A lot of water has flowed under the bridge
from the time that mobiles were unheard of in India to the present where they
have become almost ubiquitous. Beginning from those days, Indian subscribers
paid around Rs. 16.40 for a mobile to mobile call and around Rs 32.80 for a
mobile to a landline call. Today, as per recent statistics, customers pay far
lesser for calls and occasional text messages that add up to around Rs 300 a
month and upwards.
Now that mobiles have moved into the
affordable bracket, there is a great demand for additional mobile services such
as mobiles, email, stock market quotes, and astrology services, just to name a
few.
A recent survey pointed to the fact that
for most customers, mobile phones have become an extension of their personality.
Many go a step ahead to say that mobile phones define their individuality as
well.
In such a scenario, it is worthwhile to
compare the growth of the mobile phone industry vis-a-vis the computer industry
in India.
According to recent statistics, there are nearly 300 million mobile phone
subscribers as compared to just around 30 million PC’s in the country.
Additionally, around 8 million subscribers are signing up every month for
mobile services alone.
For most individuals, mobile phones are
becoming a single point of contact for the world surrounding them covering a
wide range of utilities like emailing, entertainment, and banking.
More and more people are looking out for
more than just talk time on their mobiles. All this is generating a lot of
enthusiasm for mobile companies. A number of serious players in this industry
are looking at a range of such value added services, which have the capability
to boost their bottom line.
Not only are Indians enthralled, but they
started spending a considerable amount on these services too. This figure
amounted to around $250 million last year. This figure is expected to reach
$1.7 billion by the year 2010. This is a boon in disguise for Indian cellular
operators who are seriously looking forward to enhance their revenues.
Currently, nearly 80% of the revenues come from services like ring tones and
SMS. This makes India
the second largest mobile market on earth.
The young mobile savvy generation
currently feels less privileged in nearly every sector. And that’s precisely
what is fuelling the growth in mobile services across the country. As the
market expands but fulfilling the needs of mobile users by providing them
attractive services, mobile phones are becoming a new vehicle for reaching out
to the mobile generation.
Mobile content providers also visualise a
big jump in their services. These include many global companies such as Google,
Yahoo and MSN, which have signed up with many Indian operators like Airtel,
Bharti, Vodafone, Tata, and Reliance Communications. Together, they offer a
host of services based on the local and regional markets in their area of
operation.
The Indian mobile scenario seems to be all
set for the next stage – expansion and consolidation, but there are a few
complications as well. Not all users can afford costlier services beyond
messaging and talk time. What is expected is increase in the already growing
user base so such services can become affordable to one and all in the long
run.
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More abstracts about the Cell Phone Industry in India for Next Generation