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Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications will be the market leaders for third generation (3G) mobile services, according to a new study by Wireless Intelligence.
According to the study, India will have 400 million 3G users of which 18 per cent will be on Airtel network by 2015. Reliance Communications will have 15 per cent share in four years followed by Vodafone and Essar with 13 per cent share each.
More spending seen
According to the new Wireless Intelligence study, India 3G rollout (forecasts and market shares 2011–2015), 3G connections are set to grow three-fold between 2011 and 2015 as operators ramp-up rollout of new 3G networks. Indian operators spent a combined $15 billion in acquiring 3G spectrum at auction last year and are forecast to jointly invest a further $2.5 billion in building the new networks and rolling out 3G services in 2011.
Seven Indian operators acquired 3G spectrum last year in addition to the two state-owned operators (BSNL and MTNL) that had already been awarded 3G airwaves ahead of the private auctions.
“Competition in the Indian 3G space is likely to be intense as most operators have set ambitious targets,” said Mr Joss Gillet, Senior Analyst at Wireless Intelligence and author of the report. “Market share growth clearly depends on how fast operators can deploy 3G networks in their respective licensed areas, and how rapidly they can address demand in rural areas. Nevertheless, 3G will remain a niche market for some time in India, and 2.1GHz networks will initially bee mainly used to improve voice quality and reduce congestion in existing 2G networks.”
A&B service areas
The study notes that India's Circle A and Circle B service areas will account for 75 per cent of the country's 3G connections by 2015. Even though initial 3G rollouts are concentrated in metro areas (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata), they will soon be outstripped by fast-growing demand for 3G in more populous regions such as Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, the report says.
“Indian operators are betting on 3G services to stabilise ARPU and increase non-voice revenues to around the 30-per-cent-mark in the coming years,” added Mr Gillet.
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