| On 11.18.09, In Stats & Trends, by venus |
The mobile industry has been soaring high with their latest novel handsets and smartphones flooding the market as consumers get addicted to newest applications and the social media culture. And India too seems to have caught on with the pace pretty well as it heads on towards achieving the 1 billion mobile users target by 2015.
In an industry conference in Hong Kong Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India’s biggest mobile phone group Bharti
Airtel, told an that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years.
“Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible,” he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region’s largest telecom industry gathering.
He points out that the potential growth may be observed in the rural market as providers are slashing down their prices because of the market competition. “There is hyper-competition like no other place in the world,” he said.
India has surpassed half a billion landmark very recently with 509.03 million mobile subscribers placing itself next to the most populated China that boasts of over 600 million users. With overall tele density of 43.5% in the country, the wireless base in India has increased from 456.74million in August to 471.73 million at the end of September.
It is quite interesting to note in the early findings that total mobile subscribers around the world are expected to reach 5.9 billion by 2013.
The adoption of smartphones on the market has increased significantly during the past few quarters, and we have seen how these devices have driven the mobile phone market upwards. Significant price cuts in both services and handsets have made owning a cellphone within reach for everybody in even farthest areas of India. As a developing nation the country has reached significant growth rates in the economy and we may hope it continuous to rise in the coming years as well.
2 Responses
India added 60 million mobile subscribers in the first 3 months of 2010… Since it would be reasonable to assume that the pace will be maintained atleast for another year…in Feb 2012 India will have breached the 1 billion mobile subscriber club… and at the same time… beaten China to the punch !!!
A billion plus by 2015 !!! That’s obviously wrong… Look at the stats… According to TRAI (www.trai.gov.in) India has added 60 million new connections in the first 3 months of 2010. A year on year growth rate of 33 %. Assuming current trends (which by itself is conservative) that would mean we would add close to 240 million new subscribers in 2010 alone!!! But lets assume an 8 – 10 % drop in numbers; that still gives us around 220 million, which still, ain’t too shabby. By those estimates, Feb 2012 is gonna be our D-day! We will break into the elite 1 Billion club… and it is not just a possibility that we will be the first. Right now… China’s lead on us is a paltry 192 million subscribers.(I use the word paltry as it would take us a mere 1 1/2 years to get abreast..) We are adding 10 million more subscribers than China every month. That’s a cool 100 million more subscribers every year(I know that there are 12 months in a year. Just giving China the benefit of the doubt) at the rate China is growing. China is expected to have 985 million subscribers by Dec 2011. we are expected to have 965 million at the same time, assuming current trends. By the end of Jan 2012, we’d have added 20 million subscribers. and they… 10 million. meaning China – 995, India – 985. In Feb. we add 20 more. we reach 1005, China adds 10 more. they reach the same no. Yippie.
P.S. – The hope is that like what India does with all conservative estimates, she’ll surge ahead and prove us wrong here and reach 1 Billion earlier; Which she will. After the jaw dropping growth trends in the last 6 months, even a suicidally cynical analyst will give us that….