4G phones could cost as low as Bt3,000 soon
US-based semiconductor company Qualcomm says an entry-level 4G smartphone with prices starting at Bt3,000 could be launched in the Thai market next month.
Suwit Pruckwattnananon, senior director for business development in Thailand and Myanmar of Qualcomm Southeast Asia said the firm had successfully developed a 4G LTE (fourth-generation long-term evolution) chipset that would enable its partners to provide smartphones using this technology to all markets, from entry level to high end.
He said sales of 3G and 4G LTE smartphones were continuing to grow in Thailand. In the first quarter of last year, 4G mobile phones accounted for just 6.6 per cent of total sales, compared with 40.3 per cent for phones and 52.8 per cent for 3G. By the first quarter of this year, the proportion of 2G phone sales had declined to 22.7 per cent, or 1 million units. Meanwhile, sales of 3G mobiles increased to 60.3 per cent, or 2.6 million units, and sales of 4G mobile phones accounted for 16.6 per cent or 700,000 units.
"Thailand is a key market for Qualcomm in the regional and global telecommunication industry," Suwit said. "With an affluent population and a growing economy, we expect to see greater growth of the telecommunications sector in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, with the high growth potential for 3G and 4G devices in the market."
Mantosh Malhotra, regional head for Southeast Asia at Qualcomm, said the firm had provided more than a billion of its Snapdragon processors for Android devices. With 4G LTE built in, devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon can deliver high network-response times, while providing smooth connections to multiple networks on a single device.
"We will continue to work closely with local partners to develop more high-quality, affordable-to-high-end mobile devices with performance and connected user experience through Qualcomm Reference Design.
"We make processors that go inside the phone. LTE-enabled Snapdragon processors are [designed] for a wide selection of smartphones. We [can] contribute to the rapid development of the mobile ecosystem in Southeast Asia," Malhotra said.
By 2018, there are expected to be around 5.2 billion mobile-phone subscribers in the global connected to 3G or 4G networks. More than 80 per cent of handset shipments are expected to be smartphones in 2018.
