Who needs more subscriptions? An empirical analysis of the Thailand mobile phone market

Multiple mobile phone subscriptions are a characteristic of mobile phone penetration rates in Thailand. This offers an opportunity to identify the consumers’ niche that would be interested in this consumption style. The present study aims to identify the profile of subscribers who intend to have multiple mobile phone subscriptions, for the purposes of consumer segmentation and policy targeting. Using multinomial logistic regression of data from the Thailand National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) survey 2009, the study finds that subscribers who already have multiple subscriptions tend to add more subscriptions compared to those who have only one subscription. This indicates that multiple subscriptions are probably not a temporary behavior since those who have multiple subscriptions tend to keep their status as multiple subscribers. It suggests that the mobile phone operators and the regulator should carefully consider the emergence of quasi-subscribers as the result of multiple subscriptions when evaluating market shares and determining Significant Market Power (SMP). Furthermore, other identified characteristics of the subscribers who intend to add more subscriptions are useful as a basis for consumer segmentation and policy targeting