The latest version of Apple Inc’s smartphone, the iPhone 5, is expected to raise the output of Taiwan’s communications services sector for the fourth quarter of this year, a government research report said on Saturday.
The phone, which is likely to go on sale in Taiwan by the end of the year, could trigger product replacements among smartphone users, paving the way for growth in the local communications services sector, according to a report released by Industry and Technology Intelligence Services (ITIS).
Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 in mid-September.
While no exact schedule has been announced for a Taiwanese launch, local consumers have high hopes that the new gadget will hit store shelves by the end of this year.
In addition, the launches of several new models of other smartphones are expected to increase momentum in the local communications services sector for the current quarter, the report said.
ITIS, a research institute of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said on the back of iPhone 5 and other smartphone sales, production value of Taiwan’s communications service sector is expected to reach NT$100.3 billion (US$3.43 billion), up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
The research unit said that while the mobile data transmission services sector is likely to register significant sales growth due to strong demand, revenue from mobile voice data services could fall to compromise the total output of the communications services sector to some extent.
In addition, since telecoms operators have cut the rates for long distance phone calls and broadband services, the communications services sector is expected to register only a slight increase in output, ITIS said.
In the third quarter, production value of the local communications services sector gained 0.7 percent from the second quarter to NT$99.4 billion due to an increase in revenue generated by fixed-line phones, international direct dialing services, as well as multimedia on demand services, ITIS said.
The ITIS said output of the communications services sector for this year is expected to grow 2.3 percent from a year earlier to NT$397.5 billion.
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