From setting up digital infrastructure projects and making progress in 5G to commissioning stringent cybersecurity initiatives and creating road maps for sustainable development, 2024 had quite a few milestone moments for the telecom industry in Southeast Asia (SEA). A look at some of the key developments that defined the path of the industry…

M&As and IPOs

One of the most exciting things that shaped SEA’s telecom industry was merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, although initial public offerings (IPOs) remained mostly tepid. For example, Indonesian telecommunications companies – XL Axiata and Smartfren Telecom – agreed to merge their operations in a deal valued at $6.5 billion to form XLSmart. The Axiata Group and Sinar Mas will individually hold a 34.8 per cent stake in the new entity, which is still awaiting regulatory and shareholder approvals. It is expected that the merger will conclude by 2025. The year was also marked by the entry of Remala Abadi into the Indonesian telecom market with its IPO in in May 2024.

Japan’s Innovation Network Corporation is reportedly reviving the sale of its 21 per cent stake in the Edotco Group, a Malaysian telecom tower company. Interestingly, Edotco is mulling the proposal of an IPO in Kuala Lumpur as early as 2026. Concurrently, Singapore Technologies Telemedia is on its way to selling its majority stake in Malaysian telecom firm U Mobile, which is reportedly preparing to raise more than $500 million as early as in the first half of 2025 with its IPO.

In Singapore, Singtel and STT ­Comm­unications consolidated their trunked radio service operations – Singtel Paging and ST Advanced Radio respectively – to form Digital Network Access Communi­cations Pte Ltd. Singtel and STT Communications will have equal stakes in the new joint venture. Analysts also expected the merger of StarHub with M1 by the first half of 2025 as the telcos deferred their spectrum payments.

In an unconventional turn of events, Intouch Holdings, the parent company of Advanced Info Service (the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand), is set to merge with the country’s energy behemoth, Gulf Energy Develop­ment, as shareholders of both the companies have given a green signal to the union. The joint entity will focus on three sectors: energy, infrastructure and utilities; digital business (telecommunications infrastructure and smart technology services); and other digital ventures (satellite telecommunications, digital asset exchange centre, data centres, and cloud).

Finally, the Philippines was also a party to some M&A activity. In September, Macquarie Capital’s units – PhilTower Conso­rtium, Inc. (PhilTower), and the Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) – finalised a transaction that created one of the largest independent telecommunications tower companies in the country (The Philippine Telecom Tower Company) having a portfolio of more than 3,300 operational towers, and a committed order pipeline of over 2,100. Barely two months after the birth of this novel venture, Macquarie is contemplating the sale of its stake of 45 per cent in The Philippine Telecom Tower Company in a deal that could be pegged between $700 million and $800 million.

Telecommunication and internet infrastructure

Throughout the year, there was considerable activity in developing digital infrastructure in SEA. Network expansion was in full swing in the region. For example, in Indonesia, Indosat inked a pact with Nokia to increase 4G and 5G networks, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise provided PT Fiber Media Indonesia with a new networking solution, and Telkomsel expanded Hyper 5G in the country. On the government front though, the auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz and 26 GHz bands, originally scheduled to be completed by July, was pushed. That said, promoting 5G proliferation is a pillar of the government’s Golden Indonesia Vision 2045.

In Malaysia, the government’s National Digital Network (a.k.a. JENDELA) programme is on track to upgrade its broadband infrastructure by the end of 2025. CelcomDigi, Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile submitted tenders to build the nation’s second 5G network. Maxis and Huawei Technologies announced a strategic collaboration to establish a Joint Innovation Centre in the country for the development of 5G-Advanced technology in Malaysia.

Concurrently, Singapore’s Singtel and Ericsson attracted considerable attention for pioneering the deployment of novel 5G technology commercially for dynamic network resource allocation. Singtel also partnered up with SK Telecom to explore next-generation telecommunications networks.

Thailand, too, is not far behind in terms of 5G network expansion. Ericsson, in association with the Royal Thai Government, laid the foundation for the 5G Innovation and Experience Studio in Thailand while Huawei outlined its 5.5 road map.

In the Philippines, the World Bank-funded Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project to strengthen nationwide broadband connectivity got presidential approval. In terms of industry initiatives, DITO Telecommunity is making waves for its “true 5G” that is built on a 5G standalone (SA) network and Globe Telecom rolled out 256 new 5G sites in the first half of 2024 across the Philippines. Dito also brought out a 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) service powered by 5G RedCap technology.

