Booming Indian Wireless Market Has Plenty of Room for Growth

February 12, 2007

The wireless phone subscriber base in India has already crossed the 100 million mark and will more than double to 265.2 million by 2010, reports In-Stat. Providers will continue to rake in profits, however, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) levels have declined significantly, and the downward trend is expected to continue, the high-tech market research firm says.

The primary growth drivers for the subscriber base include the fact that India is an under-penetrated market, low tariff structure, increasing ability of the population to afford mobile services, and rapid network expansion by operators.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

- ARPU in India is one of the lowest in the world and is expected to decline further to US$5.60 by 2010.

- The prime reason for the decline in ARPU is the downward trend in tariff structure for subscribers due to intense competition.

- The leading operators are Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Reliance, Hutchison, and Idea Cellular. Combined, these players accounted for about 84% of the subscriber base in 2005.

The research, "Achieving Profitability in the Indian Wireless Market", covers the market for wireless services in India. It includes analysis of the profitability of the players in this market, including the cost structure for mobile operators. It contains forecasts for subscribers, revenue and ARPU through 2010.