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Thursday, Jun 04, 2009
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jun 04, 2009 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio | Blogs |
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Telecommunications Info-Tech - Telecommunications India will get next 400 million mobile users five times faster
Thomas K Thomas New Delhi, June 3 It took 15 years for India to get 400 million mobile users, but under three years it will add the next 400 million. According to the revised estimates by the Cellular Operators Association of India, the mobile subscriber base is expected to zoom to 893 million by 2012. That is 150 million more subscribers than what was projected earlier. The COAI’s earlier estimates had put the mobile user base at 743 million by 2012. The reason for the new optimism is derived from the huge uptake of mobile services in rural areas. Explains Mr T. V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI: “We have revised the projections because the rate at which infrastructure is growing is faster than what we had expected. Operators are moving into the hinterland and uncovered areas. Secondly, we are getting almost 50 per cent of our new additions from the rural areas. The third factor is that the level of competition has increased with new players in the sector which again leads to faster deployment of networks.” According to Mr Atul Bindal, President, Mobility, Bharti Airtel, three out of five new subscribers are now coming from non-urban areas. “Indian growth story is here to stay. I will push back against any view that says to the contrary. There is still a huge untapped market in both rural and urban areas,” says Mr Bindal, who expects Airtel to get its next 100 million users in another two-three years. India, with 400 million mobile users, is now the second largest market in the world after China which has over 650 million subscribers. According to COAI’s projection, there will be 1.24 billion mobile users in 2015 - which means one phone for every Indian. GSM broadband users Our Mumbai Bureau reports: India could have 100 million mobile broadband users on the GSM platform by 2014, if the 3G auctions happen during the current fiscal, according to the GSM Association. Overall broadband penetration in India is 4.7 per cent now. 3G investments would lead to economic benefit worth around $70 billion, Mr Jaikishan Rajaraman, senior director, GSMA, said at a press meet here on Wednesday. The delay in the auction of 3G spectrum in the past two years has led to a huge loss of around $16 billion, according to a study by global consulting firm LECG Corp. The losses include direct investments as well as those arising from missed opportunities. “Cost of capital increases whenever you choose to defer investments,” said Mr Rajaraman. Mobile subscriber additions 30% of new mobile users are from rural areas: TRAI Mobile growth hits new peak; 9.22 m wireless users in July More Stories on : Telecommunications | Telecommunications
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