Nokia to bring 4G, 3G mobile phones at lower prices

Nokia, once a global leader in mobile phone market, has been relegated to third position in India due to growing popularity of Android based smartphones and increased competition from Korean giant Samsung and domestic mobile vendors.

Erstwhile market leader Nokia has indicated it might enter into a price war for 4G and 3G mobile phones as it struggles to regain the top position which it lost in 2012 to South Korea’s Samsung, presently the largest selling brand in India. “We want to continue to push price points lower and lower than anything we have today.

That’s the statement for both 3G and LTE (4G) because that is the thing which gives us scale of the ecosystem,” Microsoft’s Mobile Device Sales, Corporate Vice-President Chris Weber told PTI in an interview.

Microsoft has acquired Nokia's mobile phone business. Nokia, once a global leader in mobile phone market, has been relegated to third position in India due to growing popularity of Android based smartphones and increased competition from Korean giant Samsung and domestic mobile vendors. 

Nokia's cheapest 4G phone Lumia 635 is priced at around Rs 11,300 before taxes but it is not available in India.

"We are also trying to push price point even lower on LTE devices like 635 to take advantage of that (Indian telecom operators plan to launch 4G services) opportunity.

The goal is to make sure that we have a full portfolio that plays into that opportunity," Weber said.

The company has plans to launch its latest 4G enabled phone Lumia 830 priced at around Rs 26,000 before taxes by October, as per sources. 

Reliance Jio Infocomm holds pan India broadband wireless spectrum, which can be used for 4G services.

The company has announced its plan to launch the latest telecom service in 2015. Other holders of this spectrum include Tikona Digital and Augere, who are yet to start their services.

Aircel has announced launch of its 4G service in 6 service areas against eight circles where it holds BWA spectrum.

Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea have plans to provide 4G services in the 1800 Mhz band, which has been used so far for providing 2G services. Weber said that Microsoft Devices has been discussing with Indian telecom operators for partnership.