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EYEING BIGGER SHARE: The Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Mr Edward J. Zander, showing the latest mobile technology with an instrument fitted in the rim of the spectacles which acts as a remote control for the handset, at a press conference in the Capital on Thursday. — Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Aug. 25

WITH an eye on the forthcoming $5-billion BSNL tender for mobile equipment, the US-based telecom major Motorola Inc today said it was considering setting up a manufacturing unit in India.

As part of the Government's policy to encourage local manufacturing, it is being made mandatory for equipment suppliers to set up a factory in India in order to qualify for big-ticket projects by state-owned companies - - BSNL and MTNL.

"We have assured the Government that we will comply with all requirements to be eligible for the tender. We are not closed to it. We will consider manufacturing here. But that will be when and in what shape, size and form, I can't say at this point of time. Our focus is to gain significant market share here and attain a critical mass," said Mr Edward Zander, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Motorola Inc.

The company had earlier announced an investment of $85 million in India over the next three years. Motorola has 2,900 engineers in India working on the latest in mobile technology at Motorola Labs in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Addressing mediapersons, Mr Zanders said that the company was aiming to be the number one player in the mobile handset space, which at present was dominated by Nokia.

In India, analysts' reports have pegged Motorola's market share at around 9 per cent while Nokia's is at over 60 per cent. "We want to give an alternative to the Indian users. We have put together a plan to address the Indian market and starting October, you will get to see some aggressive launches including low cost handsets," Mr Zanders said.

Later in the day, at an industry meeting organised by FICCI, Mr Zanders said, "We didn't do a good job in India over the past two years. Now, we will be back with a vengeance. This is the only region where Motorola has not been able to make inroads into the market share. We will hit very hard with low, mid-range and high-end phones."

Motorola, the world's second-largest mobile handset maker, has steadily lost market share in India to Nokia and new entrants such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc.

Dwelling on the future of mobile technology, Mr Zander said that future was already unfolding with products and services that incorporate seamless mobility to offer uninterrupted access regardless of the device, service, network or location.

As part of its social responsibility programme, Motorola is also looking at enabling e-education in villages using its wireless broadband solution. The company demonstrated its project to the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which will enable school children in remote areas access to quality education by connecting teachers and students through real time video and audio feeds.

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