2012-06-20 07:01:47, CHINA
Telecom Lead @ GSMA MOBILE ASIA EXPO 2012: Bharti Airtel sees data and related value-added services as the biggest opportunities in India.
India has more than 900 million mobile users and Bharti Airtel is the number one telecom operator in terms of both revenue and subscriber base.
However, 3G is yet to take off in India. Recently, Bharti Airtel and several other operators including Idea Cellular, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance Communications, BSNL and MTNL announced significant reduction in 3G data tariffs.
Fixed broadband is also not growing significantly. Currently, the number of broadband users is around 14 million.
"The best way to combat the challenges presented by declining tariffs, growing network operating expenses and high regulatory costs is to look to these areas for future growth," said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti Airtel - India and South Asia.
Bharti Airtel is the first Indian operator to launch TD-LTE service in India. The mobile giant recently launched 4G in Kolkata and Bangalore.
Providing affordable Internet access to existing urban customers through broadband wireless will be critical but rural areas could be even more important.
Kapoor said while there is untapped potential in India's expansive rural markets in the voice segment, the next big thing after the success of the voice story in India could be data.
Rural mobile penetration currently stands at just under 40 percent, leaving significant room for network expansion.
The ability to make large investments in the network is required particularly in India to take broadband to the masses.
Indian operators are in the process of expanding their 3G networks across the country.
With the high costs of building this infrastructure in rural areas, the inclusion of data-enabled services would be a good use of resources, mobilebusinessbriefing.comreported.
"Considering the high cost of operation and infrastructure required for rural expansion, the mobile platform is the most efficient and effective way to offer various services like financial inclusion, health and education in rural India," he said.
Kapoor feels India is at the cusp of a data revolution with the demand for data products and services increasing with feature phone and smartphone penetration. Driven by India's young population, this data revolution has the capability of bridging the digital divide between the developed world and the developing world when it comes to data consumption.
For more details : http://telecomlead.com/inner-page-details.php?id=9851&block=News
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