LG to roll out CDMA sets at Pune unit soon

LG Electronics India will start manufacturing CDMA mobile handsets at its Pune facility in the second half of 2006.

"CDMA is all set to start manufacturing CDMA phone from our Pune unit. The manufacturing would begin as soon as the service provider takes a call on model to be manufactured," said H S Bhatia, national product group head, GSM mobile phone.

The Pune factory might manufacture CDMA phone for both Reliance and Tata. Meanwhile, the company was also working on two models having global positioning systems.

"LGEIL is working on two model with GPS facility. It would though depend on government's decision regarding 3G band facility without which it cannot operate," he explained.

LGEIL aims to sell 15 lakh GSM phones in 2006, significantly higher than last year's 4.5 lakh phones, noted Bhatia.

"Our target is to increase our market share in the GSM category from 3.5 per cent in 2005 to about eight per cent in 2006," he added.

Currently, GSM mobile phone has a market share of 75 per cent, Bhatia said.

Meanwhile, LGEIL is looking at turnover of Rs 600 crore from GSM phones, 200 per cent higher that last year's sales of Rs 200 crore, Bhatia added.

Bhatia said "We have started exporting to markets such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and the Middle-East. Currently, the export figure stands at about 7,500 sets per month. This will be increased annual figure of 10 million phones by 2010."

The company would be looking at new markets in Latin American and African market, he said.

Despite its absence in the black and white entry-level models, LGEIL was expecting significant increase its presence in the current year.

"Colour mobile are available at a price as low as Rs 3,500, as compared to black and white phone at Rs 2,500. We are discussing with service providers, if they can bundle additional services to make it cost-indifferent to the customers," he noted.

The company would launch 18 more models this year to consolidate its position further in the GSM handset market.

In the eastern region, the company hopes to strengthen its base and targets a sale of Rs 150 crore from its GSM handsets this year from last year's figure of Rs 60 crore.

The domestic market size of mobile phone was around Rs 8,000 crore, he informed.