HFCL To Manufacture CDMA Products

New Delhi based Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL) has secured license from QUALCOMM Inc. to develop, manufacture and sell CDMA2000 terminal devices including handsets, fixed wireless phones and modules.

The agreement makes HFCL the first Indian QUALCOMM licensee, and will be awarded standard worldwide royalty rates. A QUALCOMM license is compulsory for developing CDMA products.

"Having supplied CDMA handsets to Reliance, fixed wireless phones and infrastructure to BSNL, and infrastructure to MTNL, we already know the CDMA market and so wanted to manufacture our own products," said S K. Garg, Business Development Manager, HFCL.

The HFCL manufactured and branded products are expected to go into pilot production by January and commercial production by April. Development - also in advanced stages - is happening in New Delhi in collaboration with consultancy houses, while the production will happen at HFCL plants at Solan near Chandigarh and Chennai, besides being partially outsourced.

Commenting on price competencies, Garg informed that QUALCOMM had a migration program for low cost single chipset solutions, which could drive prices down in the coming quarter. Besides, reduction in various duties, lower cost of production and after sales support would also help drive costs down.

He added that the company expects to manufacture approximately 4 million units, resulting in a turnover of 500 to 600 crores in the coming year.