At the end of March 2005 Motorola’s C115 was the lowest priced GSM handset in India* and Indonesia, available at non-subsidised prices of USD 57.50 and USD 49.52 respectively. In China*, the Motorola C201, priced at USD 67.15, was the third-lowest priced GSM handset behind Konka’s 5238 (USD 59.53) and Siemens’ Xelibri2 (USD 61.71).

Chart showing lowest priced handsets in China, India and Indonesia, March 2005

In comparison, the Nokia 3315, which has been commercially available for nearly three years, was the lowest priced Nokia handset in China and India during March 2005 at USD 68.18 and USD 67.50 respectively. In Indonesia Nokia’s basic entry-level handset, the 1100, was the lowest priced Nokia handset at USD 67.29 - over 35% more expensive than the Motorola C115. Asian handset manufacturers such as Bird, Haier, Konka, Spice Telecom and TCL are also heavily targeting low-end consumers with their entry-level devices. However, Motorola’s lead in low-cost handsets is set to be further strengthened through the GSMA’s Emerging Market Handset (EMH) programme, which requires Motorola to initially deliver 6 million handsets priced below USD 40 (ex factory) during 2005.

Over 430 million new subscriptions are forecast to be added in China, India and Indonesia over the next five years, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s subscription forecasts. The availability of ultra low-cost handsets is seen as vital to enabling this growth.

*China - based on average selling price across six provinces *India - based on average selling price in Mumbai

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