Mobile operators in Asia Pacific are struggling to rein in rising churn. The region's average monthly churn rose to 4.46% in 3Q08 (see fig. 1), from 3.89% in the previous quarter and 3.52% in 3Q07, according to figures from Informa Telecoms & Media. The data shows sharp differences in churn among countries in the region. Operators in the 10-player Indonesian market and the highly competitive Pakistani market are seeing the highest figures, while operators in Australia, Japan and Singapore have been able to maintain much lower rates. The cutthroat competition in Indonesia - where several players have entered the market in the past year -has led to heavy tariff cuts from new operators, most notably from cash-rich, Saudi Telecom-backed Na-trindo, which has offered voice rates of IDR1 (US$0.00008) a minute, in an effort to persuade subs to leave Telkomsel, Indosat and Excelcomin-do, the big three operators.
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