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Archana Venkat

Plans to double distributor network

Chennai May 22

Reliance Communications will commence a market study that will help the company decide whether or not to set up a mobile handset manufacturing unit in the country. Currently, all Reliance handsets are assembled in China and imported into India.

Speaking to Business Line on the sidelines of a Reliance scheme launch, Mr S.P. Shukla, President, Personal Business — Reliance Communications, said, "We are only three months old in handset business. In that sense we are still studying the market." But the company would not rule out any possibilities regarding a manufacturing unit in India, he said.

The company recently unveiled a range of monochrome and colour CDMA handsets priced from Rs 777 and Rs 1,222 upwards respectively — possibly the cheapest phones in this category in the world. These phones, currently imported, would become cheaper if manufactured out of India.

According to industry sources, a competitor is likely to launch a phone priced lower than the existing Reliance models. When asked to comment on this, Mr Shukla said, he would welcome the competition but did not say whether Reliance would launch cheaper priced models to counter the competition.

Fixed lines

Reliance's rural business (fixed landline and fixed wireless phone) seems to be growing as the company plans to double its distributor network to about 4,000 this fiscal. "There is always a market for fixed line phones and people use it to access broadband these days," said Mr Shukla, without sharing the estimated growth figures. The company plans to add about 10 lakh subscribers this year, he said, but did not disclose the current subscriber base.

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More Stories on : Telecommunications | Outlook | Marketing Research | Reliance Communications Ltd

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