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With telecom operators ramping up their broadband networks, India is set to displace the US as the second largest 4G mobile handset market in the world after China, by early next year.
According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, LTE installed base of handsets crossed 150 million units only behind China and the US, and is estimated to surpass the US in the next one year.
RJio’s entry4G adoption is being largely driven by the entry of Reliance Jio which has dropped data tariffs considerably. In addition, the company is set to launch low-cost 4G feature phone next month.
In terms of performance during the second quarter, smartphone shipments in India grew by a modest 4 per cent compared with the corresponding quarter last year. The top five brands contributed to almost 70 per cent of the total smartphone market. Although local brands grew during the quarter, they are still unable to find their place among the top five smartphone players for the third successive quarter.
Commenting on the findings, Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said, “Local brands did relatively well during the quarter after three quarters of lull but still have a significant task cut out to reclaim the market share back from rivals. Then again, Chinese players such as OPPO, Vivo and Gionee continued to outspend their rivals during the quarter especially riding high on the IPL and Champions Trophy cricket tournaments. The brands also benefited from a refreshed portfolio in the important ₹10,000-20,000 segment.”
Although shipments were impacted in anticipation of GST roll-out especially in June, retailers were quite hesitant in adding new stock into the channels during the last month even though there was some assurance from the OEMs to support pre-GST channel inventory clearance.
“Going forward, we estimate the market to jump back to double-digit growth ahead of the festival season in the second half of 2017,” Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said.
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