Mediatek bets big on 4G, to up India headcount

Mobile chipmaker Mediatek today said it plans to expand its research and development team in the country on the back of strong growth in India, one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets globally.
MediaTek, which works with domestic handset makers like Micromax, Karbonn and Lava, and has some 500 people across R&D and a design centre in Bangalore, plans to add "a few hundred" people over the next 1-2 years.
"We are witnessing a strong growth in the Indian market. From 2007, when we entered the market to 2014, we have seen volumes grow 50 per cent... Between the R&D and design centres in Delhi and Bangalore, we have some 500 people," MediaTek General Manager of Corporate Sales International Finbarr Moynihan told PTI.

Depending on the growth, Mediatek expects to add a few hundred people in the next year or two, he added.
Mediatek today announced its collaboration with India's second-largest mobile phone maker Micromax to launch a 4G LTE smartphone -- Canvas Fire 4G.
To be priced under USD 100 (Rs 6,500), the handset will be launched later this month, which will feature a 4.5-inch display, 1 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 8GB memory, 5MP rear and 2MP front cameras and Android Lollipop operating system.

Moynihan said the company is also testing its chipsets with Reliance Jio and Airtel for 4G.
"Mediatek has a wide portfolio of LTE products from entry to premium... We are testing our products with Reliance Jio and Airtel for 4G," he said.

Buoyed by a strong uptake of data services and pan-India rollout of 4G network by Bharti Airtel, handset makers are looking at expanding their product portfolio with LTE devices, especially in the entry and affordable smartphones.
With the impending launch of 4G (high speed Internet services) by Reliance Jio, more handset makers are expected to launch such devices.
India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally and is expected to replace the US as the second largest market by 2017 as people switch to smartphones from feature phones and gradually upgrade to 4G-enabled phones. In the April-June 2015 quarter, smartphone shipment in India grew 44 per cent to 26.5 million units from the year-ago period, as per research firm IDC.

Samsung is the market leader with 23 per cent share, followed by Micromax (17 per cent) and Intex (11 per cent).