Primus Telecommunications Group Inc. announced an innovative plan to sell low-end mobile phones in Europe, a move that further expands the mobile-phone market to include telecommunications providers. Further, the company said it plans to introduce a tri-band phone that will work in the United States “in the near future,” news that could add a further player into the already complicated U.S. handset market.
Primus is a global telecommunications company offering bundled voice, data, Internet, digital subscriber line, Web hosting, enhanced application, virtual private network, voice-over-Internet Protocol and other value-added services throughout the world. In Europe, the company serves residential subscribers and provides solutions to corporations such as Apple, BMW, British Airways and Volkswagen.
Now Primus said it will sell its PTL 650, a low-end, monochrome-screen handset that is “unlocked.” This means customers will be able to use the phone on several networks and with a range of payment methods. The phone will be available at a variety of retail outlets in Europe. Primus said the phone is the first in a series of devices it will sell.
The move further expands the boundaries of the mobile-phone business. Indeed, some in the wireless industry have been working to lower the barriers for entry for players such as Primus by providing low-cost mobile-phone design references and manufacturing services. Such reference designs have allowed many new players, mostly Asian manufacturing companies, to enter the wireless market with little effort.
Indeed, semiconductor company Infineon Technologies announced a partnership with network equipment company Huawei Technologies to offer a reference design and protocol stack software for a W-CDMA mobile-phone platform.
Now it seems even telecommunications providers are jumping onto the bandwagon, possibly putting additional pressures on the industry’s established players. That Primus plans to offer a handset in the United States indicates the company is putting significant effort behind its mobile-phone push.
