DUBLIN, Ireland-Handset manufacturer DBTEL, which already has contracts to produce phones for a number of leading European operators including British Telecommunications (BT), is to start selling phones under its own brand name in Europe.
The Taiwanese company has targeted six of the largest European markets-including the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy-as part of its strategy to increase turnover. Unconfirmed reports suggest that talks are taking place with several operators and that discussions with Virgin Mobile are at an advanced stage.
DBTEL is already a significant player in the Chinese mobile market, where it holds a 5-percent share of total handset sales and hopes to double its customer base by the end of 2002.
It is likely to make its own-brand European market entry with a limited range of six handsets before the end of this year, and if indications that the handsets will cost no more than
