India to be second largest mobile broadband market

[Holmes]

Tech | Posted on Apr 04, 2012 at 03:47pm IST
India to be second largest mobile broadband market

New Delhi: The GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, has announced that India
will become the second largest mobile broadband market globally within the next four years with 367 million mobile broadband connections by 2016.

This will make it a larger market than the US, which will account for 337 million mobile broadband connections by 2016; but it will still be second to China, which will have reached 639 million connections in the same period.

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+">HSPA (3G GSM technology) 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.
India to be second largest mobile broadband market

"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," said Anne Bouverot, director general of the GSMA.

According to a recent study 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.

According to Wireless Intelligence the cost of an LTE smartphone, with an average retail price of $500 (Rs 25,000), is four times the average monthly per capita GDP in India, and at an average of $200 (Rs 10,000), the retail price of an LTE USB dongle is twice an Indian's monthly income on average. As LTE networks proliferate worldwide and more devices become available, costs will come down. Initiatives like the introduction of the low cost Aakash tablet in India are helping spur widespread access to the internet in emerging markets. But more can be done.

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http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-to-be-second-largest-mobile-broadband-market/245735-11.html

 

[Skyline]

Good move!
btw how about map of 3G coverage right now? anyone can post?

 

[Mujraparty]

Good move!
btw how about map of 3G coverage right now? anyone can post?

old one ...

 

[Shabz Nist]

Good move!
btw how about map of 3G coverage right now? anyone can post?

 

[Skyline]

That's amazing to see countrywide 3G coverage!

 

[Holmes]

Good move!
btw how about map of 3G coverage right now? anyone can post?

lol. how 'bout this.

India to exceed100 mn 3G connections by 2014: GSMA
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Apr 03, 2012, 19:43 IST

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Global mobile phone industry body GSM Association today said 3G connections in India are expected to grow to more than 100 million by 2014 -- the highest in the world.

"There are now more than 10 million HSPA (3G) connections across the country, and this is expected to grow by 900%, to more than 100 million connections in 2014," GSMA Director General Anne Bouverot said after opening its first permanent office in the country here.

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This will make India the largest HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) market worldwide within the next two years, surpassing China, Japan and the US, she added.

High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols.

Bouverot added that the country is poised to overtake the US and become the second largest mobile broadband market globally, after China within the next four years with 367 million mobile broadband connections by 2016.

"The mobile industry in India is set for immense growth as mobile broadband technologies such as HSPA and LTE (Long Term Evolution) start to proliferate, but there is scope for far greater development," she said.

"Now of course to take full advantage of this, we need operators to have access to spectrum and we call on the Indian government to release and allocate spectrum in a fair and transparent way for all stakeholders," Bouverot said.

She said GSMA will work closely with operators and other industry players in development of low cost access devices to boost growth in India.

Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor, who was also present at the event, said affordability, followed by sustainability and clarity in policy are the key issues that are requied to leapfrog the country in becoming competitive in future.

"Development of countries around world will depend on development of physical and virtual infrastructure. It is ironical in India we are lost in debate around 4.4 Mhz and 6.2 Mhz of spectrum which truly is Mickey mouse spectrum if this country has to become competitive," Kapoor said.

GSMA's permanent office here will be headed by Sandeep Karanwal.

India to exceed100 mn 3G connections by 2014: GSMA

4G is on start...

 

[Holmes]

double post

@Shabz Nist
Dont forget.......BSNL...
http://wimaxbsnl.blogspot.in/2010/12/bsnl-wimax-4g-kerala-widened-to-trichur.html

 

[Skyline]

lol. how 'bout this.

Global mobile phone industry body GSM Association today said 3G connections in India are expected to grow to more than 100 million by 2014 -- the highest in the world.

"There are now more than 10 million HSPA (3G) connections across the country, and this is expected to grow by 900%, to more than 100 million connections in 2014," GSMA Director General Anne Bouverot said after opening its first permanent office in the country here.

just 10 million HSPA (3G) connections right now in India?

We have 4G at Colombo only. F**k TRC of Sri Lanka.

