Considering the paramount significance of 5G as the foremost market-ready mobile technology, it becomes imperative to maintain a comprehensive understanding of its deployment progress within the ASEAN region. The dataset encompasses Southeast Asian nations, including discerning ASEAN member states that have embarked on their 5G rollout endeavors as of November 2021. Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia have embarked on robust initiations of their respective 5G rollouts, attesting to their proactive engagement. Particularly noteworthy is Thailand’s exceptional performance amidst this landscape. Notably, Thailand’s strides are accentuated by its performance trajectory. A point of interest lies in Thailand’s remarkable accomplishment, which defies conventional expectations considering its status as an emerging economic entity. An intriguing observation is that Thailand’s average 5G download speeds closely approximate those observed in Japan, a recognized global technology lead. This juxtaposition accentuated Thailand’s praiseworthy attainment and underscored the catalytic role of 5G in propelling its digital evolution despite its emerging economy label.
South Korean users were the only ones in the region to enjoy average 5G download speeds of over 300 Mbps; in fact, their speeds reached an astonishing 438 Mbps. Taiwan ranks second for 5G download speed, with New Zealand’s scores of 263.1 Mbps and 253 Mbps. Also, Taiwan tied for second place for 5G peak download speed (614 Mbps) this time alongside Australia (597.8 Mbps) and is in clear second place for 5G upload speed with 30 Mbps. Southeast Asia has a more limited availability of 5G spectrum than South Korea, Japan, or Australia. Singapore is ahead of the Philippines and Indonesia, but Singapore benefits from having a compact urban geography where the 5G rollout should be more accessible. In addition, Indonesian operators only started to launch 5G in the middle of 2021.
The Philippines saw the most significant uplift when comparing the 5G and 4G mobile network experiences. Impressively, our users’ average 5G download speeds were 8.9 times faster than the average 4G speeds in the Philippines. Filipino users enjoyed a 33% higher video experience score on mobile video streaming using 5G versus 4G. Also, Indonesia came in second for uplift in video experience with a 29% higher score. Users in all ten markets saw a considerable uplift in average download speeds with 5G. Users in Thailand saw 7.5 times faster speed; in Taiwan, it was 7.2 faster. Even in developed markets with high-quality existing 4G networks, users saw massive speed increases with 5G. For example, South Koreans saw 6.3 times faster speeds, Singaporeans 4 times faster, and Japanese users 3.4 times faster.
5G continues to mature as a technology as operators expand the extent of their 5G services. Either by boosting the geographic reach or deploying 5G on new spectrum bands that improve speed and capacity by boosting in-building signal propagation and rural reach using lower frequency bands for 5G. Across the region, the users experienced widely varying access to 5G services. In South Korea, users spent 30.7% of their time with an active 5G connection, which is an excellent 5G availability score compared to globally. South Korean users also saw 5G service in approximately two-thirds of the locations they visited, which led to a 5G reach score of 6.6 on a 10-point scale. This is ahead of much smaller markets such as Singapore (13% and 3.5) and Hong Kong, at least for 5G availability (23.3%), although Hong Kong’s score of 6.3 for 5G reach is statistically tied with South Korea. Two markets that are significantly more challenging to deploy mobile networks do well and place in the middle of the chart for both 5G availability and 5G reach. Australia, a vast market, scores a 12.2% for 5G availability and 3.6 for 5G reach. While not as large, the numerous islands and challenging interior of the Philippines also mean that the scores of 11.1% and 3.7 are similarly impressive.
5G is the future of mobile services, although 4G remains used everywhere, as do 3G and even 2G in some markets. Across the Asia Pacific, operators continue expanding their 5G services because of the advantages of this latest technology in serving users. In many markets, operators have just launched 5G services or are preparing for their first launch. Disparities in the adoption of digital practices within ASEAN populations are apparent. Challenges persist in the adoption landscape, particularly in Lao PDR and Cambodia, where limited 4G coverage, smartphone ownership, and digital proficiency collectively contribute to slower adoption rates. The subsequent identifiable cluster comprises Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and China. Noteworthy is the parity between online banking penetration rates in Malaysia and Thailand when juxtaposed against Singapore, accompanied by higher rates than observed in Japan. This observation underscores the compelling dynamics and showcases the relatively elevated adoption level of digital backing in these economies.
Article by: Asst. Prof. Suwan Juntiwasarakij, Ph.D., Senior Editor & MEGA Tech