Verizon, AT&T And Other US Telecom Firms In Talks To Procure Unbranded Phones From Lava And Micromax

In a boost for Indian smartphone makers, telecom majors from the United States (US) are turning to them to source low-cost unbranded phones as the national security concerns with respect to Chinese companies continue to raise alarms, reports Hindustan Times.

Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and its sub-brand Cricket Wireless are said to have initiated talks with Indian smartphone makers Lava and Micromax to procure large number of unbranded phones which would be sold by them with bundled data subscriptions in the US.

Lava had reportedly submitted its proposal to the US-based procurement agencies and is now awaiting their response. The company already manufactures phones for AT&T.

Rai added that if the deal materialises, it could result in opportunities to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore for the company in the near term.

Meanwhile, it should also be noted that both Lava and Micromax are two of the five domestic smartphone makers who have been approved by the Indian government to receive benefits from its new production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The scheme offers a 4-6 per cent incentive to smartphone makers for making phones in India.