Aging Asia Left Behind by Mobile Revolution: Telenor Research

Telenor Group has released data from four Asian markets indicating that senior citizens are not fully receiving the benefits of the mobile Internet.

While the mobile Internet continues to explode across Asia, a recent research by the Telenor Group in four of its regional markets suggests that not all citizens in these societies are receiving access to the benefits of connectivity.

The research note, “The unconnected senior citizens of Asia” draws upon customer data from four Telenor markets: India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia. The findings suggest that the senior segment in some of these markets represent as little as 2% of active mobile users, with still fewer using smartphones.

A demographic breakdown shows that only 10% of Uninor’s subscribers in India are over 45 years of age. Meanwhile, of the total mobile phone users in India, only 6% are over 50 years of age. This difference is exacerbated for mobile data users, with only 1% being 50 years or older. Generally, non-data users have a lower income profile and higher age than the average mobile user.

Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of Asia operations, Telenor Group, says, “Given our vision of Internet for All, it is a source of concern for Telenor that senior citizens in our Asian markets are not fully receiving the benefits of the mobile internet. The Internet can be a vital way of maintaining civic participation and even receiving basic citizen services in the near future, and thus the findings should be of interest to multiple stakeholders, from policy makers to corporations, families, and individuals. This is particularly true as several Asian societies anticipate increasingly aging populations: we must work to achieve connectivity for all, not just the young.”

About Telenor

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 13 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as an economic stake of 33 per cent in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 14 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 186 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q4 2014, revenues of NOK 107 billion in 2014, and a workforce of about 33,000. For more information about Telenor Group, please visit www.telenor.com

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About Uninor:

Uninor is a fully owned subsidiary of Norway-based Telenor Group – one of the largest integrated communications company in the world.  Uninor’s pre-paid GSM mobile services are commercially available in the six circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Together, these circles account for more than 50% of India’s population giving Uninor the ability to serve every second person in India. Uninor's three-pillar strategy of being the best in basic services, mass market distribution and low cost operations has helped the company achieve the fastest break-even as a company in just 4 years of operations. The Sabse Sasta (affordable) tariffs of Uninor empower 45.5 million subscribers to enjoy benefits of basic wireless voice and data services.

For more information, please visit www.uninor.in | www.twitter.com/UninorNews