Targeting mobile phone growth

Mobile phone operators and handset manufacturers to target emerging countries for the next phase of mobile phone growth, according to Forrester Research.

Mobile networks cover 80 percent of the world’s population, yet only a quarter of the population use mobile phones, according to a Forrester statement.

“In emerging markets, like the Philippines and Iran, the per capita GDP is roughly a fortieth of that in most Western European countries and the US,” said Michelle de Lussanet, a principal analyst at Forrester.

To grow customer base a further 1.5 million Lussanet suggested vendors need to provide cheap phones and services for low-income consumers.

“First, handset manufacturers should not focus on producing high-end devices with fatter margins alone, but look to lower phone prices and learn to do this profitably,” Lussanet said.

“Also, governments of emerging markets need to curb the mostly excessive taxation and legislation that raise mobile operators’ costs prohibitively," she said. "Finally, mobile operators should develop basic calling plans with all premium services stripped out to make them as cheap as possible,” she said.

According to Forrester, GSM is the leading mobile network standard with 78 percent of mobile users, followed by CDMA with 14 percent and TDMA with 6 percent.