Visitors to the Thailand Mobile Expo are being bombarded with promotional and marketing offers by mobile operators striving to win new customers for their fourth-generation (4G) networks.
Free handsets, buy-one-get-one-free deals, interest-free instalment payments of up to 36 months and subsidised phone plans are among the attractive promotional options from operators at the country's largest mobile trade fair.
The four-day event, which runs until Sunday, is being held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
"Thailand's smartphone market is expected to see double-digit growth this year despite the economic slowdown," said Opas Cherdpunt, managing director of M Vision, the organiser of the expo.
Titipong Khiewpaisal, senior vice-president for marketing of Advanced Info Service (AIS), said the local 4G market will grow significantly this year because the difference between the prices of 3G and 4G smartphones has narrowed and the greater 4G network coverage.
The average entry-level 4G handset costs below 2,000 baht this year, down from 2,490 baht in 2015.
He said AIS aims to have 10 million 4G subscribers this year, out of a total 39 million customers. The company is spending 40 billion baht on 4G network expansion.
"We expect our giveaway of 3G/4G handsets to attract 90% of our existing 12 million 2G users to migrate to our 3G/4G networks this year," said Mr Titipong.
Thailand's smartphone penetration is expected to reach 70-80% in 2016, up from 53% last year, said Suvit Arayavilaipong, AIS's senior vice-president.
Nutchanon Boonsorn, client device analyst of research firm IDC Thailand, said smartphones from mobile operators are projected to represent 52% of total handset sales this year, up from 40% last year.
In the first quarter alone, operators' share of smartphone sales could account for up to 60% of total sales as operators aggressively roll-out their promotional campaigns to migrate their 2G users to 3G/4G networks.
Mr Nutchanon said IDC expects 4G-enabled phones will make up 34% of total smartphone sales this year, up from 21% last year.
The average selling price of a 4G phone this year will be lower than last year's average of 6,000-7,500 baht.
Mr Opas said 4G handsets are expected to make up 25% of total phone sales at this year's Thailand Mobile Expo, with prices ranging from 12,000-20,000 baht.
He said rental space at this year's event is 5% lower than that of last year, due mainly to the sluggish economy and the closure of handset dealers.
"We expect the number of visitors to increase by 10% to 700,000, with sales of 1.7 billion baht thanks to the arrival of 4G technology," said Mr Opas.
Chanon Jirayukul, management director of Thai Oppo, said sales of smartphone in Thailand this year are expected to increase by 10% from 14.5 million units in 2015.
China's Oppo is focusing on smartphones priced over 3,990 baht.
"We expect smartphones priced 6,000-9,000 baht will gain more momentum thanks to the high growth potential of the replacement market," said Mr Chanon.
Tuantong Srivichian, country sales manager for the smartphone division of Lenovo (Thailand), said the advent of 4G will drive consumers to replace phones faster, up from 18 months to six to 12 months.