Market growth is inhibited by a number of factors.
7.3m handsets were sold this year, and this will ri se to 12.7m by 2000. This will be a peak year for the sector, for while unit sales and traffic will continue to increase, increasing competition will act to erode prices and profit margins. The GSM MoU Association, at a recent meeting in Hong Kong, has counted up 148 GSM networks on air worldwide. Ericsson's folds up just 1cm longer. What these mini-mobiles have in common is that they sell at premium prices, and thus more profit to the manufacturers.