Communications market rising
THE COMMUNICATIONS market is expected to climb by 11.5 per cent to Bt597.58 billion this year, driven by investment in third- and fourth-generation wireless technology, the “digital economy” policy that accelerates investment in infrastructure, and the di
The study on the communications market last year and the outlook for this year was developed by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and sponsored by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the Association of Thai ICT Industry, the Telecommunications Association of Thailand and the Thailand Cabling Association.
Kasititorn Pooparadai, senior director of policy research at the NSTDA, said yesterday that the communications market grew more slowly last year, at 7.3 per cent to Bt535.98 billion.
Communications service was the largest portion at 57.7 per cent.
Mobile non-voice service still played an important role in the communications-service market. It is expected to continue healthy growth of 41.2 per cent to Bt151.84 billion, versus 21.5 per cent to Bt107.54 billion last year.
Mobile voice service is forecast to continue decreasing by 13 per cent from Bt108.86 billion in 2015 to Bt97.71 billion in 2016.
Internet service, excluding mobile Internet or mobile data, is expected to grow 10.9 per cent to Bt59.39 billion, which is slightly faster than 10.1 per cent last year.
The data-communication-service market is also experiencing slight growth at only 5.4 per cent, while growing 5.2 per cent to Bt14.3 billion last year.
However, data communication is still growing while voice communication service is still declining. Voice slipped 7.4 per cent in 2015 and is expected to fall 12.1 per cent in 2016 to Bt13.01 billion.
International voice-communication service is also going faster downhill, losing 24.6 per cent this year after dipping 16.6 per cent last year. The main disrupters are chat and over-the-top services.
The communications-equipment market in 2016 is expected to soar by 42 per cent to Bt50.86 billion, increasing from 31-per-cent growth in 2015. The key factors are the investment in 4G networks.
However, the mobile-phone market is slowing down, from 12.9-per-cent growth in 2015 to only 3.1-per-cent growth to Bt106.96 billion in 2016.
In the mobile-phone market, smartphones are expected to continue growing at 3.5 per cent to Bt106.7 billion this year, while feature phones are expected to reach only 260 million this year against Bt675 million last year.
The fixed-line telephone market is also continuing to contract – by 10.9 per cent in 2016 after shrinking 14.1 per cent in 2015.
