Malaysians digital front-runners in mobile communication: Study

A new study by Telenor Group's research arm, Telenor Research, shows that Malaysians are the overall digital front-runners in mobile communication compared with Asian and European counterparts.

The study revealed that a resounding 62 percent of respondents in Malaysia consider messaging apps the most important communication service on a mobile phone while only 19 percent agree voice calls to be the most essential.

In a statement, Telenor Research, Head of Research, Bjørn Taale said this information could help forecast future industry trends in planning digital services.

"It is also interesting to see the resemblance between nations as diverse as Thailand, Hungary, Pakistan or Norway. Just when we think that two nations may be following the same evolution, local nuances show that we are as unique as we are similar," Taale added.

The study was carried out in the fourth quarter of last year on a sample of 5,600 people in Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Serbia, Hungary, Sweden and Norway, aged 16-35 years.

More than half of the respondents in all surveyed countries said they use messaging apps several times a day while only two nations noted less than 50 percent usage, including Sweden at 44 percent and Pakistan at a notable 29 percent.

Second to messaging apps, Malaysian front-runners use daily to several times per day traditional mobile voice (56 percent) and SMS services (49 percent) on their phones, trailed by newer Internet voice communications (34 percent) and video calls (28 percent).