Mobile data to emerge as the next "Killer App"
Shri Sachin Pilot, Hon'ble Minister of Communications and IT, Government of India, has released IAMAI-Analysis Mason Vision Document on Mobile VAS in the Capital. According to this report, Mobile VAS has the potential to become an INR 671-billion market by 2015 contributing 31% of the overall wireless revenues. This growth will be driven mainly by mobile data (both on handsets and dongles/ connected computing devices) contributing 54% of the overall MVAS market by 2015. Non-voice revenues are expected to grow to contribute 51% to overall incremental wireless revenues in 2015.
Releasing the report, the Hon'ble Minister mentioned that the mobile value-added services were miniscule at present in comparison to their potential and the government would make appropriate efforts to put the industry on an equitable and sustainable growth path. However, in order for the industry to be a success, he suggested that service providers should provide locally relevant services in local languages. He also mentioned that the digital industry should change its perspective from "internet users" to "internet beneficiaries". He explained that if we are not able to provide tangible benefits to the people, adoption of internet would continue to be low. He added that the digital industry should find out the best and most effective ways of utilizing the infrastructure that the government is creating through optic fibre network, UIDAI, etc.
Speaking about the report, Dr. Subho Ray, President, IAMAI, said, "This is the first-ever study in India which charts the evolution of the mobile value-added services industry, maps the future growth potential and makes practical suggestions on what needs to be done by various stakeholders to set this industry on a 'take-off' mode. We are confident that this will become the industry's guide for the next ten years."
Kunal Bajaj, Partner & Director - India, Analysys Mason, stated, "Carriers are under tremendous pressure from competition and declining ARPUs, leading to stunted revenue growth. Based on the recent trends in the sector, now is the right time for them to increase focus on the VAS space to find new opportunities for differentiation and earnings."
The report also stresses the need for policy enablers and market mechanisms taking necessary steps to address the current growth limitations in the sector, both from an on-deck as well as an off-deck perspective. While mobile video has seen significant hype as the key differentiator on 3G networks, the limited amount of allocated spectrum (5 MHz) and associated capacity constraint will limit video-based services to certain segments and geographies, at least in the initial stages of rollout. The report also highlighted, SMS penetration remains constrained due to the lack of standards based solutions for local language text on devices.
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