The region's 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, the firm said in a new forecast. Globally, Ovum forecasts growth of 2.5 per cent in the period, with shipments growing by more than 230 million to 1.77 billion by 2016.

"Much of the growth in [Asia-Pacific] will be fuelled by mobile connections in the emerging markets, where the number of mobile phone users continues to steadily increase," Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach said in the forecast.

"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 smart phones into these markets is boosting smart phone penetration and data ARPU [average revenue per user] for operators, while feature phones continue to remain attractive in rural communities in China, India and Indonesia."

However, operators switching to 3G and 4G mobile broadband networks will also play a key role, according to Ovum, which forecasts that shipments of broadband-enabled handsets in Asia-Pacific will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.7 per cent to reach 372 million units in 2016.

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