Mongolia makes progress with its e-nation' transition
Mongolias liberalised and competitive telecoms market comprises of a number of operators which have steadily eroded the dominance of the incumbent telco, Mongolia Telecom, over the years.
Fixed-line penetration increased steadily in the years to 2018 as more people took on fixed-line access for voice calls and to access copper-based broadband services. However, the number of lines fell in 2019, and again and more sharply in 2020, partly through the economic consequences of the pandemic (GDP fell 5.3% in 2020, year-on-year) and partly due to the migration to the mobile platform and to VoIP.
Fixed broadband penetration remains low, mainly due to a limited number of fixed lines and the dominance of the mobile platform. The attraction of fixed broadband as a preferred access where it is available is waning as the mobile networks are upgraded with greater capacity and capabilities.
The growing popularity of mobile broadband continues to underpin overall broadband and telecom sector growth, with Mongolia's market very much being dominated by mobile services, supported by widely available LTE. This will largely determine and shape the future direction of Mongolia's developing digital economy.
The publisher notes that the outbreak of the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key Developments:
- Regulator enables online licensing application process as part of an e-nation' transition;
- KT Corp completes sale of its 40% stake in Telecom Mongolia to the state;
- MobiCom expands reach of LTE-A services, trials 5G;
- Report update includes an assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, the regulator's market reports for 2019, telcos' operating and financial data to July 2021, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.
