NEW DELHI: India, which falls among the fast-developing economies in Asia, is a major market for MediaTek. According to counterpoint research, in the second quarter of 2023, MediaTek’s share of the Indian smartphone market came in at 53%, indicating our stellar rate of adoption among domestic smartphone users. In an interaction with the PageOne Asia, Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India talks on company’s ongoing projects, new cutting-edge technologies and innovations , smartphone adoption, 5G. Edited excerpts.

How MediaTek is looking at feature phone market especially in developing economies of Asia?

As the leading global fabless semiconductor company that enables nearly 2 billion connected devices a year, MediaTek is a market leader in developing innovative systems-on-chip (SoC) for a variety of use cases such as mobile devices, home entertainment, connectivity, and IoT products. Given our range of chipsets catering to the feature and smartphone markets, from affordable to mainstream and flagship, we are keen on penetrating all sections of the market. In this scenario, the developing economies of Asia, which are now witnessing a boom in smartphone and data usage, and have an increasingly savvy mobile user base, are among our key markets. MediaTek is, therefore, focused on designing chips which set the expectations of our customers, while also collaborating with the top device makers in these regions. 

What is the level of smartphone adoption in these countries?

India, which falls among the fast-developing economies in Asia, is a major market for MediaTek and here, smartphone adoption stands at 71%, as of 2023. According to counterpoint research, in the second quarter of 2023, MediaTek’s share of the Indian smartphone market came in at 53%, indicating our stellar rate of adoption among domestic smartphone users. From an overall Asia-Pacific perspective, the rate of smartphone adoption rose to 76% in 2022, from 64% in 2019, depicting the quick uptake in mobile phones. 

What according to you are the challenges holding back adoption of smart devices and how can governments bridge digital divide?

 While smart devices are transforming people’s daily experiences, there are some challenges which are creating barriers in their widespread adoption. These include the issue of interoperability between smart devices, high purchase costs, security and privacy concerns as well as the fact that some devices may lack a clear value proposition, from the perspective of the end customers. The lack of a comprehensive digital infrastructure and misinformation, also contribute to the digital divide. The government has already taken a variety of measures to bridge the gap, from promoting Digital India initiatives and fostering a conducive environment for the design and manufacture of smart devices within the country. The onus now lies on device makers and semiconductor companies to leverage these policies and create a future-ready digital ecosystem in India and MediaTek is striving to live up to this vision.

What is MediaTek offering in 5G? Who are the top five global customers?

At MediaTek, we have taken a comprehensive approach to 5G product development, with our technologies being leveraged throughout our product lines such as smartphones, smart home devices and automotive. MediaTek’s Dimensity 5G family includes the 9200, 9000, 8200, 8000, 1000, 900, 800 and 700 series.

The MediaTek Dimensity 5G family powers the high-end smartphones that brings flagship 5G experience technology to the mainstream market. MediaTek brings 5G to devices from smartphones to PCs, routers, mobile hotspots and more. Also, MediaTek is tapping the 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) opportunity in India and working with the ecosystem partners to reduce the cost of FWA CPE or router. In terms of our global customers, MediaTek is associated with most of the major global brands, across our various 5G use cases, thus making incredible technology available to all. 

What is the revenue of your 5G portfolio vis a vis traditional chipsets you still offer?

While we cannot share a revenue breakup across our smartphone portfolio, we have had a great third quarter of 2023. Going ahead, we expect our 5G portfolio to grow faster than the 4G segment, owing to the increasing penetration of 5G, at affordable prices, and the availability of 5G smartphones across various price brackets. MediaTek will continue focusing on newer and more innovative 5G use cases, thereby offering customers access to the transformative technology across a variety of smart device segments.   

By when 5G phones become mainstream? Your strategy?

Given that nearly 31 million Indian users are expected to move to 5G smartphones, before the end of 2023, we believe that 5G phones have now become mainstream in India and we are also witnessing this trend in our own portfolio. Our strategy revolves around constantly upgrading our 5G Dimensity family of chips, while driving more collaborations with smartphone OEMs, to cater to the growing demand in India and on a global scale.  

Your views on 6G? Your preparation?

As mentioned by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at the recently concluded India Mobile Congress 2023, India has the potential and skillset required to drive global 6G thought leadership and MediaTek is focused on realising this ambition. We believe that 6G is on the anvil, with the world keen on faster speeds and even lower latency and our design capabilities are now working towards offering 6G solutions which will expand the digital transformation of the society at large, while also bolstering the performance and adoption of existing use cases and enabling emerging ones. 

How was IMC in terms of technology showcase & what are the new cutting-edge technologies and innovations that MediaTek showcased at IMC 2023?

The 7th edition of IMC was an exhilarating experience which focused on innovative and emerging use cases across a variety of sectors such as private 5G, 6G, AI, IoT, etc. At IMC, MediaTek showcased its latest technology portfolio from its Dimensity, Filogic, Genio, Kompanio, Pentonic, and Dimensity Auto portfolios. We demonstrated our Dimensity Auto platform which drives the future of intelligent, always-connected vehicles by delivering impressive computing power and wide-ranging technologies. The showcase also included MediaTek powered devices across diverse verticals from some of the world’s biggest brands.