Future of Telecoms in Asia – Q1 2020 an update

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Summary

Asia's telecom operators navigated the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic by expanding mobile data allowances to support consumers shifting to home-based internet use, even as the broader weakening economy pressured quarterly financial performance across the region. Carriers in India, Indonesia, and beyond balanced supporting customers through the crisis with protecting revenue and margins.

A handful of operators, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Axiata's Indonesian unit XL, bucked the broader downward trend through tariff adjustments and subscriber growth strategies, while most of the region's carriers saw quarterly and half-yearly performance decline. Network investment timing and balance sheet moves made to strengthen liquidity separated the outperformers from the rest.

Beyond individual operator performance, region-wide shifts in data consumption, a sharp decline in international roaming revenue as travel restrictions took hold, and diverging average revenue per user across markets like India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka all shaped the downturn. The pandemic's data-usage surge is also shaping the business case for 5G rollout across Asia.

  • Operator-by-operator performance across India, Indonesia, and Singapore
  • Roaming revenue decline and its impact on service mix
  • Data consumption trends by country and their implications for 5G
Which telecom strategies allowed a handful of Asian operators to grow through a pandemic-hit economy while most peers declined?

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