ISLAMABAD: Mobile phone imports in the country have reached US $ 433.276 million in current financial year (July-January), registering 10.39 percent increase as compared to same period last year.
The imports of mobile phone were US $ 392.493 million in same period last year, statistics of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Sunday.
The data said overall telecom imports saw a decline of 5.5 percent during July-January 2015-16 as compared to same period last year. The total telecom imports were recorded at US $ 800.127 million during the period as compared to US $ 846.713 million previous year.
Other telecom apparatus import also witnessed a significant decline of 19.23 percent during this period as it stood at US $ 366.851 million during July-January (2015-16) against US $ 454.220 million during same period of last year.
Meanwhile, telecom experts said in next two years, smartphones are expected to cross 55 per cent of mobile phone imports.
Smartphones adoption in Pakistan is expected to grow due to expanding 3G and 4G networks (currently 3G services are available in more than 200 cities and towns) and more affordable smartphones being available in the market.
