Malaysia: Mobile video data plans to drive growth
July 23, 2018
Supported by growth in mobile data, fixed broadband and pay-TV services, the total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in Malaysia is poised to grow at a CAGR of 2.4 per cent over the forecast period 2017-2022, according to leading data and analytics company GlobalData. Mobile services market in the country will be primarily driven by the mobile data segment, which will account for nearly 59 per cent of total mobile service revenue by the end of 2022.
GlobalData’s ‘Malaysia Country Intelligence Report’ states that the usage of mobile data will more than double over the forecast period, reaching 10.4GB/month by year-end 2022, primarily driven by rising consumption of online video content on smartphones, backed by MNOs’ data-centric and application-specific plans.
Sandeep Kolakotla, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Mobile data revenue will continue to rise and play a major role in the country’s total telecom service revenue growth to 2022, backed by steady rise in smartphone subscriptions and growing adoption of 4G LTE/LTE-A services with higher ARPU. In addition, the ongoing 5G trials by operators like Celcom and the planned commercial rollout of 5G services in 2022, will create major opportunities for investors and vendors in the Malaysian telecom market.”
GlobalData predicts that, at the same time, mobile voice usage will continue to drop due to rising adoption of over-the-top communications.
In the fixed services market, a steady rise in adoption of fiber-to-the-home/building (FTTH/B) supported by the government and operators’ efforts to strengthen the nation’s fiber network and expand fiber broadband connectivity even in rural areas, will drive fixed broadband revenue, according to the report.
In the pay-TV market, GlobalData expects that steady rise in adoption of DTH services with higher ARPU, and the robust growth projected in IPTV subscriptions in line with rising demand for multi-play service bundles with integrated TV access, will drive pay-TV revenue growth over the forecast period. Kolakotla concludes:
“The operators will look to add new pay-TV subscriptions by offering promotional free preview of channels during the initial few months of subscriptions, and expanding their IPTV services leveraging on the ongoing expansion of broadband network in the nation.”