The year 2013 did not prove to a great year for the industry due to several micro and macro-economic issues facing the industry.
Telecom is going through a rough patch with the industry?s revenue model being under stress as the price points have decreased and margins have been lower. Value-added services industry has also been affected with the Telecom Regulatory authority of India introducing third party consent gateway etc. Such regulatory restrictions have impacted the industry?s revenues. Moreover rising inflation and high investment costs have added to the woes of the industry.
The industry has pinned its hope on 2014 for the revival of the industry. With the upcoming 2014 General Elections, the industry is expecting a relook at the key policies and regulations. There is a lot of scope for enhancing the basic telephony rate and that will add to profitability of the companies. The industry is awaiting a firm decision regarding the telecom policy to encourage further investment in infrastructure segment. In addition, the industry is expecting an increase in pricing for telecom offerings in the coming year. Market consolidation is also likely to take place in the year 2014.
Despite challenges, the telecom industry is currently growing at 14 per cent. The growth in the industry will further accelerate once there is clarity on the regulatory front. Going forward, 4G is set to revolutionise the Indian telecom industry. The inclusion of fiber optic connectivity will tremendously increase the reach and bandwidth. 3G will also gain substantial momentum while 2G will continue to be the most preferred technology. The quality of services is set to improve with companies taking a step forward by upgrading their existing infrastructure. Cloud will be a game-changer for telecom as well, with more and more companies looking forward to saving costs, cloud deployments will be a preferred mode to acquire cost advantage. Analytics and data will drive the industry forward in the coming year.
