5G not in demand in Asia - scandal

Despite expectations that the Southeast Asia 5G market was set for
a prosperous year, recent reports have suggested the opposite, with
demand for handsets falling in recent months. Inflation has been
blamed for the slowdown, but could this loss of interest carry
long-term ramifications for the Asian 5G market?
News of a slowdown has come from a recent report released by the
technology research organization Canalys. The findings highlighted
that demand for 5G smartphones was at a standstill, with research
analyst Chiew Le Xuan noting (https://bit.ly/3eraoRr) that
"5G devices experienced their first sequential decline to 18%
of overall smartphone shipments."
Notably, the report stated that the deployment of 5G in developing
Southeast Asian markets had been "abysmal," which may be another
factor that's impacted growth. 
As the data shows (https://bit.ly/3QbK1Ms), smartphone shipments
across Southeast Asia fell 12 and 7 percent, respectively, across
the opening two quarters of 2022 as macroeconomic issues conspired
to undo much of the growth experienced in 2020 and early 2021.
Worryingly for the 5G market, this falling demand has led to
consumers seeking out other qualities within the handsets they
purchase. More cost-effective, practical aspects of smartphones,
like battery life, storage, processor speed, and camera quality, have
grown in popularity as the constraints of inflation have prompted
more buyers to look at longer-lasting devices.