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Ericsson to make radio base stations in India
By siliconindia staff writer
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Tuesday, 21 September 2004, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: SWEDISH telecom equipment maker Ericsson on Monday said it will manufacture radio base stations (RBS) at its unit in Jaipur. The unit, which currently makes core network equipment, is being upgraded to take on the new task.
Ericsson, which has 34 per cent share in India's telecom equipment market, will be the first multinational company to manufacture radio base stations in the country. "We have a leading position in India based on our unique, complete, global system for mobile communications (GSM)/ code division multiple access (CDMA) portfolio. We will bring in other parts of RBS to India, integrate and test them here and sell them in the Indian market," Ericsson's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Carl-Henric Svanberg, said at a press conference.
Radio base stations are sites that enable mobile phones to work. They have transmitters and receivers in a cabin or cabinet connected to antennas and are essential for mobiles to work. Ericsson is also increasing its workforce in India from 800 to 1000 by January 2005. Base stations constitute about 60 per cent of the capital expenditure of any mobile operator. Currently, all the vendors import the equipment, which increases the cost.
Mr Svanberg said the company will invest more in India and part of this increased investment will go towards this new initiative. The localisation of Ericsson's base stations could give the Swedish company an edge compared to imported products of Nokia and Siemens.