According to the GSM Association (GSMA), India is set to emerge as the second largest market for mobile broadband globally within the next four years.
Further, GSMA has said that the mobile broadband user base in the country will touch 367 million by 2016. In doing so, India will overtake the US, which, the industry body opines, will account for 337 million mobile broadband connections by 2016, but will still be second to China, which will have reached 639 million mobile broadband connections in the same period.
According to the body, since 3G licenses were first awarded to mobile operators in India in September 2010, mobile broadband connectivity has grown steadily. There are now more than 10 million HSPA connections across the country, and this is expected to grow exponentially, by 900 per cent, to more than 100 million connections in 2014. This will make India the largest HSPA market worldwide within the next two years, surpassing China, Japan and the US in the process.
Commenting on this finding, Anne Bouverot, director general, GSMA said, ?The mobile industry in India is set for immense growth as mobile broadband technologies such as HSPA and LTE start to proliferate, but there is scope for far greater development.?
?To take full advantage of this, the Indian government should facilitate the timely release of additional spectrum in a fair and transparent way for all stakeholders. The benefits are clear to see a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband penetration could contribute as much as $80 billion of revenue across the country?s transport, healthcare and education sectors by 20152.?
Affordability a Prerequisite to Long Term Growth in India
According to a recent study3 by the GSMA?s Wireless Intelligence service, despite a large rural population, mobile growth in India is being largely driven by more affluent communities in cities. Net additions in urban areas reached 85 million last year compared to 57 million in rural areas, with mobile penetration increasing by 20 percentage points in urban areas to 161 per cent, against a 6.5 percentage point rise in rural areas to 36.6 per cent.
As per GSMA, the provision of mobile broadband in rural and remote areas is expected to help India bridge the so-called ?digital divide?. It will improve productivity, help overcome the constraints of transport infrastructure and provide much needed services such as banking, health and education. So, in this context, the association feels that given the significant social and economic benefits, expanding affordable access to mobile broadband should be a high priority of the Indian government.
