Published in News

US mobile market to consolidate

by on11 May 2009

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Too big for its boots


The strokers
of beards and people in the know claim that the US mobile phone market is poised for another round of consolidation. Large manufacturers are getting more interested in the lucrative prepaid market and are set to squeeze the smaller rivals into buyouts.

Strategy Analytics, a market-research outfit said that big cellphone makers with less popular smart phones have been focusing on the lower end of the market, churning out devices for customers who don't sign long-term contracts. Samsung and LG Electronics have been named to hit smaller vendors that have gained footholds serving regional carriers.

Overall mobile phone shipments to the US rose 10 per cent as the world's largest cellphone market bucked the 13% plunge in global handset shipments. Telcos have been offering big subsidies on smart phones, which require consumers to sign up for monthly data plans to avoid paying the full cost of upgrading their phones.

Strategy Analytics turned over a tarot card and predicted that several smaller vendors will exit the market in the next year or two because they can't compete with bigger vendors. Kyocera Sanyo, a venture of several Asian players that sells half its output has been named as likely to go.
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