview
12.5.2 Financials
12.5.3 Corporate structure
12.5.4 Mobile business
12.6 Idea Cellular
12.6.1 Overview
12.6.2 Financials
12.6.3 Background
12.6.4 Corporate structure
12.6.5 3G development
12.6.6 4G / LTE
12.7 Loop Mobile
12.7.1 Overview
12.7.2 Bharti Airtel’s proposed buy out
12.7.3 Deactivation of Loop’s network
12.7.4 Background
12.8 Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
12.8.1 Overview
12.8.2 Corporate structure
12.8.3 Mobile business
12.9 Quadrant
12.10 Reliance Communications
12.10.1 Overview
12.10.2 Financials
12.10.3 Corporate structure
12.10.4 Mobile business
12.11 Reliance Jio Infocomm
12.12 Sistema
12.12.1 Overview
12.12.2 Mobile business
12.13 Tata Teleservices
12.13.1 Overview
12.13.2 Corporate structure
12.13.3 Mobile business
12.14 Telewings (formerly Uninor)
12.14.1 Overview
12.14.2 Problems following 2G licence cancellation
12.15 Videocon
12.16 Vodafone
12.16.1 Overview
12.16.2 Tax dispute
12.16.3 Financials
12.16.4 Corporate background
12.16.5 Operational background
12.16.6 Strategic development
12.16.7 3G
12.16.8 4G / LTE
12.17 Other operators and service providers
12.17.1 Mobile operators
12.17.2 MVNO market
13. Indonesia
13.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
13.2 Overview
13.3 PT Telkom Indonesia
13.3.1 Overview
13.3.2 PT Telkomsel / mobile operations
13.4 PT Indosat
13.4.1 Overview
13.4.2 Business developments
13.4.3 Financials
13.4.4 Corporate structure
13.4.5 Mobile operations
13.5 XL Axiata (formerly PT Excelcomindo Pratama)
13.5.1 Overview
13.5.2 Developments
13.5.3 Axiata’s acquisition of Axis
13.5.4 Operational statistics
13.5.5 Financials
13.5.6 Corporate structure
13.5.7 Business and network strategies
13.6 PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia (STI)
13.7 PT SmartFren Telecom
13.7.1 Overview
13.7.2 Mobile-8
13.7.3 Smart Telecom
13.8 Axis (formerly Natrindo Telepon Selular)
13.8.1 Overview
13.8.2 Business developments including 3G
13.8.3 Corporate structure
13.9 PT Hutchison CP / 3 Indonesia
13.10 PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (SATELINDO)
13.11 Bolt
14. Japan
14.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
14.2 Overview
14.3 NTT DoCoMo
14.3.1 Company overview
14.3.2 Financial statistics
14.3.3 Capex allocation
14.3.4 ARPU statistics
14.3.5 Operational statistics
14.3.6 International investments
14.4 KDDI
14.5 Softbank Mobile
14.5.1 Business strategy
14.5.2 Financial and Operational statistics
14.6 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO)
15. Kazakhstan
15.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
15.2 Altel
15.3 K’Cell (GSM-Kazakhstan)
15.4 Kar-Tel (Beeline)
15.5 Tele 2 Kazakhstan (formerly NeoTelecom)
16. Kyrgyzstan
16.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
16.2 MegaCom (BiMoCom Ltd)
16.2.1 Ownership issues
16.3 Sky Mobile (Beeline)
16.3.1 Ownership dispute
16.4 Aktel (Fonex)
16.5 Nur Telecom (O!)
16.6 Katel
16.7 KT Mobile
17. Laos
17.1 Mobile Operator Statistics
17.2 Overview
17.3 Lao Telecom
17.3.1 Overview
17.3.2 Corporate structure
17.3.3 Mobile operations
17.4 Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao (ETL)
17.4.1 Overview
17.4.2 Mobile operations
17.5 Beeline
17.5.1 Overview
17.5.2 Background
17.5.3 Mobile operations
17.6 Unitel (formerly Lao Asia Telecom)
17.7 Sky Telecom
18. Macau
18.1 Compahnia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM)
18.1.1 Overview
18.1.2 Background
18.1.3 Mobile
18.1.4 Operational statistics
18.2 3 Macau (Hutchison Telecom Macau)
18.3 SmarTone Mobile Communications (Macau) Ltd
18.4 China Telecom
19. Malaysia
19.1 Overview
19.2 Mobile operator Statistics
