China mobile-handset shipments grow by 9% in Q1-study

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China’s domestic mobile-handset shipments in the Q1 have grown by 9% from 53 million in Q4. This growth is attributed to the government stimulus programmes and purchases for the New Year holidays, according to a study.

Sales of brand-name GSM mobile handsets amounted to 44 million units in the quarter, compared to 42 million in the first quarter of 2008, while branded CDMA wireless phone sales reached 5.8 million units, up 200% from the year-earlier quarter, the study reveals. Domestic white-box handset sales amounted to about 8 million units, down from 10 million.

It is forecasted that China’s domestic handset market will amount to 238 million units in 2009, up 7.8 percent from 2008. Ongoing reductions in voice-service fees and declines in average handset selling prices will assure stable growth in China’s mobile subscribers during the next five years.