Samartha Nagabhushanam, managing director, Kyocera Wireless India feels that "eventually we will have to shift to 3G." He also says, "Kyocera is of the view that GSM and CDMA are going to converge into WCDMA; and we have an expertise in that area."

Excerpts from an interview:

Tell us about Kyocera's presence in India.
Kyocera had been present in India even before the firm's handset division was launched. We had introduced Yashica here a long time ago, which was a household name. In terms of CDMA, handset division was bought in 2000, so after getting settled in the market, we started operations in the Indian market in 2003.

What kind of relation do you have with Reliance, Tata, MTNL, and BSNL for products?
We are selling a range of mobile phones for Tata, that's a closed market. In the open market, we have launched six mobiles with Reliance ranging from low-end to high-end category. Prior to this, we had already sold about 2 mn phones in Indian market since 2003. With MTNL and BSNL, we have sold around four models.

What are your plans for the GSM handset market?
Kyocera is of the view that GSM and CDMA are going to converge into WCDMA; and we have an expertise in that area. We don't see the need of venturing into GSM market. Since we are already in CDMA, our phones will fulfill the WCDMA requirement. We have ranked in the top five mobile phones companies so we have a huge potential in CDMA market. There are going to be so many applications available on CDMA network, hence it is not likely to face competition from GSM.

How do you see the future of 3G in India?
Sooner or later, we will have to shift to the 3G networks. Somewhere the need of revenues for the operators will drive towards 3G and they will be going for data video and voice package. India is a key market for every product. Wireless segment penetration scope is very high. We are consolidating engineering, services, and sales departments. We have hired people for tackling open markets and we are aggressively following our branding and marketing strategy. We want to be among the top three CDMA handset manufacturers in India.

Which segment of Indian mobile phone users is your main target? How receptive has been Indian market for your products?
Our phones are useful for all the segment of mobile users. They are easy to use and cover a variety of features. We have not only high-end, but also a range of low-end phones. In the international market, we even have developed phones for senior citizens. So we have a combination of phones for a particular group and for the wide range of consumers. India has 30% market class A and B cities and 70% in rural market. The penetration of mobile phones in Indian market is beating expectations and we hope to ride that wave.

Sonia Sharma