DataWind to launch Rs 3000 affordable 4G smartphone by mid-2016

Canada-based low-cost tablet and smartphone maker DataWind is considering a foray into the affordable 4G device segment by mid-2016 and plans to start two new manufacturing facilities with an initial investment of Rs 200 crore in the country. “We may work on a sub Rs 3,000-priced 4G-enabled smartphone next as the 4G market matures in India,” DataWind chief executive Suneet Singh Tuli told ET, adding that the company is closely watching the telcos’ 4G moves.

Indian telcos are banking heavily on surging data consumption to fuel growth. Besides expanding its 3G services, Bharti Airtel, the country’s top telecom operator, has launched 4G services, while No. 2 Vodafone India and No. 3 Idea Cellular will start their high-speed Internet services later this year or in early 2016. Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm plans to start its 4G services around December.

DataWind shot to fame with an ultra-low-cost Aakash tablet PC debut in 2012 for a government-backed initiative aimed at increasing PC penetration among school children in India. The company’s market share in India is close to 50% in the sub-Rs 5,000 tablet category, Tuli said, citing various industry findings. US-based research firm IDC puts DataWind at the third spot, closely behind leader iBall and Samsung, with a share of 13.5% in the overall tablet market in the second quarter of 2015.

DataWind is also teaming up with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications to launch the world’s most affordable smartphonepriced at Rs 999by the end of this year.

Tuli said Datawind may talk to both Airtel and Jio for affordably-priced smartphones for device bundling but feels that it may take at least a year for India’s LTE market to grow. He added that mid-2016 would be the right time for the company to introduce 4G-enabled smartphones in the country.

Datawind is investing Rs 200 crore to put up two new manufacturing facilities in India by early 2016 and each unit will have a production capacity of 5,000 units a day. It currently manufactures primarily touch panels at its plant in Amritsar, Punjab. In 2014, the company had raised funds from an initial public offering (IPO) at Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

“We have recently raised Rs 180 crore from the Toronto Stock Exchange and have additional lines of credit and, therefore, we are well poised to start manufacturing in the next six months,” Tuli said.