For the first time in the country, a government company is working with a private entrepreneur to assemble smart mobile handsets along with ordinary feature phones. The idea is expected to be implemented by July and is said to have a good potential in the Bangladeshi market.
Indigo Group, a local firm, is working with Telephone Shilpa Sangstha Ltd (TSS), a government firm under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology in Tongi of Gazipur, on the project while a couple of experts from China are also working to make the project successful, a senior executive of Indigo Group said.
“We will be in the market before Eid and we are preparing ourselves for that,” Md Jasimul Haque, the entrepreneur behind the project, told the Dhaka Tribune. He said the products would be launched under the brand name “OK mobile” which is a very well-known brand in the US.
Jasimul also said the project was a joint venture with OK mobile, Indigo Group and TSS.
Telecommunications Ministry sources said the TSS awarded Indigo Group with the project following submission of tender for the fourth time.
In 2010, an Indian firm proposed to TSS that it would assemble and market the renowned “ZEN & TSS” brand mobile phones at competitive price but the deal could not be reached in the end.
When the latest tenders were submitted, TSS found three offers and the one by Indigo was the most attractive, TSS Managing Director Md Husnul Mahmud Khan said.
“We are allowing them to use our 14,923 square feet office space and other infrastructures to implement the project. They will pay Tk6 for each square foot of the space,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
Sources said the contract was signed between TSS and Indigo Group on 27 February this year. According to the contract, Indigo Group will get six months to begin assembling handsets.
Jasimul said they were going to bring at least five types of handsets to the market, with the price range starting from Tk1,200. He said they also had plan for producing cheap 3G handsets to be sold only for Tk3,800.
“Apart from that, quality handsets priced between Tk25,000 and Tk30,000 will be offered. But there will be handsets of other categories ranging from Tk7,000-8,000, Tk14,000-16,000 and Tk22,000-24,000,” he said.
“All the handsets will have dual SIM facility and some will come with 2 megapixel to 12 megapixel cameras,” he added.
Jasimul said they were planning to go for global marketing within two years and initially the aim would be to sell 1 lakh handsets every month.
“We are not thinking about profit before two years and by then, our plan is to have 10% to 12% market share in Bangladesh. We have targets to export handsets in some countries in Africa and Latin American countries as well,” he said.
TSS earlier launched “DOEL”, a laptop brand, in collaboration with TFT, a Malaysian firm, but the project did not enjoy much success.
Jasimul, however, sounded optimistic and said: “Our project is going to be the first of its kind in the country which can have impact on the users shortly.”
Jasimul said they had brought the key technology from China but was unwilling to mention the name, saying it was business secret.