What is the investment Ericsson is planning for setting up base station manufacturing?
The investment for the manufacturing unit at Kukas near Jaipur will be in the region of $50 million over a two to three year timeframe. The company is planning to expand its manufacturing level from AXE switches to GSM base transceiver stations (BTS) in the country. With the present capacity, the Kukas factory can rollout around 1,000 GSM BTS per month and the ramping up of the manufacturing capacity will depend upon BTS demand which emanates from India. The company is planning to manufacturing new base stations that are ideal for both urban as well as rural environment.

What is Ericsson India's 3G strategy?
In India, Bharti, Hutch, and the incumbent operators' equipment are compatible with 3G and Super 3G. Initially, 3G will be deployed in congested areas of metros.

We have tested our 3G systems during Supercomm and has done lab tests with operators for making 3G video calls.

It has been more than a year since your Bharti's managed services deal. What's been your experience?
The Bharti experience ihas been quite satisfying. Many operators across the world are interested in this model and there are lots of enquiries. We are also opting for managed services deal even where our equipment is not deployed in the network and we are working with operators in other countries.

Bharti's managed services deal was not an easy project as transferring such large project under our management was difficult. The transition was a great challenge but we have done very well. Overall it has been a very positive experience.

What kind of growth do you see in the Indian mobile market?
We are looking at 100 million by 2006, of which GSM will contribute around 70–75 percent whereas CDMA will attribute around 25–30 percent. But the GSM versus CDMA ratio is very much dependent on service providers' marketing plans and how they take off.

What are your plans for the CDMA service providers?
In terms of revenue, CDMA contributes around 15–20 percent whereas GSM contributes around 85–80 percent. In terms of subscriber base, we have a market share of around 44 percent in GSM and around 10 percent in CDMA. We have deployed infrastructure for two big operators in the country.

When do we see India occupying a top 10 slot for Ericsson in terms of revenue?
Last year, in terms of order bookings, we were number seven but we have to execute order bookings to be in top 10 and that will come when everything is executed. Orders do not drive sales but the important thing is we have to drive orders, and sales will automatically come.

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