Asia telco markets ripe for Australia.

• Author: Smith, Tamsyn
• Position: New Opportunities - Australian technology lead seen as major advantage

Emerging telecommunications markets in Asia are presenting a golden business opportunity for Australian expertise, as they face the challenge of establishing a vibrant market, typically from scratch.

Rob Nicholls, a consultant with law firm Gilbert and Tobin, says one of the interesting aspects about emerging markets is the opportunity they present in both technology and regulatory "leap frogging".

"Low cost, reliable handsets reflecting current economies of scope and scale are much more appropriate than attempting to install a technology base which has been discarded by a more affluent neighbour," Nicholls says.

Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, India, and Indonesia have all been identified as belonging to this greenfields category, due to the fact they have "low teledensity"--that is, below 20...