On key driving factors

Telecom operators are now getting into rural as well as semi-urban areas. This is resulting in a significant increase in the number of sites, and consequently the demand for the products we sell. More coverage and more number of subscribers translate into more sites and eventually higher sales of RF products.

On APAC market contribution to total market

Our sales revenue in 2007 (FY ended September 30, 2007) was USD 2.195 billion. APAC contributed 19 percent of total sales, of USD 427 million in 2007.

On new and emerging technological trends

The trends are expanding and extending coverage into rural areas, falling ARPUs for both existing and new subscribers, hence the need for operators to control and lower their capital overlay and operating costs, and site sharing. With the rapid economic development in the region, consumer demand in India will continue to boom. The implementation of networks, particularly WiMax, will be an important segment of the market. We will also see UMTS services being overlaid in traditional 2G frequency bands. These will be consolidated into existing 2G networks through customized filtering and combining solutions for co-siting multiple technologies. Other trends will be greenfield operators with legacy broadband networks and Internet companies going into wireless and WiMax, as well as offering broadband services. ARPUs will continue to fall in developing markets, with new users continuing to have low-dollar usage driving the availability of more cost effective solutions. We will also see unique site-sharing and concealment solutions as India's urban areas put more and more focus on aesthetics. In addition, there will be increased consumer interest in roaming wireless broadband capabilities as opposed to fixed-line home use. This would drive increased demand for wireless infrastructure that meets the high-speed requirements of today's tech-savvy and information-hungry consumers. Our products and solutions for rural coverage include optical distribution systems and filtering distribution systems, repeater products and amplifer products to boost power and increase coverage.

On growth prospects

Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL are expanding footprint especially in rural areas. Then, there are new GSM players like Tata Teleservices, Reliance, and Unitech who are setting up new sites. This would result in more sites being built to support the 2G expansion and adding more upon release of 3G spectrum and implementation of new networks like Wimax.

On effect of rising copper prices

Andrew Wireless Solutions offers a full family of Extremeflex Aluminum cable. The smoothwall, water-resistant, triple-bonded design, and 10-year warranty give contractors and carriers confidence that little to no maintenance will be required in their installations.

The aluminum solution offers many cost saving advantages that include lower maintenance costs, reliable performance, more secure connections, and greater conductivity. It all adds up to a more reliable, more profitable network with significantly reduced life cycle cost.

On opportunities and challenges

There is a significant opportunity in the market with a good 20-30 percent growth on y-o-y basis in the number of sites. The approval of 3G technology will give us another opportunity since we have a number of products for the 3G bandwagon. In terms of challenges, it has essentially to do with the increased competition, which is good for the industry.

On your major customers or contracts

All major OEMs and operators in the country are our clients. We sell direct to Vodafone and Idea, just to name a few, and others through major OEMs like Nokia Siemens, and Ericsson. It depends on the operator whether he chooses to buy the product directly or through the OEMs. Basically we have relationship with all the operators in the country and sell to them either directly or through OEMs. It would approximately be 50:50 when we talk in terms of direct sales to operators and through OEMs.

Anything else you would like to add

We are the first to set up a cable and antenna manufacturing plant in India. Our 19,400 sqm facility in Goa currently manufactures antennas, cables, connectors, terrestrial microwave antennas and jumpers. We will continue to enhance our capacity and make investments to meet the booming local demand.

India is a key market for us and as a market leader, we plan to continue to not only maintain, but to also grow our market share in the coming years. While we have made significant investments in terms of manufacturing facilities here, our ultimate goal is localization, and we have been developing independent go-to-market sales and distribution strategy.

Apart from being a one-stop solution, we provide lot of unique advantages to our customers in terms of site-kitting, logistics, overall cost, and lead time. Also, our constant endeavor has been to introduce newer products into the Indian market. Some of the key products that we have already introduced or are in the process of launching are indoor and outdoor repeaters, network optimization tools, and location-based services products. We are both into passive as well as active products. We consider these products as a complete RF solution.

We will continue to invest in R&D as a company and introduce new products in the market.