Boost for broadband but operators face teething problems
As many as 9 million consumers have taken a third generation (3G) mobile connection since the services were launched in the country four months ago. This number assumes significance when one considers that there are only 11 million wireline broadband customers till date.
The leader of the 3G pack is Bharti Airtel with 3 million subscribers followed by Tata DoCoMo with 1.5 million users. Idea Cellular, Vodafone and BSNL have over a million 3G customers each. Reliance Communications did not give out its numbers but sources said that it also has close to a million 3G connections. “The initial trend clearly shows that 3G is giving a boost to broadband uptake in the country. Wireless is the way forward,” said Mr Alok Shende, Principal Analyst, Ascentius Consulting.
The initial numbers have added up despite the poor quality of service being experienced by consumers. While 3G is expected to give data speeds of about 500-600 kbps, consumers across the country are complaining of frequent call drops, poor speeds and erratic connectivity as operators have not yet fully set up their networks. “There is no excuse for operators to offer poor 3G connectivity given that technology is available to them. The initial uptake shows that there is a huge pent-up demand for broadband and operators should use that opportunity. At present, they are not even doing personalised marketing to high-end consumers who already have a 3G handset,” said Mr Kunal Bajaj, Director of technology advisory firm Analysys Mason. Another issue is the high cost of roaming. Most operators are charging as much as Rs 15 per MB of data even if the subscriber is roaming on the same network.
But operators say that these are only teething troubles and they are well on their way to meet the target of 100 million 3G connections by 2015 as projected by analysts. Mr Shireesh Joshi, Chief Marketing Officer -Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, said, “The initial response from customers has been overwhelming - but we believe the revolution has just begun. The game changing differentiator for 3G in India will be content and services and not price points.”
Keywords: 3G connections, Telephone users, broadband customers, subscribers
Comments:
3G enabled applences will be enjoyable only if reliable data speeds of about 1 to 5 mbps are established. Otharwie these impliments are a waste. 3G services are not for India.
I'm surprised by above results that airtel is winning the league of 3G n/w vendors despite of unavailability of its 3G service in most of the cities in india. Airtel 3G is only available in only some metro cities of india and that's not a favorable point. Airtel should look forward to develop its relevant infrastructure and provide the service.
The initial numbers have added up despite the poor quality of service being experienced by consumers. While 3G is expected to give data speeds of about 500-600 kbps, consumers across the country are complaining of frequent call drops, poor speeds and erratic connectivity as operators have not yet fully set up their networks. “There is no excuse for operators to offer poor 3G connectivity given that technology is available to them. The initial uptake shows that there is a huge pent-up demand for broadband and operators should use that opportunity. At present, they are not even doing personalised marketing to high-end consumers who already have a 3G handset,” said Mr Kunal Bajaj, Director of technology advisory firm Analysys Mason. Another issue is the high cost of roaming. Most operators are charging as much as Rs 15 per MB of data even if the subscriber is roaming on the same network
Still a long way to go, most of countries are working with 4G netwrok providing speedo of 100 MBps, are we happy with just 500 to 600 kbps, and that to at costlier rate ????? when technology is availible why cant we use it properly???
3g service are very good for this generation but its tarrif plans are expensive.
Ya...I had a bitter experience of Vodafone 3G.Its certainly call dropping,unreliable data speed etc.Now the cost is too high. :(
No operator in India is serious in providing better service of 3G. Every operator is charging huge prices for the data service in 3G. People have to wait for the day when 3G will available at affordable rates. I hope TRAI will come up with a new price policy soon.
Charging abnormal charges by the operators attracts disinterest among the customers. Operators should minimise the rates. Previously on mobiles incoming calls were charged -- after Reliance entering into field they started free incoming calls -- citizens of India should thank Reliance for its foresightedness. Due to free incoming calls only now most of the citizens of India are having mobiles in their hand. So that 3G also should be encouraged like free incoming calls. Let us hope the operators may think in proper and beneficial to the customers.
I totally disagree with ppl saying the service is not that good. Vodafone 3G in mumbai is simply teriffic. I am getting speeds varying from 3mbps to 5mbps at various places. Life has become such an ease with no buffering while streaming. You can watch IPL matches and everything live on your phone. the only problems is dropped calls. Initially it was a big problem, but now it has subsided. The 3G service is teriffic in running trains too with no problems at all. Kudos to Vodafone 3g.
3G is expensive for majority of consumers in India. It is a time for companies to bring down down costs and introduce unlimited usage plans with competitive price. tweet me @rite2ankit on twitter.
While connections with consistent 3G speeds is definitely one pain-point that each operator is slowly scaling to solve the issue, the other pain-point is knowing the best plan among the mirage of plans available with each operator. Check out http://www.3gsimplified.com - a tool that helps you find the best Mobile Plan and Datacard Plan for your usage.
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