TEHRAN (Taliya News) -- A deputy industries and mines minister said here last week that one of the mobile set production lines would be launched in a couple of weeks, and another one in a couple of months and the conditions for competition in the field would be provided in the future.

The official said he prefers that the details of the project would be announced by the manufacturer during the next couple of days. Mohammad Hatam meanwhile said, “This set would be presented under the license of one of the famous foreign brands in cooperation with one of the accredited local manufacturers and the after sale services and quantity of production, too, would hopefully be very high.”

Hatam added, “The first manufacturer would begin producing SKD (semi-knocked down) sets this year and CKD (completely knocked down) sets in first three months of the next Iranian year (March-May 2007)”. “The two pioneer firms involved in mobile set manufacturing are private sector companies and in fact, both the local manufacturers, and the foreign brands are quite free in choosing their trade partners.”

Hatam emphasized, “One of the reasons why we have come up with the conclusion that manufacturing mobile sets in Iran is economically justifiable is that this is the only electronic set with an identification number, spotting which is possible at any moment.”

He added, “Meanwhile, a mobile set is comprised of a series of important and key technologies, the infrastructures of all of which exist in our country.” The Deputy Minister added, “The most advanced SMD lines of the Middle East are located in Iran and they are active at 30% of their capacity apparently.”

He reiterated, “Some of those lines can after minute alterations begin assembling the boards needed in manufacturing of mobile sets, and of course we believe the main added value in this industry does not belong to those that assemble the sets, and therefore, we consider assembly as a gate towards importing this technology.”

Hatam added, “In three years’ time a mobile set would not be merely a mobile set, but a gadget with diversified capabilities, including the entire personal identifications of their owners, and their market would be much broader than it is today.” Hatam said, “Basically, the rapid advancement observed in this industry was an important factor encouraging us towards trying to make it indigenous in Iran, since if we wish to have a word to say in the field of Hi-Tech industries in the future, we have to begin at a point.”

Pointing to the criticism of those expert that argue the Iranian sets’ would have privilege compared to imported sets, he said, “In which fields do our products enjoy high privileges? We were also criticized on the same ground when we announced our intention to launch our BTS sites for manufacturing mobile set accessories.” He added, “All the same, we entered that field and the Iranian made BTS parts are now being tested, four of which have been approved as standard.”

The Deputy Industries Minister also referred to the smuggling of mobile sets to Iran, reiterating, “Both the volume and the brands of the smuggled mobile sets to Iran are quite clear and the unofficial networks involved in this business should know they are totally under control.” He said, “Those who are systematically smuggling goods to the country would finally pay the price for their profiteering violations.”