Kyocera Wireless Sets up India Subsidiary

Encouraged by the growing adoption of CDMA wireless services in the country, Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless phones, has established its India subsidiary. Kyocera Wireless India (KWI) would be headquartered in Bangalore. The company will have its engineering and production resources in the country. KWI is currently operating as a team of 50 engineers headed by managing director Samartha Nagabhushanam. Nagabhushanam intends to grow the staff quickly by combining engineering, research and development, and sales and marketing departments, thereby enabling the group to complement Kyocera's existing wireless business hubs in North America and Japan. 

"The creation of Kyocera Wireless India is important because it gives Kyocera a regional wireless presence in mainland Asia, placing us strategically among several of the fastest growing wireless markets in the world," said Tsuyoshi Mano, president of Kyocera Wireless Corp. "India offers an excellent business climate and Samartha has assembled a motivated team with great expertise. KWI will help us to strengthen Kyocera as a global brand of choice in the wireless industry," he added. 

Kyocera Wireless' has also entered into a collaboration agreement with presence in India has been strengthened by its relationship with Indian shipping and assembly partner XL Telecom Ltd. With headquarters in Secunderabad, XL Telecom Ltd. has worked with global companies including Siemens and Corning, and has been manufacturing and supplying telecom products to BSNL and MTNL for the past 20 years. The current collaboration with Kyocera Wireless includes complete product approval and quality validation, technical support for Indian carriers, customer management, and exclusive operation of the company's authorized India service center network. 

Kyocera Wireless Corp. already has relationships with private carrier Tata Teleservices, as well as government carriers BSNL and MTNL. Kyocera recently won a tender from BSNL to provide 65,000 Kyocera 1135 handsets and 15,000 Kyocera 2235 handsets for use throughout India across various BSNL networks. MTNL awarded Kyocera a tender to provide 75,000 Kyocera 2235 handsets for use in the Delhi and Mumbai regions. "In order to become one of the leading handset manufacturers in India, it is crucial to have a dedicated team that is in the same time zone as the carriers and one that truly understands the Indian CDMA market needs," said Nagabhushanam. "Our immediate focus is to enlist the right talent, work closely with Kyocera Wireless Corp. to build on its existing engineering strengths, and maximize all opportunities within this rapidly growing market." 

Kyocera Wireless Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International Inc., which acquired Qualcomm's CDMA consumer wireless phone business in February 2000. Kyocera Wireless Corp. is a supplier of CDMA handsets and accessories for customers worldwide and is based in San Diego.