The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reports that growth rates for fixed lines, mobile subscribers and Internet users over the last few years have soared in a number of countries across the Asia-Pacific region.The ITU Asia-Pacific Telecommunication Indicators 2004,issued at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 in Busan (Republic of Korea),found “mobile subscriber numbers rocketed by 31% per year between 2000-2003 to reach 560 million ‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë” overtaking North America as the world‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë‚àö¥s largest market. Numbers of fixed lines in the region also grew by 14% in the same period, surpassing the single digit growth rates seen in most other regions.Next generation IMT-2000 services have been launched across the region and Japan and the Republic of Korea are emerging as global leaders in this field. Indeed, Japan has the world’s highest penetration of mobile Internet users.The number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region also experienced rapid growth ‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë” 38% year on year from 2000-2003. At the end of that period, the number of Internet users in the region amounted to 255 million, surpassing North America, which grew by 18% to reach 227 million users by yearend 2003. In comparison, Europe/CIS grew by 20% from 2000-2003, reaching 191 million in 2003.”
Asia-Pacific ICT Sector Keeps Climbing