High cost of mobile data has been the main obstacle to widespread ownership in recent years in Telenor Asia's markets: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, and soon to be Myanmar, according to a study.
However, tangible benefits of mobile data—applications and mobile internet—are available primarily on smartphone platforms, according to the study, which was not conducted in Bangladesh.
Drawing on 38,000 people from 43 countries, the TNS global Mobile Life study uncovered major mobile connectivity differences in countries across emerging Asia.
According to the study, alternatives to using mobile data, such as WiFi, are not widely available in most developing markets, and 60 to 80 percent of mobile owners do not use mobile data at all.
Insights released by the Telenor Group in Asia yesterday based on TNS's annual global Mobile Life study show that emerging Asia is surprisingly varied when it comes to telecommunications development.
“After years of work, we have made great progress in helping bring these prices down,” said Sigve Brekke, executive vice president and head of Asia operations at Telenor Group.
“One thing our Asian markets do have in common is that they are ready for the most advanced mobile technology and fastest connectivity available in Asia.”
“While we're working to connect more people in the rural areas of our markets with basic feature phone connectivity, we're also committed to helping them develop advanced telecommunications networks that will place them on par with the rest of developed Asia, as we're seeing with the launch of 3G in Bangladesh.”