By John Ribeiro, IDG News    Jun 25, 2007 8:30 pm

India’s mobile handset production is growing fast, fueled by rapid growth in the number of

mobile subscribers in the country.

India produced nearly 31 million mobile phones last year, at a value of about US$5 billion

[b], according to a report by Gartner Inc. The research firm expects production volumes to

reach nearly 95 million [m], and to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25

percent between 2006 and 2011.

Growth in handset production in India this year, at 68 percent by units and 65 percent by

value, is forecast to be the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, Gartner said.

Mobile phone manufacturing was the largest contributor to the country's overall electronics

production revenue last year, and to the total available market (TAM) for semiconductors,

Gartner said.

India’s mobile market is booming. The country added 6.57 million mobile subscribers in May

this year, taking the total number of subscribers to 178 million, according to the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in Delhi. The country added 6.11 million new mobile

subscribers in April.

A number of multinational handset makers, including Nokia Corp., have set up

manufacturing facilities in India. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications A.B. is outsourcing

mobile phone manufacturing to the operations in Chennai of Flextronics Corp. and Hon Hai

Precision Industry Co. Ltd, which uses the brand name Foxconn.

The decision by these vendors to make phones locally was also influenced by the decision

of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), a large government-owned services provider, to

insist on local manufacture by its suppliers.

While the top five handset makers worldwide will retain a major share of production volume,

local manufacturers are expected to capture up to a fifth of India's overall mobile phone

production volume by the end of 2011, Gartner said. Growing demand for low-cost and

ultra-low-cost mobile phones, and the need for EMS (electronics manufacturing services)

vendors to reduce their revenue exposure to large multinational vendors, will contribute to

the growth of local-brand mobile phones in the Indian market, it added.

Reliance Communications Ltd., a large Indian services provider, already offers its own

brand mobile phones, called the Classic range. The products are currently being

customized and made by contract manufacturers outside India, a company spokesman said

Monday. A low-cost model launched by Reliance at about US$19 in May sold one million

units in the first week, he added. The spokesman did not however comment on whether

Reliance had plans to move manufacturing to India.

By Anil Satapathy, The Mobile Indian, Mumbai, November 01, 2011 Category: Mobile  

Mobile phone users are inclined towards social networking, listening to music, playing games, reading news, surfing the net, chatting with friends and family, and even checking their bank balance on their handsets.

Gone are the days when Indian users opted for Nokia mobile phones for its durability. According to a

recent survey, many Indians today change their device in less than two years so that they can use

new applications.

The survey was conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India

(ASSOCHAM) which quizzed 1,370 respondents in the age group of 20 to 30 years. Nearly 39 per

cent of them said they switch to a new phone in less than two years for new applications.

The findings suggest that friends are the single most important source of information while

purchasing a handset. Thirty nine per cent of the respondents said they were influenced by brand

name the first time they bought a handset, 17 per cent were influenced by price, and 10 per cent

were influenced by the availability of the latest model. But for the second purchase, quality ranked

on top for 15 per cent of the respondents.

The survey also said applications, Bluetooth, GPRS, built-in camera, FM radio, MP3 player, video

recording and speaker phone are key factors influencing purchase among young mobile phone

users who are inclined towards social networking, music, games, news, surfing the net, chatting with

friends and family, and even checking their bank balance on their handsets.

Notably, India now ranks as the second fastest growing telecom market in the world after China with

59.1 crore users in urban areas and 30.1 crore in rural. Among manufacturers, Nokia remains a

leader with 39 per cent market share followed by Samsung with 17.2 per cent and Micromax 6.9 per

cent — the rest being split among Blackberry, LG, G Five, Karbonn, Spice, Maxx, Sony Ericsson and

others.

Tele-density in urban areas is 65.91 per cent and in rural areas it is 34.09 per cent. The next phase

of growth will come from rural markets, said ASSOCHAM, adding that the introduction of

dual SIM technology has been a game-changer for the handset market.

Tags: MOBILE PHONE, MULTI TASKING

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