NEW DELHI: Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) says India has nearly 850 million mobile subscribers, the total mobile services market revenue in India is $29.8 billion and will reach $37 billion by 2017.
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), this will mean a compounded annual growth rate of 5.2 per cent.
Mobile broadband market in 2014 will continue to have strong growth in India as compared to other mobile services market.
According to a report on the IDC website, “Mobile services market in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ) region is considered as a very dynamic market compared to other emerging and mature markets. Many mobile operators have been struggling for quite some time to maintain growth in revenue, especially on voice services.”
From 2012 to 2017, IDC projects that the growth rate for voice services revenue in APeJ will slow down and achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5 per cent. However, data connectivity or mobile broadband revenue will grow at a CAGR of 19.3 per cent from 2012 to 2017.
IDC said mobile broadband market size will be $7 billion by 2017 with a CAGR of 32 per cent. The 3G subscribers will hold the highest five-year CAGR of 68 per cent compared to other mobile technology. This is mainly due to more 3G services coverage across the country, especially in the big cities.
Among mobile services, only mobile broadband services show strong growth, meanwhile SMS and MMS are on a decline trend. Voice services tend to have a flat growth rate.
IDC attributes the growth of data revenue in APeJ to three key areas: Smartphones penetration with affordable prices; Rollout of 3G and LTE licenses and mobile user behavior towards ‘Over-The-Top-Players' (OTTP) services.
“For India, mobile broadband market in 2014 will continue to have strong growth compared to other mobile services market. This service is expected to reach US$7 billion by 2017 with a CAGR of 32 per cent. 3G subs will hold the highest five-year CAGR of 68 per cent compared to other mobile technology. This is mainly due to more 3G services coverage across the country, especially in the big cities. With this trend, operators should focus more on their mobile broadband strategy,” says IDC Asia/Pacific Telecommunication Group senior research manager Ashadi Cahyadi.
According to IDC’s Asia/Pacific Semiannual Telecom Services Tracker 1H2013, the total mobile services market revenue in India will reach US$29.8 billion by 2014 and is expected to reach US$37 billion in 2017 with a CAGR of 5.2 per cent.
