Gadget culture
Looking at why more examples of innovation from Korea and Japan aren't exported to other Asian markets, Menon said they have a "complete ecosystem" with local vendors, local application developers and operators that are able work together to develop innovative services.
He pointed to two other important factors. "There is sufficient scale in the number of customers and strong development of the content and applications in local language. Global over-the-top players cannot easily attack the market and this provides some level of cushion and competitive advantage for the local companies."
NSN's Murphy said sometimes innovation needs the population to follow and also pointed to the ecosystem.
"The Korean and Japanese are gadget cultures. They endorse innovation. They are also generally economically better off and are able to pay for innovation if it requires payment. As such, the public welcomes innovation from the operators. And there is also a mindset in the operators to win through innovation."
Sachet said it's a matter of the maturity of the markets. Korea and Japan are mature markets, with over 100% mobile penetration and high-speed broadband available to most of the population.
"Because of this, the focus has shifted to a model of innovation to encourage higher share of wallet through value-added services and as a way to reduce churn."
In less developed markets telcos are still working on acquiring customers, and price reductions are used to lure new customers. As these markets mature, he said there is no doubt that they will innovate beyond what Korea and Japan are doing now.