Nokia sees mobile phone users hitting two billion by 2007

World mobile communications leader Nokia projects the number of mobile phone users globally to increase to two billion by 2007 from the current 1.5 billion users, with world penetration rate at 23 percent.

In the Philippines, the wireless market has grown to 26.9 million users as of June 2004 (of which around 16.1 million is accounted for by Smart Communications and 10.5 million by Globe Telecom) at a penetration rate of 32 percent as of middle of this year.

While Nokia Phils. country general manager Parikshit Bhasin refused to disclose Nokia’s share of the Philippine market, some sectors estimate it to be at around 75 to 80 percent.

Bhasin nevertheless said that the total market volume could surpass the 600-million unit mark for the full year (number of units sold worldwide this year). For the second quarter of 2004 alone, the global mobile market continued to grow and reached 148 million units, of which Nokia accounted for 45 million units or 31 percent of global market share for new units sold.

Of the market size of 600 million units, around 200 million units will be mobile phones with cameras.

Nokia is still the number one brand for mobile phones in Latin America and China, while its market share has started stabilizing in many western European markets.

Based on recent surveys, Nokia is the eighth most popular brand in the world, the second in Asia, and the fifth in the Philippines.

Bhasin also revealed that the momentum for 3G (third generation mobile communications technology) is here. He said that by the end of the first half of 2004, there were 37 WCDMA networks launched globally. "Together with our operator customers, Nokia plays a leading role in the further rollout and commercialization of 3G,"he said.

He also explained that Nokia’s goal is to continue taking determined action to drive the business towards a new growth phase in the converging digital industry. This will be achieved by expanding mobile voice and SMS (short messaging service or text messaging), extending mobility to enterprises, and driving customer mobile multi-media.

Bhasin also disclosed that in addition to the 17 Nokia care centers all over the Philippines, four more will be added before the end of the year. This will be located in Lucena, Cagayan de Oro, Glorietta and Greenbelt in Makati.

During yesterday’s news conference, Bhasin said that eight new phones will be launched in the Philippines before the end of the year. These are the Nokia 2600, an entry-level phone with a colored screen and polyphonic tones; the Nokia 2650 which will have SMS and MMS support and also have a colored screen; the Nokia 3220, a triband phone with a revolutionary wave messaging capability, camera, video recorder and player; the Nokia 5140 which will be an integrated camera and the first push-to-talk over cellular; the Nokia 6170 which will be triband and have the PTT over cellular capability; the Nokia 6260 which will be a swivel fold phone and PTT over cellular; the Nokia 6630 which will have a 1.2 megapixel camera with 6x digital zoom, one hour camcorder, dual mode 2G/3G mobile; and the Nokia 9500 Communicator which will be out by November this year.