Why is no-one buying mobile phones any more

asks Miss Don:

A. In case you hadn't glanced around you in the street lately - everyone's got one. At least, everyone who was likely to buy one in the first place. This saturation of the marketplace is one of the main reasons that Motorola's Bathgate plant has been closed.

�

Q. Are any other mobile phone companies affected
A. Yes. Last week, Ericsson, which employs 2,000 people in Britain, announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide, and close plants at Carlton, Notts, and Scunthorpe, Lincs.

�

Q. Are mobile phone companies victims of their own success
A. They certainly are. Only a year ago, the mobile phone market was booming as first-time mobile phone buyers scrambled over each other to buy one. But no more alas.

�

Q. How many were sold
A. The number of mobile phone users in this country has increased from 12 million in 1998 to 40 million in 2000. But it seems as if the novelty has worn off: in March this year, only 808 million mobile phone messages were sent compared with more than 900 million in February, according to the Mobile Data Association.

�

Q. Are all mobile phone companies losing business
A. No, the market is still strong for replacement mobile phones, according to Charles Dunstone, chief executive of mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse. But he makes the point that some companies are doing better out of it than others. For example, Finnish phone maker Nokia announced last week that it had increased its market share.

�

Q. What's going to happen in the future
A. Well, forecasters say it will be a while before the market picks up again. In the meantime, some mobile phone companies are moving from competition to consolidation: Ericsson is in talks with Sony about possible co-operation in mobile phones.

�

Q. What does that mean
A. Well, it could mean that other mobile phone manufacturers start quaking in their boots! Sony's skills in marketing and its consumer electronics expertise together with Ericsson's European distribution, production capacity and mobile phone technology, promises a revolution in mobile phone handsets, which are already becoming miniature entertainment centres in their own right. Watch this space...

�

Do you have something to say about the mobile phone market Add your comment here

�

By Sheena Miller

