» GSM Infrastructure Market Grows 10% in Q1/2008Telecommunications Industry News

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

GSM Infrastructure Market Grows 10% in Q1/2008

6:05 am on June 20, 2008 | Category: Business, Cellular, Wireless Technology

The global market for GSM wireless networking technology grew 10% (year-over-year) in the first quarter of 2008, on continued strong demand for mobile base stations, and a stabilization in equipment prices.

“For the first time, Asia Pacific represented over half of all GSM revenue,” commented Scott Siegler, a mobile infrastructure analyst with the Dellâ€™Oro Group.

“Business in this highly price-sensitive region has resulted in double-digit quarter-to-quarter price reductions for the previous three quarters,” Siegler continued. “Over these past several quarters, (average sale prices) were pushed downward as vendors sold equipment at exceptionally steep discounts in order to establish and expand their footprint in the region. This quarter, in contrast, vendors became more selective in the deals they were accepting, balancing the economics of the sale with their gain in market share. For the first time in four quarters we have seen (average sale prices) begin to stabilize.”

Strong growth in first-quarter GSM revenue was enough to offset declines in the market for CDMA wireless technology, which took a significant plunge over the same period.

Telecommunications Industry News