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According to reports, US-based Qualcomm has signed a commercial CDMA2000 subscriber unit and modem card license agreement with Delhi-based private sector company, Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL).
Under the terms of the global, royalty-bearing agreement, Qualcomm will grant its first license to HFCL to develop, manufacture, and sell CDMA2000 subscriber units and modem card products in India.
And, with HFCL starting manufacturing in the country, the handset prices are expected to nose-dive.
Explaining the deal, Marvin Blecker, president, Qualcomm Technology Licensing, said, “This agreement will now allow HFCL to participate in the rapidly growing 3G CDMA market and enable them to join other manufacturers in providing Indian operators with affordable, yet feature-rich and innovative wireless products.”
According to Mahendra Nahata, chairman, HFCL Group, “There are currently more than 36 million CDMA subscribers in India, and the Indian wireless market has grown ten-fold in less than five years.
As the Indian market continues to grow, we believe there will be an increasing demand for more advanced, affordable CDMA2000 wireless devices, and this license agreement from Qualcomm will be a key factor in enabling us to meet this demand. It will also be an important milestone for HFCL to establish a leadership position with CDMA wireless devices in India, as we believe the production of these devices will open-up a significant addressable market opportunity for our company.”
HFCL expects to go into production in December, while full-fledged activity will likely start by April 2007 at the company plant in Solan and its subsidiary HTL unit in Chennai. The company hopes to manufacture around 4 million CDMA mobile and FWP sets, their total worth amounting to around Rs 600 to 800 crores.
