Islamabad, Nov 22 : Twenty percent of the mobile users in Pakistan change their handsets thrice a year, making the country a lucrative market for manufacturers of mobile handsets and other telecom equipment.

A similar percentage of mobile users change the mobile handset once a year and this could be a successful business model, said Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its latest report.

In a survey conducted this year, the authority also found that 20 percent users change their mobile sets every two years, the Daily Times reported.

Pakistan's strategic location is also an added advantage, the report said.

The potential investors can also target other emerging and developing economies in the region by exporting handsets or equipment from Pakistan for better economies of scale, the report said, adding that they may also explore public private partnership in such ventures.

Pakistan has spent about 1.347 billion dollars on import of mobile handsets, and other telecom apparatus in 2006-07, the report said, adding that it puts burden on country's foreign reserves and increases trade gap.

During 2006-07, about 4.2 percent of imports were in the telecom sector, while it was only 2.4 percent in 2003-2004.

The imports of mobile sets with battery shot up from 144.1 million dollars in 2003-04 to 670.2 million dollars in 2006-07, the report said.

Other telecom apparatus imported in Pakistan went up to 677.5 million dollars in 2006-07, while it was 234.8 million dollars in 2003-04.

The exponential growth in the telecom sector is burdening the overall imports, the report said, adding that the telecom sector requires spending of about one billion dollars just on the import of mobile handsets annually.

During the last four years mobile handsets worth 1.7 billion dollars have been imported in Pakistan.

The government is considering giving incentives to leading manufacturers of cellular mobile handsets and telecom equipment for manufacturing mobile sets and other equipment locally, the report said.

Over two to three million subscribers are added on cellular mobile networks every month in Pakistan. (ANI)