The GSM Association (GSMA) had a recent board meeting and announced the “3G for All” program. In the words of the CEO in their press release:
Our 3G handset initiative will allow far more people to take advantage of the video clips, mobile music, Internet access, and many other multimedia services now enjoyed by more affluent users in the developed world. Our Emerging Market Handset programme is a compelling demonstration of how economies of scale can be brought to bear to accelerate falls in the cost of manufacturing mobile phones.
Will this development go down to our local telcos? If the next generation of low-end phones will have 3G capabilities, how will our local market change?
Imagine, video calling, video streaming, and high speed surfing with PhP 4,000 handsets with dual cameras – can they do it?