The Hindu Business Line : ‘Affordability key to 3G adoption’

Mumbai/New Delhi, Aug 2 With the government throwing open the door for 3G services, mobile phone users would not only be able to enjoy faster video, music and data downloads but also experience a significant improvement in quality of voice calls, not to mention new services.

Introduction of 3G could eventually make available mobile TV, high-speed Internet access, and even Internet voice calls to subscribers; it would provide faster access to all kinds of data through the mobile phone.

With additional spectrum being released, mobile operators would move data-intensive services to 3G spectrum, thereby improving the voice quality on existing 2G spectrum, said a senior industry analyst. Currently, 2G spectrum is under immense pressure because it is being used for both voice and data services, said a senior industry analyst. It really varies from operator to operator; while some are looking to use 3G for voice, others are reserving it for data and applications, according to Mr Vivek Mohan, President, Alcatel-Lucent India. “Either ways, the user experience will improve,” he said.

However, mobile phone operators and application providers should make their offerings affordable so that adoption of third-generation mobile services is possible throughout the country.

‘An evolution’

This year, India surpassed the US as the largest wireless-phone market after China, with 287 million subscribers at the end of June. “3G will not be a revolution, but an evolution. High-end services such as video call will not be popular from day one. However, the adoption would vary directly with the cost of the services and 3G compatible devices,” said Mr Kiran Pande, ECI Telecom India. It is estimated that data services offered on the 3G platform will be at least 5-10 per cent more costly than existing data services. The pricing strategy for individual services will be driven by the costs incurred by individual companies for getting spectrum in the e-auction process, said Mr Sourabh Kaushal, Industry Manager, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan.

Cost factor

Most analysts expect costs to come down within two years. This is because stakeholders in the 3G ecosystem know that in developing countries such as India it pays to focus on volumes rather than price. “We have seen this in voice services where the uptake was low as long as the tariffs were high. In other countries, 3G may be a premium service but here it could be a different story,” said Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, Cellular Operators Association of India.