According to a new research by Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific Mobile Communications Outlook 2007, the Asia-Pacific mobile subscriber base is expected to reach 1.14 billion by the end of this year - thanks to robust growth in the region's emerging markets.

The study reveals that the market covering 13 major Asia-Pacific economies grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% between 2002- 2006, reaching a subscriber base of 0.95 billion in 2006.

"The impact of the emerging markets on the rest of the region is likely to grow as regional carriers search for sustainable growth, and as economies of scale further drives down 3G handset prices. Of the expected 190 million net subscriber additions in 2007, 90.8% is likely to stem from the emerging markets," observed Janice Chong, industry manager, Frost & Sullivan.

The high-growth rate in Asia-Pacific market is driven by reduced calling rates, decline in handset prices and the expansion of network infrastructure in the emerging markets of India and Indonesia.

WiMAX is likely to be the focus in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia, which lack telecommunications infrastructure.

Frost & Sullivan also believes that mobile broadband will be the next application in Asia's mobile landscape. Given its limited bandwidth, the current 3G network may not necessarily be the ideal technology for mobile broadband.

Chong explained that the business case for 3G may not lie in 3G itself, but in 3.5G or commonly known as high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), as 3G provides a platform for enabling 3.5G.

"HSDPA and WiMAX are expected to play a prominent role in 2007," noted Chong.