The demand for 4G supported smartphones have increased after the introduction of 4G in the country by mobile phone operators. Mobile phone users have started looking for 4G supported phones in local markets and online.
Smartphone suppliers have remarked that a craze for 4G supported smartphones is already in course, and now people are in the process of selecting the right one that matches their requirements.
Most of the smartphones in the market that fall in the price range of Tk10,000 support 4G. As suppliers had prepared for the arrival of 4G beforehand, there has been no shortage of 4G supported smartphones in the market. However, as most of them are not using 4G supported phones at present, few people are availing of 4G services. Only 10% of the total 3 crore mobile phone users can currently use 4G.
President of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPIA), Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub, said: “4G has just been activated. We have to wait for a while to understand its full impact. But we have already been able to create a demand for 4G smartphones in the market. We will understand the whole scenario regarding 4G in the second quarter [April-June] of this year.”
Ruhul Alam is one of the most prolific suppliers of Samsung phones. He further said, “People using Samsung phones will get a better experience using 4G. Once mobile network problems get solved, most of the Samsung users will be able to use 4G.”
The CEO of Tecno mobile phones, Rezwanul Haque informed: “Mobile phone users have already started looking for different 4G phone sets in the market. Sales are not that bad either.” But he admitted that the market is still not completely prepared for 4G.
Adding that he is hopeful about sales going up once the 4G network expands, Rezwanul said, “Not only do our expensive phone sets support 4G, the sets priced at Tk10,990 also support 4G.”
Dewan Kanon, the CEO of Xiaomi phones, said: “All of our phones support 4G, so we did not have to take any separate preparations. Our sales are starting to go up.”
Mentioning that customers are buying both budget and expensive Xiaomi smartphones, Dewan added: “The main factor of using 4G phones is the experience. Xiaomi uses Qualcom Snapdragon processors. That is why using 4G in a Xiaomi set is going to be a good experience. I also think that smartphone imports are going to increase because of 4G.”
Huawei, another mobile phone brand, has brought 12 models of 4G smartphones and one 4G model tablet. They fall between the price range of TK11,990-Tk83,900. Affiliated sources have informed that their sales have recently increased after 4G hit the market.
Among the co-branded phones, WI phones, in a joint venture with Grameenphone, has released a 4G smartphone worth Tk4,444. On the other hand, Mircomax, in a similar venture with Grameenphone has released a 4G supported smartphone priced at Tk7,599. Banglalink, in co-operation with Symphony, will also release 4G supported phones in the market soon.
Local brands such as Symphony and Walton have also released 4G supported smartphones in the market. The communications department of Symphony has informed that, all the phones that have recently been released in the market, falling in the price range of Tk8,340- Tk19,000, support 4G.
From a statistical study of imported smartphones in Bangladesh during the 4th quarter of 2017, the positions of mobile phone brands regarding sales was known. According to the study, among the companies selling smartphones at prices less than Tk10,000, Symphony tops the chart. The second and third positions are occupied by Itel and Huawei, respectively. And the fourth and fifth positions are held by Samsung and Walton, respectively.
On the other hand, Samsung tops the list among brands selling phones that go above the price of Tk10,000. Second on the list is Xiaomi, and third, fourth and fifth are Oppo, Huawei and Nokia phones, respectively.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/02/26/demand-4g-smartphones-rise/