New Delhi, Sept. 18: State-owned telephony major Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is preparing to break a major price barrier by coming out with a bundled telecom offer – handset with a cellular connection – at less than Rs 1,000 (approx USD 22)

BSNL’s sub-1000 offer could ignite a war in a new battle zone: the rural heartland.

“Nokia and Motorola are among the list of companies who are willing to offer handsets priced below Rs 1,000 a piece,” said a senior official at BSNL.

Confirming the development, Lloyd Mathias, director (marketing) at Motorola India Pvt Ltd, said, “We are part of the panel in discussion with BSNL to offer low-cost handsets. But the exact cost of the handset, the features included and the consumer offer has yet to be decided.”

But there is a caveat: Mathias said the cost of technology doesn’t make it possible to make a sub-Rs 1,000 handset. “If such an offer is made, the subsidy given on the handset will have to be borne by the service provider,” he added.

Analysts said semi-conductor companies like Germany-based Infineon and Netherlands-based Philips Semiconductors have created single chip technologies that can help mobile manufaturers produce basic handsets with voice and simple messaging capability for Rs 1,000 or less.

“The technology is in place. It is only a matter of working out a favourable cost structure to enable the successful creation of a sub-Rs 1,000 handset,” said Sudipto Basu, an independent telecom analyst.

At present, the cheapest bundled option is provided by Hutch, which offers a connection with a Motorola C115 handset at Rs 1,399.

Idea’s bundled offer includes a new connection with free talktime for one year, one-year validity and a handset with basic SMS and voice telephony services – all at a low cost of Rs 1,465; Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices offer bundled schemes in a similar range of Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,700.

“BSNL’s sub Rs 1,000 bundled scheme would be a market clincher in this highly competitive, cost conscious mobile segment,” said Basu.

BSNL is all set to provide this low-cost offer to its customers as soon as “formalities with handset manufaturers are complete”.

“We are evaluating all the options given by handset manufacturers for sub-Rs 1,000 handsets, and would finalise a suitable offer for our customers soon,” said BSNL officials.

According to the Cellular Operators Association of India, India is the fastest-growing cellular market in the world, adding a net 5.9 million cellular subscribers in August.

“There’s a great demand for mobile phones in all sections of society, especially in the largely untapped rural market. Hence, service providers and handset manufacturers are offering low-cost handsets to penetrate the cost- conscious rural telephony arena,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of Indian Cellular Association.

Source- http://www.telegraphindia.com

Technorati : BSNL, India, Mobile
Ice Rocket : BSNL, India, Mobile