These extracts from report of CDMA Development Group (CDG) gives a good snapshot picture of CDMA deployment in India. I thought the extracts were worth sharing.
"The CDMA arena in India is booming, with that country's CDMA2000 subscriber base now topping 50 million fixed and mobile users. The India's subscriber growth reached this milestone in only five years, half the time it took GSM to reach the same number in the subcontinent. The CDG attributes this rapid growth in the region to the economic delivery of differentiated value-added services, network expansion into the rural areas of India and the growing availability of very-low-end (VLE) devices.
With 2 million net subscriber additions in July, CDMA2000 subscriber base in India reached 51.1 million. Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, which the group says are among the Top 20 fastest-growing operators in the world, are investing in the CDMA2000 business to further accelerate this growth rate. CDMA2000 devices have experienced 50 percent year-over-year growth since 2003, with more OEMs participating in CDMA than in GSM.
In addition, the rapid expansion of CDMA2000 networks into rural areas of India to deliver voice and broadband Internet access has been a primary factor in reaching the 50- million-subscriber milestone. India reportedly leads the industry in the introduction of affordable fixed and mobile broadband access to underserved markets. In fact, the CDC says Reliance has launched one of the largest CDMA2000 network expansions on the planet -- with plans to reach more than 20,000 towns and 300,000 villages. In addition, CDMA2000 operators are poised to begin a seamless upgrade of their existing networks EV-DO Rev A.
With trials underway and operators rapidly expanding into the rural areas of the country, EV-DO Rev. A is expected to become an effective platform for enabling affordable broadband Internet access and value-added services in India's rural and urban markets. BSNL has already announced tariff plans for 1X and EV-DO broadband data services, supported by PC cards and USB thumb-drive modems. Tata introduced what it says is India's first 1X USB thumb-drive modem to support its Plug2Surf wireless Internet services, while Reliance recently acquired Yipes Holdings to address the enterprise market. And recent research predicts more than 35 million people will be using mobile broadband services in India by 2010."
CDMA2000 subscriber growth is also being driven by what the CDG says is India's global leadership in the selection and availability of VLE handsets; there reportedly are 45 VLE CDMA2000 devices from 14 suppliers available in country, and that number is expected to increase dramatically with the further availability of single-chipset devices. Another 10 single-chipset VLE handsets are expected to be launched within the next month, and the Indian CDMA industry has plans to support the local production of CDMA2000 devices.
Mobile VAS revenues in India to touch Rs 8200 Cr by next fiscal !!!
According to an estimate by industry body Assocham, the mobile value added services are poised to grow by over 65 per cent to touch Rs 8,200 crore by the end of this fiscal from Rs 4,950 crore in the last fiscal . The high growth is attributed to a rapidly increasing large subscriber base and easy accessibility to the end-users. Various downloads such as ringtones, bill-related information, contest, exam results and messages received from public services such as banks, railways and airlines earn revenues for the industry. Such revenues will grow and multiply to add volumes to mobile value added services (VAS).
Indian music industry earned more than 35 million dollar from such services which is equivalent to 20 per cent of its total revenue. The total mobile music downloads in Indian markets are valued at 75 million dollars and is expected to grow by 25 per cent in the next year. SMS interactivity, which has become an integral part of most of TV shows, would become a major source of revenue for the channels. TV show Indian Idol on Sony got more than 55 million votes via SMS -- at a rate of Rs 3 per SMS, that is Rs 16.5 crore. The telecom companies earned Rs 11.5 crore and Sony made Rs 5 crore.
Indian music industry earned more than 35 million dollar from such services which is equivalent to 20 per cent of its total revenue. The total mobile music downloads in Indian markets are valued at 75 million dollars and is expected to grow by 25 per cent in the next year. SMS interactivity, which has become an integral part of most of TV shows, would become a major source of revenue for the channels. TV show Indian Idol on Sony got more than 55 million votes via SMS -- at a rate of Rs 3 per SMS, that is Rs 16.5 crore. The telecom companies earned Rs 11.5 crore and Sony made Rs 5 crore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)