In the past year prior to starting my MBA I worked in the telecommunications industry. DiGi Telecommunications (DiGi) was the third largest player in the Malaysian market and our mission was to deliver wireless data to every DiGi customer. Our value proposition included providing voice telephony, messaging, mobile/broadband data services, and the selling of mobile handsets.

I have chosen the telecommunications industry as it is one that I am close to. I have enjoyed the pace of the industry with the rapid rate of technological change, where sources of differentiation are continually evolving. It is up to service providers to maintain profit margins while keeping attrition levels to a minimum. This industry is relevant to my career and is one that I will pursue again in the near future.

Global forecasts indicate that industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 5% to $1.5 trillion. Emerging markets have been identified as the fuel for global industry growth. This has been due to the saturation of subscriber growth rates in developed countries and the increasing penetration rates of mobile phones in developing countries. Even Apple, with the launch of the iPhone 5C has taken a drastic change in product design to try and capitalize on this segment. And by the end of 2013, mobile subscriptions worldwide will reach 7.4 billion.

Furthermore, as consumer incomes increase in developing countries there will be a shift in consumer patterns. Consumers are upgrading from the traditional legacy voice and SMS products, which have lower profit margins to become more data driven. Driven by improvements in infrastructure and smartphone adoption rates, consumers in emerging markets are changing their communication habits. This has led to some cannibalization on legacy products but data bundles profit margins for telecommunications service provides are increasing.

Industry growth will be driven further by the roll out of Fourth Generation Networks (4G) that will provide faster data speeds and escalate data usage. 4G will be a game-changer in the industry, just as 3G shaped the data landscape with new value added services. 4G will reshape the data landscape and forecasts indicate that by 2017 85% of the world will have access to 3G, 50% will have access to 4G and the number of smartphones is forecasted to reach 3 billion.

Malaysia is an emerging market and one where telecommunications infrastructure is advancing. Having worked there I am aware of the limitations and the opportunities present for telecommunication companies. I will be able to contribute to activities that attempt to increase Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) as well as creating value propositions to drive smartphone adoption.

Source: IBISWorld