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Global Smartphone Connections to Hit 6bn by 2020 |
| Source: |
totaltele.com |
| Source Date: |
Thursday, September 11, 2014 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
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| Created: |
Sep 16, 2014 |
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GSMA Intelligence on Thursday predicted that the number of smartphone connections worldwide will reach 6 billion by 2020, accounting for two thirds of all mobile connections excluding machine-to-machine (M2M).
According to the industry body's research arm, there are currently 2 billion smartphone connections, two thirds of which are in developing markets. By 2020, GSMA Intelligence predicts that developing markets will account for 80% of the world's smartphone connections as developed markets become saturated.
Indeed, smartphone penetration in Europe and North America is expected to reach 75% in 2020. The growth rate in these two regions between 2010 and 2013 was 39%, whereas developing parts of Asia Pacific and Latin America saw growth rates of more than 80% over the same period.
China is currently by far the largest smartphone market, boasting 629.2 million connections at the end of the second quarter, comfortably ahead of the U.S., which sits in second place with 196.8 million. Brazil, India and Indonesia complete the top five with 141.8 million, 111 million, and 95 million smartphone connections each.
"The smartphone has sparked a wave of global innovation that has brought new services to millions and efficiencies to businesses of every type," said Hyunmi Yang, the GSMA's chief strategy officer, in a statement. "As the study released today shows, smartphones will be the driving force of mobile industry growth over the next six years, with one billion new smartphone connections expected over the next 18 months alone."
Several factors are fuelling growth, GSMA Intelligence said.
A fall in average selling price (ASP), driven by the proliferation of low-cost smartphones, is tempting feature phone users to upgrade. Tariffs that allow customers to buy data in small, affordable chunks are lowering the barrier to adoption in developing markets, while data-centric price plans are proving popular incentives in developed markets.
(By Nick Wood)
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