Feature phones here to stay: operators
South African mobile operators say they have no plans to phase out the sale of feature phones, citing the economic diversity that still exists within local consumers.
Kenya based operator, Safaricom said recently that it will stop selling feature phones so as to ramp up smartphone penetration
Corporate affairs director at Safaricom, Nzioka Waita said: “Safaricom is soon going to stop selling the cheap feature phones in all our retail outlets, as we try to skew the Kenyan market towards smartphones.”
South Africa’s mobile penetration rate exceeds well over 100%, and according to research company GfK, on average 1.5 million mobile phones are sold per month in the country.
Additional research conducted by Gartner, found that smartphones accounted for approximately 30% of the handset market in SA by the end of 2012, and was expected to reach 55% by 2015.
This would support the common perception that there are approximately 30 million handsets in the country, and findings by World Wide Worx that around 10-million smartphones had been sold in South Africa towards the end of 2012.
A study by another research hub, Nielsen, however, highlighted a continued shift by consumers away from lower-end, basic handsets towards high-end feature phones.
Half of respondents polled indicated they intended to upgrade their handset in the coming year, with more than three quarters eyeing a smartphone.
South African operators respond:
“MTN does not plan to phase out the sale of feature phones as we still have a significant number of customers who buy feature phones. In October 2011, smartphone sales reached the one billion milestone and pundits expect the next billion sales to be reached within three years, as opposed to the 16 years it took for the first billion sales to be achieved,” said Mike Fairon, GM: Product & Solutions at MTN SA.
“Therefore, the market will gradually experience a higher penetration of smartphones as times goes and as the price of smartphones decreases. The ARPU’s between feature phones and smart phones vary greatly as a result of the market segment and purpose of the device,” Fairon said.
Vodacom said: “The South African market is very diverse and feature phones are still very relevant in our market. We have no plans to discontinue feature phones at this stage”.
8ta said: “8ta currently has no plans to phase out the sale of feature phones. For many mobile phone customers the functionality and affordability of feature phones are ideal for their needs. The company’s decision to continue ranging feature phones may be reviewed in the future in response to market changes.”
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