Vietnam took baby steps into the 5G world as Viettel introduced the first commercial 5G network in October 2024 across 6,500-plus sites. Two months later, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group followed in Viettel’s footsteps and Mobifone is expected to follow suit in early 2025. In addition, Vietnam’s Digital Infrastructure Strategy was approved in October 2024. It underpins four priority infrastructure areas: telecommunication and internet infrastructure, data infrastructure, physical-digital infrastructure, and digital utility infrastructure.

During the year, the satellite communication (satcom) industry too gathered some steam. For instance, Starlink’s satellite internet service was launched in Indonesia and SpaceX launched a telecom satellite called Merah-Putih-2 to enhance connectivity in the island. In Malaysia, ReOrbit is aligning with Uzma Berhad on a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satcom project to augment connectivity in the country, while Geespace and Altel Communications will establish an R&D centre to explore use cases for direct-to-device satcom technology. In Malaysia, the Comm­u­nic­ations and Multimedia Commis­sion is advancing efforts to boost internet connectivity in the country. In June, INNOSPACE (a South Korean private spaceflight start-up) inked multi-launch service contracts with EOS ORBIT for the “HANBIT” small satellite launcher in 2025. Finally, Agila, the first satellite dedicated to the Philippines was launched in December, 2024 and SpaceX expressed its willingness in offering its satellite internet services in Vietnam.

Telecom titans in the region are also investing heavily in subsea cables. Malaysia is building four new undersea cables. Singapore currently hosts 26 subsea cables and aims to double this capacity in the next few years while Thailand is home to eight international submarine cable systems with two more being constructed. Vietnam, too, is committed to adding two to four international internet cables by 2025 and another four to six by 2030. There are also a number of cross-border subsea cable projects in the region: ADC project, Asia Link Cable, Asia-Pacific Cable Network 2, Bifrost, Echo, and SJC2.

Lastly, tower companies (towercos) also saw an uptick in their expansion across the region. Indonesia’s Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) chased the target to set up 630 new base stations to connect remote regions across the nation while in Malaysia, CelcomDigi renewed its partnerships with towercos (Edotco Group, Edgepoint Infrastructure, D’Harmoni Telco Infra and PDC Telecommun­ication Services) to modernise its network.

Mushrooming of green data centres

Data centres are energy guzzlers by nature; given the growing intensity of global warming, data centres in SEA are looking for innovative options to cut down their carbon footprint with data centres being powered by renewable energy, utilising renewable biofuel for generators, recycling wastewater, adopting liquid cooling systems, and achieving energy efficiency by leveraging automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Some of the companies associated with green data centres in Indonesia include PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, PT DCI Indonesia Tbk, Microsoft, Princeton Digital Group (PDG), and BDx Data Center. In Malaysia, YTL Data Center, Equinix, PDG, Google, and Amazon Web Services are embracing sustainable initiatives within their data centres while the Malaysian Communi­cations and Multimedia Commi­ssion has come up with a technical code for improving the energy efficiency of data centres. In the Philippines, Edge, VITRO, Zenlayer, Converge ICT Solutions, and STT GDC are making remarkable progress in this area. Similarly, in Singapore, Digital Realty, AirTrunk, Global Switch, STT, Equinix, Keppel Data Centres, and Singtel are trying to decarbonise their data centres. The government has also outlined its Green Data Centre Roadmap. Some of the prominent players embracing sustainability in Thailand include Google, Etix Every­where, STT GDC, and AIS Business.

Prioritising cybersecurity

According to the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, SEA illustrated a robust cybersecurity ecosystem with Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam making it to the Tier 1 group. The Philippines was categorised as Tier 2. Some of the noteworthy policy initiatives undertaken in the region in 2024 included Malaysia’s Cyber Security Act, 2024, Singapore’s Cybersecurity (Amendment) Act, 2024, the coming into force of new cross-border data transfer rules in Thailand, and Vietnam issuing new cybersecurity directives.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, 2024 was quite an eventful year for SEA’s telecom industry, with a lot of M&A activity, the establishment of telecom infrastructure, decarbonisation within data centres, and the charting of cybersecurity strategies. The trend is likely to continue in the future as well. Technologies like AI, internet of things, machine learning and automation will play a key role in determining the future of this industry. However, they will also heighten cybersecurity risks, which the telecom industry and national and international regulators would need to stay vigilant about.