“BWA and 3G have potential to transform the character of Internet/ broadband scenario in India. On one hand, BWA will overcome the key hindrance of problem of ‘Right of Way’ in India, on other hand 3G has the potential to make the mobile phone, a ubiquitous device for accessing faster internet” said, Smt. Vijayalakhsmi Gupta Hon’ble Member (finance), Department of Telecom – Govt. of India while inaugurating the 3G INDIA 201O held today at Taj Lands End – Bandra West, Mumbai.
“3G Technology will drive the next round of sustainable growth for the Indian market through convergence of entertainment, infotainment and voice communications into one single device. The key drivers for the growth of 3G in India will be innovative content, improved customer services and increased affordability of handsets. These drivers will help ensure growth of 3G not just in urban areas but in rural areas as well”. She further added.
The exponential growth witnessed in Indian telecom sector is finest example of synergy of conducive Government policies and the competitive zeal of Telecom industry, which have placed Indian Telecom sector on the world map. Against backdrop of common man benefiting with one of the lowest telecom Tariffs in the World, we have already crossed the milestone of 600 million connections in the month of February 2010 itself. Continuing the trend, Indian telecom industry has now achieved total subscriber base over 688 million as well as over all Tele-density of 58{af589cdba9d77786c8c861317dbad60bba1e2ebbf56e2ffab874a1b59fde9ce3}.
Kanika Atri, Head of marketing at Nokia Siemens Networks India said “The advent of 3G will usher a new era of telecom revolution in India. The 3G Summit organized by Bharat Exhibitions gave both telecom operators and technology providers a forum to discuss innovative ways to engage with customers while exploring new revenue generation avenues. Nokia Siemens Networks is the leading enabler of 3G services. We have been chosen by 182 customers for 3G and serve more than half the number of 3G subscribers globally. This proven expertise of ours is at the disposal of telecom operators to rapidly deploy 3G and offer unique services to customers. Our smart networks can be leveraged by operators to differentiate their offerings and create a truly personalized mobile experience. Nokia Siemens Networks’ holistic approach to cater to the Indian market combines strong local presence and knowhow. We believe that 3G will make wireless broadband ubiquitous and positively contribute towards socioeconomic development of the country.”
Also present on the occasion Mr. Jai Maroo, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment said, ““Video content will definitely be an important driver on 3G. Video services will contribute to ARPU as well as drive data & bandwidth consumption. A robust video content supply chain and understanding of how to sell video content is a must for every operator to increase VAS ARPUs.”
Commenting on the Post 3G Era in Indian telecom industry Smt. Vijayalakhsmi Gupta said, “After 3G rollout, while Video-on-demand and other live streaming services may gain prominence amongst the high ARPU customers, enhanced bandwidth may also lead to increased usage of existing mobile VAS (Value Added Services) services. Currently, the VAS market is worth INR 110-120 billion, which translates into approximately 10 percent of wireless industry revenues. The share of VAS in wireless revenue is likely to increase to 12-13 percent by 2011. This growth would be driven by increased operator focus on VAS due to continuous fall in voice tariffs, increased penetration of feature rich handsets, availability of vernacular content and increased user adoption of VAS applications. Further, the market is likely to witness different VAS being offered, which were earlier not possible over the current 2G/2.5G Network”.
6th edition of ‘3G India 2010’ offered a powerful forum to understand what service will provide the most value to the user and also the technical & policy issues that need to be considered to ensure the success of the 3G strategies in India. It addressed how money will be made out of delivering 3G services and how revenues generated should be shared between the various parties involved.
The conference attracted business delegates from Wireless and Fixed Carriers, GSM Operators and Service Providers, CDMA Operators and Service Providers, Handset Manufacturers, Network Device Manufacturers, Virtual Mobile Network Operators (VMNOs), Wireless Deployment Companies (Hot-Spots, Rural, Aggregators etc.),Chip Manufacturers, System Integrators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,Application Service Providers (ASPs),Application Developers ,Content Providers & Value Added Services Providers, Multimedia Services Providers, Content Owners & Aggregators,(OEMs) 3G Terminal and Network Infrastructure Providers ,Payment and Security System Providers ,Other Fixed And Mobile Professionals, DOT, DIT, Ministries & Regulatory; Service Organizations.
