The US$20 handset
Asked on his recent visit to South Africa as to when cellphone manufacturers would actually begin that process, a bemused Alan Hadden – president of the global Mobile Suppliers’ Association (GSA), a body representing the interests of the telecoms companies – quipped: "Don’t you have the $20 handsets in SA yet? Nokia and Motorola have lately been shipping volumes of cheaper handsets to Third World markets."
Motorola EMEA region marketing and strategy director Massimo Sangiovanni backs Hadden’s view, saying that Motorola’s cheaper handsets, now readily available in most developing countries, were pivotal to the rapid growth of the cellphone industries in Uganda and Nigeria.
Says Sangiovanni: "South Africa is also one of the beneficiaries of that initiative. If the handsets aren’t yet available in SA that could be attributed to pricing structures adopted by network operators and retailers."
However, Vodacom communications executive Dot Field was quick to shield Vodacom from blame. "Cheaper handsets are readily available in SA. Walk into any Vodacom retail outlet and you can buy a cellphone for a mere R29." Here’s the catch, though. The R29 offer of a Motorola C113 handset is subject to buying a Vodacom 4U starter pack costing R199.
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