The current focus of the wireless economy is Europe. The world's largest mobile operators are found there: the UK's Vodafone is the world's biggest in terms of subscribers and market capitalisation; Nokia of Finland and Sweden's Ericsson are the two largest mobile handset and system manufacturers. The Nordic countries have the highest mobile penetration rates in the developed world; and European countries were the first to license the third generation (3G) spectrum, which, it is believed, will revolutionise the telecommunications industry.

But this situation may not be as entrenched as many commentators suggest. There is no guarantee that Europe will retain its leadership, especially given the emergence of wireless technology in Asia, and the advent of 3G.

Not only are subscriber growth rates escalating quickly, but the sheer potential size of the Asian markets suggests that Asian mobile operators will be significantly larger than their American or European counterparts. Three dynamics underpin this possible shift to Asia.

First, with respect to local demand for wireless technology, Asia is currently experiencing a huge surge in the popularity of the wireless platform. Asian consumers are adopting it at a phenomenal rate with the market forecast to become the world's largest within the short term, if not by the end of this year.

Driven by pre-paid services, increasing competition and the development of the mobile internet, the number of subscribers is increasing very quickly. Other qualitative drivers, such as the desire by young people to be continually at the cutting edge of technology, are also boosting numbers quickly.

There are now more than 200m wireless subscribers in the Asia - Pacific region - more than in Europe-including approximately 60m in China, 54m in Japan, 28m in South Korea and 15m in Taiwan.

Within the past five years, the Asian region has moved from accounting for 10 per cent of all wireless subscribers worldwide to more than 30 per cent today. If the current growth rates are sustained, the region will account for more than 40 per cent of all subscribers within five years.

The second dynamic is that the Asian mobile operators will expand rapidly both in terms of absolute size and relative global size as their subscribers increase. The size of these companies will allow them to enter other markets.

Building on its dominant position in Japan, NTT DoCoMo is quietly but very aggressively entering the European market. It recently established a partnership with KPN, the Dutch telecommunications company, and is participating in a number of 3G licence bids throughout Europe. Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong conglomerate with large telecom interests, has also been expanding internationally, with involvement in the Italian, New Zealand and UK 3G licence processes.

The third trend is that wireless technology is becoming dominant in the region. Asia is set to become the world's first wireless economy. Moreover, the dynamics of the Asian markets mean that it is not solely about the growthin wireless subscribers, but also the declining relative importance and growth of fixed-line telephony. The wireless platform is set to become the primary telecommunications platform throughout the region.

In Japan, the number of wireless subscribers is about to exceed the total number of fixed-line accounts. In South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong there are already more mobile subscribers than main telephone lines in operation.

Even more significant, there is evidence that consumers are moving permanently from fixed telephony to the wireless platform. According to DoCoMo, the number of fixed-line subscriptions in Japan is forecast to decline over the next financial year with the decline accelerating into the medium term.

In addition, the wireless platform is increasingly important for internet access. With more than 20m users, i-mode, NTT DoCoMo's mobile internet service launched less than two years ago, is now the primary mode of accessing the internet in Japan.

This trend could be repeated throughout Asia. Wireless connection fees are expected to remain substantially below the costs of purchasing a PC, making it cheaper to access the internet using a mobile phone.

In addition, the broadband infrastructure in many Asian countries remains poor, making internet provision via television or PC difficult.

Given these characteristics, it is highly likely that wireless technology will become the main platform for internet access in the region, entrenching its position as the primary telecommunications platform.

Together, these three dynamics suggest a rapid development of the Asian mobile market. Not only is Asia soon to become the world's largest mobile market, but it may also become home to the world's largest wireless telecommunication companies and potentially theprimary source of new wireless technological innovations.

There are, of course, counter arguments. It is suggested that the principle of paying for calls received may constrain the development of the mobile markets in the region. Furthermore, there is widespread concern over the financial position of many of the region's telecoms operators, especially as many have built up large debt positions in response to rapidly increasing demand.

Europe's domination of the mobile market hitherto can be broadly explained by its status as the world's largest such market and, in addition, the adoption of a common standard across the continent, GSM. However, with the rapid growth of the Asian markets, this focus will almost definitely shift.

Asia is increasingly the centre of attention and Asian wireless operators and manufacturers may well soon emerge as the focus of the wireless economy.

William Bratton is a consultant with Spectrum Strategy Consultants. The opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the company's views.