Taiwan’s mobile communication market is poised to grow from US$6.3bn in 2021 to US$7.3bn in 2026, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9%, mainly supported by the rising adoption of mobile data services, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Taiwan Mobile Broadband Forecast Pack (Q3 2021) reveals that mobile voice revenue will decline at a CAGR of 1.9% between 2021 and 2026, due to the falling voice (average revenue per user) ARPU levels. Mobile data revenue, on the other hand, will increase at a CAGR of 4.7% over the same period, driven by 4G/5G subscriptions and the subsequent rise in mobile data ARPU.

The average monthly mobile data usage is forecast to increase from 24.8 GB in 2021 to about 32.0 GB in 2026, driven by the growing consumption of high-bandwidth online entertainment and social media content over smartphones.

Srikanth Vaidya, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “While 4G services currently account for the majority of the mobile subscriptions, 5G subscriptions will surpass them in 2024 and go on to account for 86.3% of the total mobile subscriptions share in 2026, driven by the ongoing 5G network expansion by operators and increase in the availability of 5G-enabled smartphones.

“Chunghwa leads the mobile services market in Taiwan as of 2021, followed by Taiwan Mobile. Chunghwa will retain its leading position through 2026, supported by the continued investments in the expansion and acceleration of 5G network as the operator aims to install 12,000 5G base stations by end of this year, up from 10,000 that are already in operation.”