2 Billion Cellphones by 2008

The Strategis Group has published a new report that suggests next year, more than 483 million cellphone handsets will be sold to end-users globally, and one third of the world's population will own a wireless device by 2008. The report also reveals that "the handset industry is following a growth path that can be compared to the PC industry a decade ago. Many handset manufacturers are outsourcing design and manufacturing, and they are gaining scale and cost efficiencies while focusing on core competencies," notes Ed Wallace, an industry veteran, contributing to this report.

As a new generation of technology drives demand for handset replacements, the market for replacement rates is projected to reach 36% in 2002. handset sales overall will be up 17% globally, and markets in China and Southeast Asia will grow by nearly 40%. "We're projecting that handset replacement rates will rebound dramatically in 2002, fueled by end-users who are increasingly ready to migrate to next-generation devices," said Ozgur Aytar, a wireless market analyst with The Strategis Group."

Posted to the site on 28th December 2001