Motorola, Htl Sign Pact On Wll Equipment

US electronics-to-telecom major Motorola has firmed up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd (HTL, a Chennai-based state-owned telecom equipment manufacturer) to sell wireless in local loop (WLL) telecom equipment in the country.

The MoU could be converted into a manufacturing joint venture when the market justifies such a facility, sources said here yesterday. As part of this initiative, Motorola and HTL have jointly bid for a 50,000-line WLL system tender floated by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).

The MTNL _ the basic telecom services company in Delhi and Mumbai _ tender is for a system being introduced in Mumbai. It has a similar one planned for the Delhi market. The $30-billion Motorola and HTL intend to bid jointly for the tender also, sources added.

Qualcomm, the $2.1-billion telecom vendor, has a similar arrangement with Indian Telephone Industries which it hopes to develop into a joint venture. The San Diego (US)-based manufacturer is also bidding for MTNL and department of telecommunications (DoT) vendors. It has won an order to upgrade a Delhi experimental WLL system of the department from 1,000 lines to 10,000 lines.

The domestic plans of the telecom majors are based on healthy projections for WLL telephones in India. Sources estimate the market for WLL telephones will be 1.5-2 million over the next five years. "The annual market for basic telephones will ramp from the existing three million (demand from DoT) to between 5-6 million next year (1999-2000) and to 7-8 million by the year after that," said a senior executive of a telecom MNC earlier.

"Of this," he continued, "the demand for about 20-22 per cent will be met by fixed-wireless telephone sets." This, however, could be more if companies find it difficult to dig up roads and lay cables to wire up telephones. "The operators will not waste time digging up roads to connect phones. They recognise that wireless is the way to go," another telecom source added.