Chart of the Day: 4G subscribers soon to overtake 3G as telcos brace for higher data usage

However, most subscribers would rather use free WiFi.

The growth in 4G subscribers in Singapore continues to overtake the decline in 3G ones since Apr this year (data first available from IDA), as the three telcos continue to expand their 4G coverage.

According to OCBC, this is good news for the telcos as these “new” 4G subscribers are on tiered price plans with more restrictive data bundles. During the recent 4QCY14 results briefing, we understand that about 60% of post-paid subscribers are already on these tiered price plans. However, the percentage of these subscribers who exceeded their data bundles remained around 20% for the three telcos.

While the telcos are hopeful that the higher speeds offered by the new LTE networks would lead to higher data usage, some acknowledged that it would take time. One reason is that subscribers are becoming more discerning when it comes to using data i.e. most would switch to free WIFI whenever possible.