ZTE expands in West African markets
China’s ZTE is starting to take root in the West African mobile device market, as more operators offer deals on the company’s handsets.
Early this month, Celtel Sierra Leone introduced the ZTE C160, complete with a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) pack offering call credit and free SMS (Short Message Service), for US$26.
While that promotion is under way, the leading telecom operator in neighboring Liberia, Lonestar, joined the bandwagon last week by rolling out a promotional campaign with ultra-low-cost ZTE phones, which go for $25. Since the promotion started, long lines can be noticed at Lonestar’s various sales outlets in Monrovia, the capital.
“A lot of people want it — that is why you see people joining the queue from morning till closing hours. The phone is cheap,” said Beatrice Browne, a student who was waiting in on of the lines.
Additional services, such as waiving the SIM card validity period, are increasing the ZTE phones’ popularity. Until recently customers had to regularly replenish their SIM cards to guarantee their validity.
Although rival company Cellcom is running a similar promotion with Motorola’s C130 phone, which costs $29, the ZTE phone offers seems to be getting more attention.
Lonestar started operating in 2001 as Liberia’s first GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) service provider, followed by Cellcom, Libercell and Comium.
ZTE is the sixth-largest global mobile phone maker. It has a strong position in the Chinese handset market and in the world market for network infrastructure.
Mobile handsets accounted for about 20 percent of ZTE’s global revenues last year, a figure that is likely to rise to about 30 percent in 2008, according to He Shiyou, ZTE executive vice president in charge of the group’s handset division.
ZTE had been mentioned as a buyer for Motorola’s loss-making mobile phone operation.
Tags: GSM, mobile, Motorola, SMS, ZTE