3G users in RP to hit 17 million by 2013

abs-cbnNEWS.com | London-based global research firm Frost & Sullivan said 3G subscribers in the Philippines would likely reach almost 17million by 2013 as more Philippine households use USB modems (dongles) and datacards to access wireless broadband services. "We believe that dongles and datacards will help drive 3G to nearly 18 per cent of the total wireless market by 2013," Marc Einstein, Singapore-based Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst, said in the company's market analysis on 3G external devices in 18 Asia-Pacific countries. He said that 3G devices made up only about four per cent of the total mobile subscriber base in the country, noting that spotty coverage, expensive handsets and unattractive service pricing have limited market growth. "However, in 2008, wireless dongles and datacards are making a difference in the Filipino broadband market, as Smart alone has over 700,000 subscribers and is one of the few incumbents in the world to claim more wireless broadband subscribers than fixed broadband subscribers," Einstein said. The Frost & Sullivan study said the 3G subscriber base in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to top 564million by 2013, accounting for about 18.2 percent of all mobile users. Of that number, three percent will come from the Philippines, the study said. "As more 3G players enter the Philippine market and expand service coverage, Einstein said 3G external devices would be a key component of broadband development in the country. Maturing technology would also be a factor in this growth," the report said. The National Telecommunications Commission has assigned four out of the five available 3G frequency bands in the Philippines to Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Digital Mobile Philippines and Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprises (CURE). Smart has since acquired CURE. The regulator has also rejected the 3G application license of Bayan Telecommunications Inc., which operates the largest wireless landline provider running on the CDMA platform in Philippines. An executive of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company earlier said low broadband penetration rate remains a challenge to the majority of small and medium enterprises in the Philippines with only four percent of SMEs subscribing to broadband services. Chris Lim, assistant product manager for PLDT SME Nation, said the company has a total of 700,000 fixed line and wireless broadband subscribers as of early 2008. He said that of the more than one million SMEs in the country, only 23percent have computers and only 22.5 percent use the Internet. Lim said many business owners think of Internet broadband service as "nice to have" instead of a necessary business tool. He said businesses who do not utilize the Internet are missing out on the additional benefits provided by increased Internet accessibility including improved operations efficiency and increased revenue avenues.