Telenor, the parent company of Bangladeshi cellular phone operator Grameenphone, has planned to grab 45 million internet users in its six Asian markets by the end of the current year.
The number of the targeted internet users would be approximately 64 per cent increased year-on-year, which would also ensure the access of one-third of the group’s 160 million users in Asia to internet, according to a media statement of Telenor Group received here on Tuesday.
At present, nearly 20 per cent Telenor’s subscribers Asian market are active mobile data users, so this would be a marked jump and an encouraging step toward widespread internet access driven by company’s Internet for All strategy, said Telenor. “This brings us one step closer to realizing our Internet for All missions in Asia. Our projections may be ambitious, but we are well positioned to continue rolling out mobile internet services to all in our Asia markets over the long-term,” said Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group EVP and Head of Asia Operations. “Mobile internet and mobile data are valuable for all economic players from a commercial perspective.
Internet penetration contributes to GDP, as reports from McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group have indicated, and it helps new technology ecosystems flourish in developing markets,” continued Brekke.
Telenor’s Asia markets have seen an unprecedented rate of mobile data growth and demand in the past two years. In 2013, Thailand’s mobile internet penetration nearly doubled, leaping from 18 per cent to 32 per cent (NTSB), and dtac recently launched 4G services in Bangkok on top of its 3G network nationwide to begin filling this high demand.
Telenor have secured 3G spectrum in Thailand, Bangladesh and Pakistan, an additional 1800 MHz in India, as well as 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz in Myanmar, one of the world’s last greenfield markets.
In order to stimulate usage and meet customers’ needs, Telenor is partnering with social media and entertainment players such as Facebook, Wikipedia and WhatsApp and is focusing on other digital offers including financial services, knowledge access, as well as affordable and accessible health services.
“Given the strong growth trajectory and pace of innovation, we are confident that we can monetize on this huge demand for mobile data in the coming years,” said Henrik Clausen, EVP and Head of Group Strategy and Digital.
As of the end of the second quarter 2014, Telenor Group had a total of 158 million voice, text and data subscribers in Asia.
