GSMA Will Offer $30 Cell Phones to Developing Countries

[motmod]

The GSM Association said it will begin offering handsets for less than $30 as the second phase of its program to bring affordable handsets to emerging markets.

Additionally, the GSM Association awarded the second-phase sole-source contract for the program to Motorola. Motorola expects to begin offering the low-cost handsets during the first quarter of 2006. The 10 GSM operators participating in the program are expected to order about 6 million low-cost handsets.

In February, Motorola leapt into the high-volume, low-cost mobile-phone business-a space dominated by the likes of Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG-with plans to sell millions of new phones in emerging wireless markets like India, Turkey, Pakistan, Thailand and elsewhere. At that time, the company said it would sell 6 million sub-$40 handsets.

The GSM Association believes that while 80 percent of the world's population has wireless access, only 25 percent are able to use it. Many carriers agreed. The GSM Association also is examining the role taxes on handsets and service plays on increasing the use of wireless.