UTStarcom to launch mobile handsets

UTStarcom, the US-based telecom network infrastructure supplier, is set to enter the domestic mobile handset market.

While the company would initially make its foray with code division multiple access (CDMA) handsets, it is also keeping its options open with regard to global system for mobile (GSM) handsets.

"We are in talks with Relaince Infocomm and Tata Indicom for the CDMA handsets. These are likely to be available in the market in about three months," Ruchir Godura, country manager and director, South Asia Operations, UTStarcom, said.

On the pricing front, Godura said it was for telecom operators to decide. "Unlike the GSM segment where one buys a mobile off the shelf, here the operators offer handsets at a subsidised cost. The operators, therefore, price the handsets to suit their requirements," he said, adding that UTStarcom's handsets would be "extremely cost effective".

According to him, even as the focus would remain on entry level handsets such as C1000, C1100 and C1222, the company would also offer a few high-end models.

"At a later stage, perhaps early next year, we would be bringing in more high-end models into India as we see huge potential in this sector," he added.

Though its entry into the retail market is a couple of months away, UTStarcom has already put its phones on display.

The company is showcasing about 12 CDMA models and a couple of GSM handsets at the ongoing Convergence India, 2005, at Delhi.

UTStarcom began its India operations in 2001.