|
NEW DELHI (AFP) - The chairman of US telecom company Motorola said it may manufacture mobile phone handsets in India as it seeks to regain a foothold in one of the fastest-growing phone markets in the world. We will be evaluating that (a manufacturing base) as we move forward and our business grows," Motorola chairman Edward Zander told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a business conference in New Delhi. Motorola, which started selling mobile phones in India in 1997, was one of the first telecom companies to enter the country. But it has lost market leadership to players such as Finland-based Nokia that have swamped the domestic market with cheap phones and new styles. Nokia and Sweden''''s Ericsson have said also they are interested in setting up a manufacturing base in India to cut costs. Zander said the company was planning to launch a new range of mobile phones this fall, including models priced below 2,000 rupees (45 dollars) to expand its customer base. "We are going to be back with a vengeance. I think, by October to November, you will be seeing a lot of these (Motorola) products," Zander added. India, a country of one billion people, has been adding 2.5 million mobile phone customers every month for the past two years to almost 50 million users now. At the same time, Mobile phone tariffs have plummetted as companies battle to capture customers. India has seen a rapid expansion in telecom companies offering landlines, Internet and mobile phones since private telecom companies were allowed to compete with state-run companies in 1996 (() |