Singapore, Thursday, March 23, 2006 — The WAN (wide area network)
services sector in Asia Pacific continues to be highly competitive.
Traditional transport or carriage services are increasingly
commoditized, exerting continuous pressure on profit margins.

Foong King Yew, ICT Practice program director at global growth
consulting company Frost & Sullivan, said, “Enterprise users have
become more sophisticated and are no longer willing to pay a premium
for such services. This has increased the pressure on telecom service
providers to rethink their business models and create new sources of
competitive advantage.”

The spirited few have taken the gamble of developing managed services
capabilities in order to ensure sustainability, although not all
service providers will succeed in this game.

“Emerging from the ruins of the dotcom bust and the recent market
consolidation, global telecom service providers are rallying back with
a vengeance in Asia Pacific - with increasing emphasis on capturing
the two key growth markets of China and India,” added Foong.