Sales of 4G gear is in the doldrums in many developed countries, mostly because everyone who wants a 4G phone has one and 5G is a long way into the future. Qualcomm has realised that there is still shedloads of cash to be made from countries where consumers have considerably less disposable income.

Qualcomm’s 205 Mobile Platform will allow less expensive smartphones and even feature phones to connect to 4G LTE networks. These networks are just starting to be switched on in Brazil and India.

Unlike Qualcomm's top end chips, which can reach speeds of over 1 gigabit per second on 4G networks, the 205 chips top out at 150 megabits per second. The platform will also include other lower-end capabilities like support for 3-megapixel cameras.

Jim Cathey, president of Qualcomm Asia Pacific and India, said in a statement that India and the Southeast Asia regions present growth opportunities in the telecom space with 4G adoption rising and continued adoption of feature phones.

The new Qualcomm chips were introduced at an event in New Dehli  and are available to phone makers immediately and should be included in new phones as soon as the second quarter, Qualcomm said. The chips also include support for making calls over Wi-Fi, high-definition video streaming, and having two SIM cards in one phone.