"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," says Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. "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."

The GSMA's Emerging Market Handset (EMH) programme, which has hit its goal to reduce the wholesale price of entry-level handsets to less than $30, has catalysed the creation of a new segment of ultra-low cost phones. The availability of such low cost handsets has enabled many millions of people in over 56 countries to begin using telecommunications for the first time.