Industry
Global handset makers such as Apple will soon be able launch their latest smartphones in India in sync with their global launch, thanks to a government move to speed up approvals to import prototype test phones to run pre-launch field trials in the country. Currently, telecom department’s wireless planning cell (WPC) often takes several months to issue permits for the import of prototype mobile devices to conduct pre-launch field trials on Indian phone networks. Now, the government plans to fully automate the operations of WPC, a person with direct knowledge of the development. A top-level department of telecom (DoT) meeting on Monday will explore ways to introduce online processing of applications to pave the way for faster WPC clearances, be it for importing mobile test phones or network gear. Senior executives representing top global handset makers as well as big mobile service providers will participate in the meeting to be chaired by DoT member (technology) Prabash Singh, the person said. If approved, such an exercise would particularly help global smartphone makers such as Apple and Huawei, which import completely-built units of a sizeable chunk of their top-end models, launch their latest models in the country early and check grey market sales. China’s Huawei said steps like the possible speeding up WPC clearances for importing test phones would enable the company to provide better customer experience at par with the rest of the world. “Huawei has been committed to narrow the gap between its global (smartphone) launches, and a testimony to this is our recent launches of the P20 and Nova 3 series in India,” a company spokesman said in a written response to ET’s queries. Apple did not respond to ET’s requests for comment as of press time Sunday. “Timely availability of prototype test phones is absolutely critical for conducting pre-launch field trials to check if a new 4G smartphone will run smoothly on Indian telecom networks before it is launched commercially,” Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman at India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA). He said delayed WPC approvals hold up pre-launch testing of latest smartphones that are not made in India, which leads to delay in their commercial availability in the country. “Worse, if these new smartphones have got launched in other major international markets such as the US or Europe and are not officially available in India, they could potentially enter the country through the grey market route and deprive the government of precious revenue by way of import duties and GST,” said Mohindroo. A handset industry executive, who did not wish to be named, said untested mobile devices entering through the grey market route could cause network turbulence, spoiling