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Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi , April 21

THE world's cheapest mobile handset will soon hit the Indian market for a takeaway price of only Rs 1,700. The mobile handset, manufactured by Motorola, will have all the basic features including short messaging.

Company executives were tight-lipped about the handset but said that it will have features to offer "value for money." It is slated to be unveiled by the Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, at Cellular Summit 2005 to be held at New Delhi on Tuesday.

At present the cheapest mobile handset off the shelf is around Rs 3,000. The move comes after Motorola's recent statement at the GSM Congress held at Cannes to manufacture handsets priced below $40 for the developing markets. This will be the company's second attempt to break the price entry barrier in the country. It had successfully launched the `Talkbout' phone at sub-Rs 4,000 level a few years ago.

Industry sources said that the new phone might be manufactured in India. Motorola's India plan will be announced during the visit of its global Chairman and CEO, Mr M. Edward Zanders, during the second half of May.

With nearly 2 million new subscribers a month, India is seen as the fastest growing mobile market in the world today. Competition is, however, hotting up between service providers and handset manufacturers to garner the market share in non-urban areas. Chinese manufacturers such as Haier, Bird and ZTE are entering the fray with aggressive pricing strategies.

Most of the telecom equipment vendors have announced major plans to manufacture cost-effective gears and handsets for the Indian consumers. Nokia had recently unveiled its plans to set up a handset manufacturing facility in Chennai to address the needs of the price conscious subscribers. According to a market survey conducted by ORG, Nokia is the leader in handset market. Other companies in the fray include Korean majors LG and Samsung.

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