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September 27, 2005
Motorola sets new standard for low cost phones for developing countries
On Tuesday (Sept. 27), Motorola Inc. rolled out several cell phone models based on its C11x platform that bring the wholesale cost of handsets below $30.
Motorola introduced the new models at the 3GSM World Congress in Singapore when the GSM Association revealed the company had again won the tender to supply handsets to operators in emerging countries. The phones are targeted for markets as diverse as India, South Africa, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, and Yemen.
Although other handset makers made bids, such as China’s TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones Ltd., the GSM Association decided Motorola’s low-cost platform best fit the needs of difficult to reach emerging market users. Conway said important factors were after-sales support, local service, brand presence and a choice of low-cost handset models, including an exclusive product, the C113a.
Motorola submitted two handsets in its proposal - the C113 and the C113a, which was specifically designed for the Emerging Market Handset program. The C113a offers talk times of up to 450 minutes and up to 330 hours of standby, reducing the need for frequent recharging. The handsets will be available early in 2006.
The 10 operators supporting the second phase of the GSMA’s Emerging Market Handset program again expect to order about 6 million of these low-cost handsets from Motorola. The GSMA project, which is chaired by Erik Aas, the Chief Executive of GrameenPhone Ltd. of Bangladesh, is supported by some of the leading operators in emerging markets – AIS, Bharti, BPL, Globe Telecom, Hutchison Essar, IDEA Cellular, MTN Group, Orascom Telecom, Telenor and Vodacom.
Posted by admin at September 27, 2005 01:30 PM