Motorola to roll out "ultra-cheap" phones

CANNES, France: Motorola will enter emerging markets with ultra-cheap mobile phones aimed at three billion consumers who cannot yet afford to make wireless calls, the U.S.-based handset maker said.

The phone will be available for less than $40 and the company will sell six million units in the six months between April and September, said the GSM Association.

The GSM Association has led a tender between 18 mobile phone makers fighting for the order from a group of mobile operators in emerging countries, including Singtel, Smart, Telenor and Globe.

The GSM Association is an interest group of mobile carriers, which operate a GSM network. Two-thirds of the world's 1.7 billion mobile phone services subscribers make calls on GMS.