So it’s not really right to say that it’s only in Delhi that the cab drivers fleece you- I got taken for a long ride and arrived late for 3GSM, at the beginning of the address by TV Ramachandran, Director General, COAI. Speaking on the latest developments in the Indian mobile market, Ramachandran said that the geographical coverage of mobile telephony in India has gone up from 13 percent, a couple of years ago, to 39 percent now. He spoke about the unique tender that has been floated for rural areas, that incentivises infrastructure sharing by offering operators access to the USO fund. New developments in the offing include the mobile instant messenger, the sharing of bad debt data between operators, the setting up of a subscriber Ombudsman (very soon) and the Expatriate Mobile Money Transfer Project (EMMT). Low ARPUs and low tariffs mean that the real revenue will come from VAS – 90 percent of subscribers in India use SMS, and volumes are expected to grow. Apparently the government is going to crash prices for 3G and grow the market. The spectrum is scarce, so first the metros are going to get it. 3G is the cheapest way for wireless broadband, a content rich mobility experience, the cheapest way for mobile broadband and social initiatives like telemedicine.
Kuldeep Goyal, CGM of BSNL gave an overview of the growth of mobile subscribers – at a CAGR of 90 percent. Among the top five countries with over 100mn subs, India has the lowest number of mobile phones per 100. Couple that with low tariffs, and great utility, and you have great potential for growth. Teledensity in India is at 49.5% in urban areas and 1.84% in rural areas. Valuation of the Indian Telecom Sector is $100bn, and it contributes 13% of the GDP. Rs.10000 crores of FDI inflow in India, of which the mobile sector has 30% of the amount. Also 25MHZ is already available to be freed up by the defense in the 2.1Ghz band, and they have to vacate another 20mhz. Coverage is important, followed by local language content. BSNL has plans to set up 1 lakh customer service centers, so people don’t have to travel long distances for access. India has a target of 250 million subscribers by 2007 end, 500 million by 2010. By 2007 end, Mobile coverage has to be 85% geographically, and all villages with more than 1000 people have to be covered.
DS Mathur, the chairman of Telecom Commission said that the mobile industry has gained momentum in the country but the rural India hasn’t participated yet. Services have continued to remain voice based and cheaper 3G handsets are important. High speed data transfer via the mobile. Mobile penetration would alleviate the need for internet penetration since solutions for Internet are not up to the mark. Telecom operators need to reduce tariffs for rural penetration – the numbers take care of the ARPU and the economics. 3G spectrum policy will be here very shortly: the government has a formed a committee of a group of ministers to look into the spectrum issue, and who’s going to handle that. Mobile phones have to be recognized as an economic driver.