Assessing the value of 3G and 4G network modes in mobile phone pricing
Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance
ISSN: 2398-5038
Article publication date: 30 August 2022
Issue publication date: 9 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile phone network third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) modes are the most commonly used modes in many developing countries. This study aims to assess the impact of these network modes and other mobile phone attributes on their retail prices in Pakistan, the fifth most populous and developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has been conducted in Punjab province, which shares about 53% of the Pakistan’s population. Hedonic price analysis was carried out on all new mobile phone attributes sold in Punjab’s markets at the retail level. Various econometric tests, that is, Ramsey regression equation specification error, Breusch–Pagan/Cook–Weisberg and variance inflation factor, were calculated to check the robustness of the results.
Findings
Results of this study indicated that the mobile phone prices were significantly higher for the sets having 4G network mode than the 3G mode. In addition to this, other mobile phone attributes that significantly influenced their prices were brand, weight, camera, random access memory (RAM), memory size, operating system, battery capacity and display size.
Research limitations/implications
This study has implications for mobile phone sales and marketing strategies of the manufacturers, importers, retailers and others involved in the mobile phone business in developing countries like Pakistan. Mobile phone manufacturers/importers can increase their profits by producing/importing the 4G enabled devices.
Originality/value
Although many studies in the literature estimated the implicit price of mobile phone attributes, none of these had explicitly assessed the impact of network mode generation of mobile phones on their prices.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for funding this study.
Disclosure of interest: The authors declare that there are no competing financial, general and institutional interests that may be perceived to influence the results and discussion reported in this paper. The authors had authority over manuscript preparation and decisions to submit the manuscript for publication.
Citation
Ahmed, T., Ahmad, W. and Ahmad, B. (2022), "Assessing the value of 3G and 4G network modes in mobile phone pricing", Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 380-397. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-10-2021-0135
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited