Tata Indicom launches phone with dual technology

Tata Teleservices is hoping to kill two birds with one stone, or rather, one phone.

This CDMA wireless services company, in collaboration with Samsung, has introduced the first dual SIM card wireless phone in India that will work with CDMA as well as the rival GSM technology.

There are two kinds of customers that the company hopes to win over with this phone. One is the customer who is using the rival GSM technology who is reluctant to part with his old telephone number.

“By allowing him to retain his GSM number, we will be handholding his churn to CDMA which he might otherwise be unwilling to sample,” said Mr Vinayak Deshpande, President, Enterprise and High Network Individuals – Business Unit at TTML. “The customer can sample the advantages of CDMA such as superior data services and eventually choose which service he wants, or even keep both.”

The other is the CDMA customer who wants some of the unique advantages of GSM, the chief of them being seamless international roaming. This has been one reason why CDMA players have not been able to access the high networth individual who frequently travels abroad and wants to roam using his or her own domestic mobile number.

While the handset can operate on any SIM card from any GSM provider, it is locked to TTSL’s network as far as CDMA services go, ensuring that the phone will not be used with any other CDMA service.

The ‘Samsung Duo’ is priced at Rs 11,999 and has some attractive technological features such as bluetooth facility, handwriting recognition, a touch screen and so on, and would have some appeal for the technology addicts too, said an official with TTSL.

It is targeted at the mid-to-premium segment of the market. “We think the enterprises, the small-office-home-office, and the professional segment will find this phone appealing,” said Mr Deshpande.

There is no data currently available on how many subscribers in India have both CDMA and GSM connections, who would be carrying at least two handsets and would be potential customers for the Samsung Duo. “We think around 8-12 per cent of Indian subscribers have two connections,” said Mr Deshpande.