In pursuit of India’s wireless market
TEXT OF STORY
MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Motorola Global CEO Ed Zander has been in India this week trying to do some damage control. The cell phone maker recently lost a multi-billion dollar bid for wireless phone equipment. Miranda Kennedy reports from New Delhi.
MIRANDA KENNEDY: Motorola had been competing with leading rivals Nokia, Ericsson and Siemens along with a host of Chinese equipment vendors.
Up for grabs was more than $5 billion to provide India’s state-run phone company, BSNL, wireless phone lines.
When Motorola was unsuccessful with what it claims was the lowest bid, it took the matter to court. Today, the court put the contract on hold.
The deal would have given Motorola the kind of presence it craves, according to Prashant Singhal of Ernst and Young.
PRASHANT SINGHAL:“If you look at the last 5 or 8 deals which have happened in India, Motorola really has not featured in any of them. Everybody whether its Motorola, whether its Nokia, they are all here, they want to set up their facilities here and they want to make more and more investments in India”.
On Monday, the company opened its sixth research facility in the country.
In New Delhi, I’m Miranda Kennedy for Marketplace.
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