GSMA Identifies Key Trends Shaping Asia Pacific Telecom Industry in 2023

The GSMA's 'Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2023' report sheds light on crucial trends influencing the telecom industry in the Asia Pacific region. Among these trends, the urgency for 5G monetization has emerged as a primary focus for telecom operators seeking to capitalize on their significant investments in 5G infrastructure.

According to the report, the majority of 5G consumers expressed satisfaction with their network experience, attributing it to the faster speeds offered by 5G. Notably, these consumers are willing to pay more for their mobile subscriptions compared to their current 4G plans. However, GSMA emphasizes that offering faster speeds alone may not sustain pricing premiums and long-term revenue growth. A "wow" factor is required to attract new customers or incentivize existing ones to spend more.

To address this, GSMA proposes that extended reality (XR) could be a game-changer, bringing immersive consumer experiences that leverage 5G's advanced capabilities in speed, latency, and capacity. Additionally, telecom operators can upsell customers to higher-value data plans by bundling XR devices with main smartphone subscriptions, facilitated by eSIM-enabled devices.

Several operators in the Asia Pacific region have already taken steps in this direction, with companies like NTT Docomo, Jio Tesseract, and LG Uplus investing in XR hardware, software, and content development.

While the consumer segment contributes significantly to operator revenues, GSMA believes that the enterprise segment will be the primary revenue growth driver. As telecom companies target the digital transformation of industries, 5G Standalone (SA) will play a crucial role in unlocking 5G's full potential, including massive machine type communications (mMTC), improved network slicing, and ultra-reliable, low-latency capabilities. Direct access to network capabilities via exposed APIs will accelerate 5G monetization.

The report highlights that Asia Pacific is leading the way in 5G SA commercialization, with several countries already deploying this technology.

On the front of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA), the report mentions that 17 operators in eight countries offer 5G FWA services. Markets like Australia and the Philippines, with skewed fixed broadband technology mixes and low fixed broadband penetration, are expected to drive the growth of 5G FWA.

Generative AI is set to revolutionize AI capabilities in the mobile industry. It can automate complex functions requiring better contextual understanding and offer advanced synthesis of information, leading to more personalized customer services. As the enthusiasm for AI development grows, GSMA anticipates an increase in AI regulation on the policy agenda to govern the use of new AI tools.

Overall, the report emphasizes the importance of 5G monetization, XR, 5G SA, FWA, and Generative AI in shaping the future of the telecom industry in the Asia Pacific region. Telecom operators are striving to leverage these trends to provide better services and drive revenue growth.