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Mobile market set to go flat [Bangkok Post, Thailand :: ](Bangkok Post (Thailand) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 01--Thailand's mobile market has witnessed only low single-digit-growth so far this year, its lowest level in almost a decade, due to the combined effects of the prolonged political turmoil and sluggish economy. The situation could be as bad as during the coup in 2006 and the political crisis in 2009, say major mobile operators. The local mobile sector could experience zero growth this year in a market worth 230 billion baht, industry analysts believe. As of June 2014, Thailand's mobile penetration had reached 134% with 94 million subscribers. Of the total, mobile leader Advanced Info Service (AIS) had 42.9 million, followed by DTAC (28 million) and True Move (23 million). The number of 3G subscribers totalled 71.8 million with AIS accounting for 34.4 million, followed by DTAC (19 million) and True Move (18.4 million). Mintra Ratayapas, a telecoms analyst of KK Trade Securities, said telecoms market growth usually outpaced GDP growth. But this year, the market is likely to face only marginal growth of 0-2%. In comparison with the situation during the 2006 coup the local mobile market grew by only 0.5% in terms of service revenue. The local mobile market saw double-digit growth before the coup, registering 14% in 2004. AIS has revised its revenue growth target down to 1-2% this year, from 6-8% projected initially. Treepuke Wuttapanich, its investor relations officer, said the company expected to see some growth in the second half with rising consumer sentiment. AIS is focusing on mass customers who want to migrate from 2G to 3G mobile service, instead of high-end segments in mature markets. Affordable 3G handsets priced below 2,500 baht bundled with attractive data packages will be key marketing tools for AIS to attract new 3G customers and boost mobile data service revenue. AIS reported a sharp rise of 32% in non-voice revenue in the second quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, while its voice revenue saw a contraction of 12% year-on-year. The penetration of its smartphone users topped 46%, thanks to attractive bundled packages. Mr Treepuke said AIS would maintain its capital expenditure of 40 billion baht investing in 3G network expansion this year. As of June, AIS had a total 42.9 million subscribers, 80% of them 3G customers. Chavit Sangudomlert, head for investor relations at Total Access Communication, the operator of DTAC, said the company this year expected to see flat growth in its service revenue excluding interconnection charges and mobile devices sales. "We expect to register low single-digit revenue growth this year," he said. DTAC has also maintained its capital expenditure at 13 billion baht this year for network capacity expansion. True Move reported mobile service revenue of 9.2 billion baht in the second quarter, a contraction of 1.1% compared with the first quarter. But revenue rose by 8% year-on-year. Its non-voice revenue rose by 23.6% year-on-year. Related search: telecommunications, mobile ___ (c)2014 the Bangkok Post (Bangkok, Thailand) Visit the Bangkok Post (Bangkok, Thailand) at www.bangkokpost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |