Advanced Television

China multiplay households to increase 126% by 2016

June 22, 2012

Chinese consumers are increasingly embracing the concept of bundled services – including fixed voice, broadband, television and mobile voice – which will lead to significant growth in Double, Triple, and Quad Play subscribers by 2016 according to research from Strategy Analytics.  The report, “MultiPlay Forecast 1H’12” shows the growth of MultiPlay subscribers in China, increasing from 112 million in 2011 to 253 million in 2016.

The bundled services market in China has historically been made up of Double Play subscribers only. However, this will dramatically change during the forecast period as Triple Play and Quad Play offerings take shape.  By 2016, penetration of Triple Play bundles is expected to reach 12 per cent of households, while Quad Play penetration reaches 6 per cent.  Operators, such as China Telecom, are helping to drive the adoption of bundles with services like “One Home,” which can integrate landline phones, mobile phones, broadband and additional products for customer convenience.

“Chinese telecom and cable operators no longer face the regulations that restricted their ability to offer Triple and Quad Play services.  Just as we have seen in the US and other countries, operators in China will embrace the opportunity to create bundled packages that offer additional value to their customers and create higher average revenue per user (ARPU),” said Jason Blackwell, Director of the Service Provider Strategies (SPS) program at Strategy Analytics.

According to Richard Fontes, SPS analyst, “Operators around the world are recognising the value proposition provided by bundled customers.  In the future, Chinese operators want to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and defend against potential churn as they face additional competitive services. The ability to offer Triple and Quad Play bundles to Chinese customers will help them achieve these goals.”

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