According to Deloitte, smartphone users are expected to drive the highest video consumption on the mobile platform in 2014. The number of smartphone users in urban India is expected to grow from 51 million in 2013 to 104 million in 2014.
As per the findings of the fourth edition of Deloitte?s predictions for the technology, media and telecommunications in India in 2014, consumers are increasingly becoming screen agnostic, and are viewing video content on their smartphones both inside and outside the home. In 2014, mobile video is likely to be the preferred service over other mobile value added services. About 50 to 60 per cent of all the mobile data consumption in India is expected to be driven by video over the next two to three years. Further, with improved networks and connectivity, users will increasingly consume higher resolution videos. While pre-downloaded and side-loaded form of video will continue to be a major part of the overall video consumption on mobile, Deloitte forecasts emergence of innovative business models in mobile video streaming/time-restricted download space in 2014.
According to the research firm, instant messaging (MIM) services on mobile phones will grow in volumes. However, short messaging service (SMS) will continue to account for a larger revenue share. In 2014, MIMs will be more than twice the volume of messages sent via a SMS. However, despite the growing volumes of MIMs, SMS is expected to generate more than $100 billion globally in 2014, equivalent to about 50 times the total revenues generated from MIM services. However, the scenario might be different in India, as operators have reduced low cost SMS plans due to regulatory changes; resulting in subscribers using other means to communicate. Deloitte states that India would witness a surge in the development of local language applications and localisation of content, as any incremental increase in mobile data and internet subscriber base would be achieved among the section of the population whose digital accessibility is limited by language constraints.
The research firm forecasts that social media would continue to grow as a preferred platform for targeted advertising as its adoption surges, driven by increasing mobile usage and higher penetration of smartphones and a young population. In 2014, shipments of phablets and smartphones supporting 5.0-6.9-inch screens, will represent a quarter of the total smartphones sold. The year 2014 may mark a ?peak phablet? year, as only a (sizeable) minority of smartphones users will be inclined to handle devices with large scale. Two thirds of phablets in 2014 will support screen sizes less than 5.1 inches and less than 10 per cent of the phablets are going to feature screen size of 6.1-inch.
Going forward, Deloitte envisages emergence of innovative business models in mobile video streaming/time-restricted download space in 2014. The research firm concludes that operators will move towards more affordable smart networks which are capable of supporting third party video service providers as well as help developing video consumption habits among customers.
