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By Dusan Belic on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 at 1:24 AM PST In Research
According to Juniper Research, low-cost entry-level handset sales will rise by 22% between 2009 and 2014 to over 700 million. Of course, people in emerging markets such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India will buy all those phones, as major mobile operators look to expand beyond their national borders.
On the other hand, companies such as Nokia (NYSE: NOK) are trying to push low-cost mobile services alongside mobile phones.
According to the “Low-Cost Handsets Report” author Andrew Kitson, around 80% of new mobile users will come from emerging markets over the next six years, and it’s essential that operators and vendors work together to dilute the price barriers. He went on to add: “it is clear that commercial success will only be achieved if operators adopt revolutionary new business models and if governments can be persuaded not to place excessive taxes and duties on device sales and imports.”
Other findings from the report include:
- The Africa & Middle East region will account for the largest annual shipment volume by 2014, with its 166 million low-cost handsets representing 24% of all sales that year and up by 54% over the term of the forecast period;
- As a result of growing popularity of smartphones, market is effectively polarising into two groupings - entry-level and high-end devices.
More information about Juniper’s study is available from their website.