Motorola plans to set up manufacturing base

The company may invest about $100 million over the next three years.

Telecom equipment major Motorola on Thursday said it will consider a manufacturing facility in India if it was a pre-condition in tenders floated by public sector companies such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

"We are evaluating the M-option (setting up a manufacturing facility) and would do everything to comply with the tender conditions of the PSU telecom carriers," Edward Zander, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola, told reporters.

According to a proposed government policy, vendors would need to have local manufacturing facilities to be able to bid for tenders of telecom PSUs. BSNL alone is close to finalising a Rs 13,000 crore tender for its 40 million GSM mobile project.

Zander said the company was planning to invest about $ 100 million over next three years on expanding its presence in India. The company is also in talks with telecom operators to manage their networks. Last week, Motorola signed a deal with Hutch for managing its network in Thailand.

Zander said Motorola will focus on gaining market share in the country and was going to focus on the distribution network in the GSM segment.

The company is in talks with the Cellular Operators Association of India for launching handsets that were priced at the lower-end. The sales team has also been revamped to take on Nokia, the leader in the Indian market with nearly 60 per cent share.

Motorola has also lined up a series of handset launches, covering the broad spectrum. While it had already launched one model priced under Rs 2,000 in April, another such model could be expected by October.

Zander said chipmakers also have to play a crucial role in helping in the reduction of cost. Motorola is also looking to expand the use of its technology in other fields including defence and transportation. Zander was upbeat about further developing the research and development expertise in the country. Motorola plans to increase its staff in India by about 1,000 by the end of next year from the current 3,000, he said.

Commenting on Motorola's policy for seamless mobility, he said the company was ready with technology but was waiting for a policy decision on spectrum allocation.