Spreadtrum Plans To Use AI And IoT To Capture India's 5G Market

Chinese mobile chip maker, Spreadtrum, is betting big on the India market. It has a strategy in place to gain a major share in the affordable smartphone segment, which is growing at a fast pace. The company is also set to enter the highend mobile domain. In a conversation with Shruti Mishra and Abid Hasan of Electronics Bazaar magazine, Spreadtrum India’s country head, Neeraj Sharma, talks of the company’s plans, its upcoming offerings, and how the success of Reliance Jio 4G feature phones can boost Spreadtrum’s revenue.

- Shruti Mishra & Abid Hasan

Recently, Shanghai-based semiconductor company Spreadtrum bagged the mandate to develop 4G-enabled feature phones for Reliance Jio in India. The phones are already in huge demand in the market. Country head of Spreadtrum India, Neeraj Sharma, confirms the news saying, “Jio phones have received wide coverage in the media because of Reliance and not because of Spreadtrum. We are just a technology partner.”

Sharma agrees that Qualcomm is the leader in the market for mobilechips. However, by the time 5G comes in, Spread trum aims to bridge the technology gap. In order to tap the high-end mobile segment, Sharma’s strategy is to offer good products and the latest technology. “We have always offered something more than what others do. That has been our strategy from the very beginning, and we will continue to do this,” he says.

When asked to define ‘good products’ and how they differ from the competition, Sharma says that the company focuses on delivering high-quality tech products at affordable prices.

The Indian smartphones arena

India has remained a battleground for all the chipset companies because of its continuing demand for mobile phones. Spreadtrum entered India as it sensed immense potential in the market. Sharma feels that India still has to see greater adoption of smartphones. “If I talk about the overall penetration of smartphones, it’s 20-23 per cent. Even now, 77 per cent of Indian consumers are using feature phones,” he says.

For Spreadtrum, India is its No. 1 overseas market, and contributes

30 per cent of the company’s global revenues. When asked about the ratio of Spreadtrum’s chips in smartphones and feature phones, Sharma confirms that 25 per cent of its chip output is for smartphones and 40 per cent for feature phones.