Affluent Asia-Pacific Mobile Users are Heavy Mobile App, Skype Users

Over the top VoIP services such as Skype are a major draw for users around the world who need to make cross-border calls, for obvious reasons. And users in China, Malaysia, Indonesia and India are no different. While much Skype usage originates and terminates on PCs, mobile usage of Skype seems might be quite prevalent as well, in those four countries.

Some 44 percent of surveyed mobile consumers with mobile Internet in Malaysia use over the top VoIP services, as do 38 percent of respondents in India, with 69 percent of VoIP-using respondents saying they use Skype, Analysys Mason says.

It isn't clear whether that refers to any use of Skype or other over the top calling apps, or the percentage who use mobile VoIP. In fact, it seems rather doubtful that mobile VoIP constitutes "most" of the Skype usage in those countries.

Much could depend on whether those relatively affluent consumers responding to the Analysys mason poll are akin to "early adopters" with behavior patterns quite different from those of mainstream users.

The impact of over-the-top (OTT) communications services, such as WhatsApp Messenger and Viber, is growing, but used unevenly.

About 11 percent of smart phone owners use mobile VoIP applications regularly, compared with only five percent of mobile users as a whole. 

Usage of over-the-top services [Source: Analysys Mason Connected Consumer Survey 2012

1 Various questions; Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the UK and the USA; n = 7485.

Of 107 million mobile VoIP users expected by 2012, more than half will reside in North America and Europe, owing to the fact that 3G, which is required for mobile VoIP to be effective, has been rolled out in those regions, according to Juniper Research.

But Juniper Research also agrees that the Far East and China will account for most of the remaining mobile VoIP growth, followed by the rest of Asia-Pacific.



 Africa and the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Latin America will round out the remaining growth, with roughly equal percentages, Juniper has predicted. 

“Affluent” consumers in emerging Asia–Pacific countries spend 48 percent more time using communications  and media services than those in Europe and the United States, a study by , Analysys Mason suggests. On average, survey respondents with Internet connectivity in major emerging APAC markets spent 13  hours a day using telecoms and media services, compared with 8.8 hours for consumers in Europe and the United States.

The Analysys Mason conclusions were drawn from an online survey of 4,000 consumers 18 and older in China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The caveat is that the survey sample arguably over-selected for “relatively affluent” consumers, Analysys Mason notes.

On average,  total exposure to telecom and media apps and services was highest in Malaysia (14.6 hours each day), followed by Indonesia (14.2), India (13.3) and China (9.9).



The survey also found that usage of mobile content and apps was high among connected consumers, which is probably no surprise. In China some 78 percent of respondents used mobile apps, while and 79 percent of respondents in India said they use mobile apps.

More than 56 percent of survey respondents used a smart phone.

About 11 percent of respondents that buy both fixed and mobile broadband services are planning to give up their fixed broadband service, but that is balanced by13 percent of respondents that have only mobile broadband who report they are considering also buying fixed broadband.