Telcos urged to prepare for mobile data explosion

MANILA, Philippines - Network and power operators will need to prepare for mobile data explosion as more Filipinos gain access to smartphones, said Qualcomm Inc., a developer of advanced wireless technologies and services.

In a briefing, Qualcomm  regional head for Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore Mantosh Malhotra said network and power operators here will need to start looking for solutions to ensure that it can provide services to consumers when data explosion hits the country.

“I think we should start preparing the Philippines for that (data explosion). We expect a lot of people will be consuming data on their mobile phones and wireless devices,” he said.

He noted that growth in the use of mobile devices here has been on the rise and is expected to increase further. Data from research firm IDC showed smartphone shipments in the Philippines have risen to 5.8 million units in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the 3.3 million units in the same quarter in 2012 IDC forecasts that by 2017, smartphone deliveries in the country will reach 15 million units.

As smartphones and other wireless devices have become affordable and accessible to more people in the country, Malhotra said 3G (third generation) connectivity has also established itself here.

“Going forward, the name of the game in the Philippines is smartphones and 3G,” said Malhotra.

And as more people are expected to use their smartphones and mobile devices to access data online, he said the operators will have to make sure their connectivity services can provide multiple access at any given time.

“At some point, data consumption is going to be big so we need to think out of the box,” said Malhotra.

He said Qualcomm is willing to help the country prepare for the data tsunami as it is now working with some local partners.

“We have interaction with power and network operators...We are doing some trials,” he said.