Indian Phone Makers Think GSMA Is Biased Towards Chinese Companies

Ever since Chinese smartphone makers entered India, they have taken the mobile world by storm and dethroned major Indian companies, thanks to all the well-specced smartphones with really affordable prices. As Chinese companies continue to rule, Indian smartphone manufacturers allege GSMA (an international body taking care of telecom operators globally) is biased towards them for their downfall.

According to a report by the Economic Times, several Indian mobile makers such as Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon, DataWind, Lemon, Ziox, Maxx and HiTech, have suggested that GSMA is more inclined towards the Chinese companies, as hinted by the difference in TAC fees charged from both of them.

It is suggested that GSMA had charged the Indian phone makers around $5 to $6 million between 2010 and 2017, while no fee was imposed on the Chinese phone makers.

For those who don’t know, TAC (Type Allocation Code) refers to the first eight digits of the 15-digit IMEI number of a smartphone, acting as a unique code for mobile phones.

Additionally, while Indian phone makers have to pay the full TAC fee, Chinese brands are offered a discount of 30% which becomes questionable.

Indian tech companies have demanded a refund of the money they have paid during that time.

While GSMA has denied any bias from its end, it has accepted the difference in fees and suggested that it is in talks with the Indian government to resolve the issue.

It is further suggested that the reason for a contrast in the tariff is due to varying regulations in different countries.

Whether or not the allegations are true will be known once something official comes up, and we will keep you posted on the same.

Do you also think GSMA is biased towards Chinese smartphone companies? Comment below with your thoughts.

Also Read: Apple Is ‘Sorry’ For Persisting Issues With MacBook Keyboards