Telecommunications Policy 29 (2005) 113–125 Is the Internet mobile? Measurements from the Asia-Pacific region Michael Minges à Telecommunications Management Group, Inc., 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 710, Arlington, VA 22209, USA Abstract Analysis of mobile Internet trends presents difficulties. One problem is the lack of comparable data within and across countries. There are no standard indicators and few operators report meaningful numbers regarding subscriptions or usage. Government statistical offices and telecommunication policy- makers have also been slow to collect and disseminate statistics surrounding mobile Internet use. Another confusion surrounding the mobile Internet is the diversity of mobile systems that use different terms to mean the same thing. This paper uses actual data as examples from developed economies in the Asia-Pacific region before proposing standard mobile Internet indicators that can assist inter-country comparability and enhance understanding of trends. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mobile; Cellular; Internet; Standard; Subscriptions Asia-Pacific 1. Introduction During 2002, the number of mobile cellular telephone subscribers globally surpassed fixed telephone subscribers while the number of global Internet users reached 580 million persons, up from 7 million persons a decade earlier. As mobile telephone and Internet use grow, it is believed that they will begin to merge and lead to rising Web access through wireless cellular networks. ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevierbusinessandmanagement.com/locate/telpol 0308-5961/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2004.11.002 à Tel.: +1 703 224 1501; fax: +1 703 224 1511. E-mail address: minges@tmgtelecom.com (M. Minges).