LG launches CDMA handsets; earmarks Rs 24 crore for marketing

The company is looking to grab the numero uno slot in CDMA handsets in India

LG Mobile Handset Company (LGMHC) yesterday unveiled its CDMA handsets at a press conference in Delhi. To begin with, the company is launching three models on the 3G 1x platform in India - DM 160, RD 2030 and RD 7130. The DM 160 model is the basic tier model while the RD 2030 is a slim bar-type handset with a wide screen and a blue LCD backlighting with 16-poly sound. The RD 7130 is the most advanced of all the three and offers features such as ‘electro luminescence, 65,000 colour LCD 12-line display with 40-poly sound.

The company is looking to grab the numero uno slot in CDMA in India. To this end, LGMHC has earmarked a marketing budget of Rs 24 crore. Of that, around Rs 15-20 crore will be spent on advertising, which is being handled Capital Advertising. The company has planned intensive mainline and below-the-line activities to build and promote the LG CDMA brand in India. The multi-media-campaign will break in some weeks' time and will target, in the words of Kushwaha, "the premium audience in India and promote the handsets as a fashion lifestyle accessory."

LGMHC has signed a Rs 480-crore contract with Reliance Infocomm to supply CDMA handsets in India. These handsets would sport the brand name Reliance. Whether this co-branding initiative is for a specific period of time is not known. This year (2002) LG has provided handsets to MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd), BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) and Tata and will continue to do so. So far the company has sold 6 lakh terminals on 2G platform to MTNL, BSNL and Tata.

The company is very excited about the business prospect of CDMA in India. "India is a key market for LG CDMA as the market is poised for a real boom in WLL mobility," says a prepared message from LG Electronics Korea . To that, KK Kushwaha, vice-president, LG CDMA Terminal, adds, "The CDMA subscribers base is likely to grow to 5-6 million by 2003; so there is indeed a good market for CDMA in India." © 2002 agencyfaqs!