3GSM World focused on looking for low-cost terminals

COLLAB distinguished with the APDC / Siemens Innovation Award

After Nokia announced its intention to bring smartphones Series 60 for the consumer market and Microsoft having also focused its attention on low-priced terminals, the GSM Association defended yesterday at 3GSM World that to ensure the extension of communications to emerging markets it is necessary to offer mobile phones with costs below 40 dollars. The first equipment was presented yesterday and is manufactured by Motorola.

The association identified through its research area that cost is the only barrier to the development of the use of mobile networks in emerging markets. That is why it brought together 18 manufacturers who tried to respond to a specification and standards imposed by the association, producing equipment with an ex factory cost below $ 40.

The proposal selected was that of Motorola, which will start offering a range of terminals based on this concept during the second quarter of 2005. According to the GSM Association, the sales target in the first six months is six million terminals, which corresponds to about 1 percent of the total terminal market worldwide.

The initiative brings together a group of operators from emerging markets – from Asia, Latin America and Arab countries – who will help create critical mass for this initiative. In this first phase, AIS Telecom, Bharti Televentures, Globe Telecom, Maxis Mobile, Orascom, SingTel Mobile, Smart Communications, Telenor Mobile and Turkcell are connected to the initiative.

The GSM Association believes that the offer of terminals at low cost is one of the ways to boost the market in these countries, although it is still necessary to work in the area of ​​service provision and taxes and regulation.

The association also wants to reach the price of $ 30 in a second phase of this initiative, calculating that as economies of scale are boosted, there is the potential to add more than 100 million new customers per year.

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