The Hindu Business Line : `Huge scope for telecom gear manufacture'

Assocham roadmap
Convert ITI into large contract manufacturer.
Set up hardware cluster parks of global standards.
Focus on global marketing brand, image building.

STRATEGY PAPER: Mr A. K. Saxena (left), Member Services, Telecom Commission, and Mr P. K. Sandell, Chairman, Assocham Electronics Committee, releasing a strategy paper on `Manufacturing of Telecom Equipment in India' in the Capital on Thursday. - Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , April 6

Thirty per cent of the new mobile subscribers added by operators worldwide will come from India in three years time, according to a paper released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

The paper on promoting telecom equipment manufacturing in India has also pointed out that 10 per cent the third generation (3G) subscribers will be from India by 2011.

Highlighting the huge potential for local manufacture of telecom equipments in the country, Assocham said that the Indian handset segment could be between $13 billion and $15 billion in the next 10 years time. offering great opportunity for equipment vendors to make India a manufacturing hub

The industry body has also made suggestions to make the environment conducive for boosting local manufacturing.

For starters, it has urged the Government to set up a National Large Contract Manufacturing Organisation to cater to the equipment needs of multinational telecom companies and convert the State-owned Indian Telephone Industries into one such hub.

"The Government should take the initiative to transform ITI to be one of the largest contract manufacturers like Flextronics of India. Major telecom hardware suppliers like Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel and Cisco could use such an organisation to source their equipment demands. Such an initiative in India would help build a national asset in telecom manufacturing area," the white paper said.

The other proposals from Assocham include setting up of hardware manufacturing cluster parks, conforming to global standards, and fiscal incentives for telecom manufacturing, among others.

"Growth of telecom manufacturing industry in India has not been consistent with the subscriber growth and services market potential. The focus should be positioning India in the global value-added chain with a global marketing brand and image building," it said.

The report said that despite the strong growth story in user base, the Indian infrastructure capital expenditure on cellular equipment will be between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the investment that will be made by international operators by 2015.

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