Intex to launch 3G handsets in Gujarat

With the likes of BSNL and Tata DOCOMO already offering 3G services in Gujarat, mobile handset manufacturer Intex Technologies (India) Ltd. plans to make the most of the rising demand for 3G phones.

Apart from offering Dual SIM phones, Intex Technologies is planning to launch low and mid-range 3G phones in Gujarat. "We should be able to supply 3G phones in Gujarat by January 2011. The launch of 3G services in Gujarat will be a boost for such handsets. We will launch 3G phones in the range of Rs 4,500-5,000," said Mukesh Taneja, regional sales manager - west, telecom, Intex Technologies (India) Ltd.

The company, recently, launched 'Intex V.DO' and 'Intex Nano2', two feature-rich mobile Dual SIM handsets for Rs 2,600 and Rs 1,700 each.

In Gujarat that sells over 5 lakh handsets per month, the company is eyeing a share of eight per cent by March 2011. Through 50 distributors and 2,500 retailers in Gujarat, Intex sells phones in the range of Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,900 currently.

Going forward, the company intends to focus on upcountry regions in Gujarat like Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Kheda, Kutch, Patan, Porbandar, Sabarkantha, Surendranagar, and Valsad.

"In urban areas, people have already bought phones and are looking at Dual SIM phones now. But the customers in rural and upcountry areas are still first timers. We will be focusing on such a category by offering entry-level mobile handsets," Taneja added.The company has a bouquet of 15 entry and mid level handsets - comprising of feature rich & competitively priced GSM, CDMA, G + C and G+ G models – and it plans to boost its sales volume to improve its current 4-5 per cent market share in Gujarat. During the last 8 financial years, the company turnover has increased from Rs 32 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 593 crore in 2009-10.