However, Issarasan Kantaumong, the author of the report titled “Unveiling 4G Business Models in the Digital World”, cautioned that data usage tended to slow down in later years after mobile penetration rates peak.

“Thai operators need to review and develop new strategies to generate additional mobile-services revenue,” she said.

The 4G technology supports the switch from voice to data usage. The study of 16 mobile operators in Asia shows that 4G is vital in raising data usage and average revenue per user. ARPU expanded by 2-3 per cent annually within two years of the introduction of 4G services.

Three promising business models to sustain the revenue growth are forming alliances with over-the-top (OTT) operators, developing digital platforms, and connecting mobile networks to the Internet of Things (IoT).

OTT operators like Line and WhatsApp are now making use of the technology without having to invest in the infrastructure.

Alliances can help increase revenue shares for mobile operators while differentiating them from competitors. German mobile operator E-Plus joined forces with WhatsApp to launch SIM cards that give users unlimited access to WhatsApp.

Forming an alliance with OTT operators who deliver media content over the Internet, such as Netflix, iFlix and Line TV, is one strategy used by mobile operators abroad to increase data usage. The amount of data used for one minute of video streaming is equivalent to sending 500 e-mails.

Mobile operators should also develop digital platforms in response to changing consumption behaviour. While entertainment consumption through phones, tablets and computers now takes up about half of total media consumption time, online shopping may account for 12 per cent of all retail sales in 2019, compared with only 7 per cent in 2015, the report said.

Japan’s NTT DoCoMo recently developed “dmarket”, a digital platform for games, cartoons, movies, music, and online shopping. Customer spending through dmarket rose as high as 50 per cent within two years, while revenue from phone services stayed almost the same.

Meanwhile, IoT technology, used to connect devices via Internet networks, can offer new opportunities. The number of devices connected through the IoT globally may be as high as 1.8 billion units by 2019, equivalent to 67-per-cent annual growth.

“IT and telecommunication infrastructure businesses will benefit from new business models. Future mobile service provider businesses, including OTT services, digital platforms, and IoT systems, will lead to investment in related sectors such as the cloud, big-data-management systems, and software. This will directly benefit infrastructure businesses in the value chain, namely software companies, hard-disk producers, data centres, and network installation companies,” the report said.