planned 5G The rollout could be an opportunity for smartphone maker Lava which is preparing itself for this next technological leap. Early next year, Lava will launch the top affordable 5G-enabled handsets 10,000 for mass adoption and so will the price of its 4G smartphone below 10k range. This was told to us by Sunil Raina, President and Business Head, Lava International in an exclusive interview. Lava is probably the only surviving and thriving Indian brand in the mobile domain today.
Lava is planning to launch three to five 5G-enabled smartphones by the end of FY 2022-23. lava currently uses mediatek chipset only but said it will explore possibilities with the US-based chipset maker Qualcomm As well as for its future devices.
Lava launched its first 5G smartphone last year, named Agni 5G, Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset, the Agni 5G offered an alternative to Indian users in the Indian smartphone market dominated by Chinese players.
Lava is one of the contenders for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) in the smartphone industry, in which the government will provide benefits to smartphone makers to reach a certain level of revenue or production level or both. “We are in the middle of the process, can’t give specific numbers,” Raina said.
On design-led manufacturing, Lava said it would be one of the few companies in the country to have its phones market-ready. “We are in line to make our phones more relevant to Indian networks.”
Raina believes that the 5G rollout may lead to an increase in the prices of equipment and services, but it will eventually come down with more devices coming from every corner. The difference is going to narrow eventually.
Lava is also a major player in the feature phone segment and around 60 million people are still using its feature phones. To cater to that segment of feature phone users, Lava is working on 4G enabled feature phones and ultra-low end smartphones.
It has deep penetration in rural areas with wide network of outlets.
On the competition in the market, he said, “Earlier one of the problems was the lack of capacity to make phones in the country. Ever since we have taken over the design and manufacturing, we have seen a huge change in the quality of our phones.”
It is also seriously working on the wearables and wearables segment. “Our major focus will be on the line of accessories,” said Mr. Raina. Lava also exports its smartphones and feature phones to other countries.
on union Budget 2022 “There is a need to strengthen the component ecosystem and encourage design manufacturing in India,” he said.
As smartphones also target the EV space, Lava doesn’t intend to venture into it just yet. “There are no recent plans to enter the EV sector. The focus for us is the definition of excellence, and that is why we have the maximum number of assets on the land,” concluded Raina.
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