Page 115 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Technology, innovation and competition

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Technology, Innovation and Competition

4.2 Phone types

Basic phones, also called ‘low-end’ or ‘dumb phones’, have limited feature sets, limited or no factory-installed,
or user-installable value-added third-party applications, and no or very limited data connectivity. They can,
however, for the most part, access DFS platforms through the use of basic USSD and STK capabilities.

Feature phones are the dominant type of phones in DFS. They have more functions than basic phones,
31
but limited functionality and proprietary operating systems (OS). They include most of the features of basic
phones, augmented in many cases by features such as Bluetooth and MMS, which are mostly narrowband
data connectivity options. They also include wireless application protocol (WAP) capabilities, and, in some
cases, 3G capabilities.

Market surveys and projections indicate that smartphone penetration is increasing in many DFS markets
32
worldwide. These devices have touchscreens, offer a better UI than the USSD and STK UIs used on basic and
feature phones, as well as providing increased bouquets of service offerings. Entry-level smartphones being
sold in emerging markets are at feature phone-level pricing of around USD 30, although many are of relatively
33
low-specification and of relatively shorter device longevity.

5 Mobile phone OSs

A key feature of mobile handsets in DFS has been their ability to operate ubiquitously and reliably across
mobile networks without any modification, using relatively simple, if not bland, text-based UIs on basic and
feature phones. 34
In the past few years, with the evolution generally of mobile-based services and DFS specifically, the demand
for increased functionality and better UIs has given rise to more sophisticated handsets that use specialized
interfaces or OSs. It is thought that Better OS design may make the user’s experience of accessing DFS far
easier than using 2G-type phones that primarily employ text-based USSD and SMS for DFS access.
35
With feature phones, not all support third-party software, but if they do, they usually run on Java or similar
36
or are made for the proprietary OSs of the device’s core chipset in the phone such as those from Mediatek
(S30+ and MAUI runtime environment (MRE)) and Nokia (Symbian).
37
Smartphone OSs include those from Apple (Apple OS), Google (Android OS), Microsoft (Windows Phone,
Windows Mobile), and Blackberry (Blackberry OS).
38

31 GSMA (2015) From Feature Phones To Smartphones, The Road Ahead, available at https:// www. gsmaintelligence. com/ research/
2015/ 01/ from- feature- phones- to- smartphones- the- road- ahead/ 456/
32 See for example GSMA (2016a) ibid.
ibid
33 See Perlman (2016b) ; and Perlman (2017) Prices for phones and access may however be affected by the increased ten-
ibid
dency by some regulators to tax mobile phone imports and mobile phone airtime.
34 For further details on mobile phone OSs and the relation to mobile phone chipsets, see Perlman (2016b) ibid.
35 This, however, is market dependent, as many users do not necessarily have the technical literacy to navigate the new, more
sophisticated UIs that the new OSs provide.
36 These are usually standalone applications that do not necessarily integrate with other features of the phone.
37 Nokia’s Symbian mobile phone OS, once the world’s most popular, is now in rapid decline.
38 The Java application platform is the only system that is cross-platform and cross-OS so long as a Java engine/emulator is available
on the phone to execute the Java applet.

99