 

[Holmes]

just 10 million HSPA (3G) connections right now in India?

think so

 

[ChinaToday]

India's 4G hopes firmly tied to china, says Professor Arogyaswami Paulraj

Two years ago, telecom industry was keenly watching debate between competing broadband internet technologies WiMAX and LTE. More importantly telecom network equipment and mobile handset makers wanted to know which side of the fence, India, the fastest growing telecom market, would fall.

When Reliance Industries, the only operator with pan-India licence and spectrum to launch broadband wireless services nationwide hinted at using LTE, it was interpreted as the last nail on the WiMAX coffin. Now Professor Arogyaswami Paulraj, inventor of MIMO, a critical wireless communication technology, says a new debate is catching fire - between two flavours of Long Term Evolution (LTE): TD-LTE versus FDD-LTE. By choosing TD-LTE, Indian operators may have got themselves into trouble because equipment and device manufacturers are currently aligned with FDD-LTE.

Nations such as the US, Japan and some in European have chosen FDD-LTE for their broadband roll out. Professor Arogyaswami, now teaching at Stanford University, is a seasoned observer and participant in the wireless telecommunication scene. The first company he founded was acquired by Intel for $70 million while the second was acquired by Broadcom for about $320 million. Unless China puts its might behind TD-LTE, India may be in trouble, the technology expert told ET. Excerpts:

Do you think dust has settled down on WiMAX Vs LTE debate?

The success of a technology is also about how many companies build devices around that technology. India may be in trouble because we are the only country doing TD-LTE. Only major one like the US and Japan have used FD-LTE technology. Now everybody is waiting for China. But they have invested in a home-grown technology TD-SCDMA and they want to have some traction for that.

The government's thinking is probably that they don't want Chinese companies to adopt a foreign technology until their own technology has a reasonable user base. They will do it only on the basis of national interest. China has expressed its intent to roll out TD-LTE, the question is when.

So unless there are TD-LTE roll outs in several other countries, India is at the mercy of China?

India is a big market no doubt. But, we have never really been a technology leader. We have not driven any technology standards. We have always been a follower. Unlike China Mobile, which has a huge R&D department, our mobile operators depend on others for technology.

China also has have manufacturing firms like Huawei and ZTE, so they can drive technologies. If at some point Indian operators realise that TD-LTE is losing ground, they may drop it and move to a different technology. So if I'm a telecom manufacturing company, I will be taking a huge risk if I put my money behind TD-LTE thinking I have the entire Indian market.

I will look for a leader. That way there is a guarantee that if the leader is committed, then I am safe. India does not instill that confidence in equipment and device manufacturers, at least not enough to take significant business risks.

So if the 700MHz spectrum is auctioned, can companies who get that, use FDD-LTE for roll out?

That is a possibility and if that does happen, then they will have a competitive advantage over the firms that now own the 23MHz spectrum and is contemplating the use of TD-LTE for roll out.

What would you advice any Indian operators looking to launch 4G?

We could have started with WiMAX, a technology that was more mature. Price points would have been much lower and once you have built up a larger user base, upgrade to a better technology. India could have driven WiMAX. But, it is too late for that, I wouldn't put money on WiMAX now.(laughs).

But given the spectrum shortage we have, TD-LTE is good from a technology perspective, so we can't abandon it. We are where we are. We can wake up and tell the Chinese to start allocating their spectrum and start rolling out TD-LTE and that way there will be more momentum towards for this technology. Unfortunately, that looks like the only option at this point of time.

Can local manufacturing save us? When it comes to technology, we depend on others, be it phones, cars, airplanes. Maybe 20 years ago, China was behind us, but now they are light years ahead of India. We are in a pathetic state. In Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I couldn't find a single Indian company.

Out of some 4,500 stalls, about 2,000 were Chinese, about 1,000 US and then there were Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong but not a single Indian vendor. That tells you a lot about the state of affairs here. And yet, we produce some of the best brains that design these devices that go into them. When are we going to wake up?

India's 4G hopes firmly tied to china, says Professor Arogyaswami Paulraj - Page2 - The Economic Times

 

[Android]

old one ...

so we provide 3G services to pakistani kashmir

 

[Holmes]

Could Airtel be the first to launch 4G in India? - Tech2.com -
4G LTE
4G Wimax was launched 2 yrs ago.

Huawei expanding India business to cash in on 4G roll out - Tech News - IBNLive