Melbourne - Asia-Pacific (AP) mobile phone shipments will hit 836 million in 2016, driven by growth in mobile users in the emerging markets and the proliferation of broadband enabled handsets, predicts Ovum.

In a new forecast*, the independent telecoms analyst finds that the AP mobile handset market is set for steady growth of 2.8 per cent over the next five years, with shipments increasing by more than 128 million from 2011 to 2016. Globally, Ovum forecasts a growth of 2.5 per cent over the next five years, with shipments growing by more than 230 million from 2011 to 2016, forecasted to reach 1.77 billion in 2016.

Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach commented: "Much of the growth in AP will be fuelled by mobile connections in the emerging markets, where the number of mobile phone users continues to steadily increase".

"Within the region, the Big Three markets of China, India and Indonesia will continue to be the growth engines for global mobile connections and handset shipments.� The arrival of cheaper smartphones into these markets is boosting smartphone penetration and data ARPU for operators, while feature phones continue to remain attractive in rural communities in China, India and Indonesia."

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However, operators switching to 3G and 4G mobile broadband networks will also play a key role. Ovum's forecast shows that shipments of mobile broadband enabled handsets will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7 per cent from 2011 to 2016, to reach 372 million units in AP.

Leach added: "Increasing consumer appetite for smartphones is a major factor in driving the growth in the market for mobile broadband enabled handsets. However, smartphones are not the only story and there will still be growth in non-smart broadband phones, particularly in the emerging markets."