Calcutta, Feb. 18: Nokia plans to strengthen its CDMA handset portfolio to match its GSM range and take on market leaders in the segment.

According to ORG-GFK statistics, Nokia enjoys a share of 63.8 per cent in the GSM market as on November 2004, while it is a relatively new entrant in the CDMA segment.

The Finnish cellphone major is a leader in the Indian GSM segment, but was a late entrant into the CDMA market with a single base model in the beginning of last year.

?We did not have any products in 2003 and only a basic feature cellphone was available initially,? Nokia India head-marketing Sanjay Behl said. ?We have now decided to focus on growing our strengths in the CDMA segment and have devised a product roadmap based on the research to find the right proposition for a customer. We want to make Nokia an aspirational brand in CDMA on the lines of GSM.?

It is estimated that there will be 0.5 million additions every month, of which 30-40 per cent will be upgrades.

Nokia has recently launched six CDMA models and will add another two in the next two months. These range from a basic to lifestyle model. Unlike the GSM market, the CDMA segment does not offer the user flexibility in terms of upgrading to new models with better features and hi-end phones. We have been the first, in association with Reliance, to usher the open market distribution system in CDMA. In early 2004, Nokia started its CDMA R&D facility in Mumbai to provide software support and technical expertise in the CDMA technology.

?The facility will cater to the unique market and operator-specific needs in India and other key CDMA markets in Asia Pacific,? said Behl.