Frost & Sullivan has released a new study, titled, Mobile VAS: Utility Mobile Applications and Data Usage in South Asia.
As per the firm, the rapid proliferation of mobile communication services has positioned itself as the ideal platform to provide consumers with access to utility services such as banking, healthcare and education.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the mobile utility service space is still a fledgling market in the region but has immense potential. The increase in demand for mobile data services, innovative business models and increasing smartphone and tablet PC penetration will give a boost to the adoption of utility mobile applications across South Asia.
Meanwhile, the firm says that market earned revenues of $0.28 billion in 2011. This is estimated to reach $4.88 billion in 2018 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50.3 percent. Mobile commerce is expected to experience the highest adoption rates and grow at a CAGR of 55.9 percent, followed by the mobile healthcare and education services.
Going forward, operators in South Asia ought to focus on both the feature phone and the smartphone owners. This will enable them to offer utility services on advanced as well as traditional channels such as SMS for maximum reach.
