| Handset market grows 3.5% to 40 million in Q3 | Top |
| The country's mobile handsets market recorded a growth of 3.6% to touch 40.08 million units in the third quarter ended September 30, 2010, as compared to the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, according to IDC India. The year 2010 is expected to end with total mobile handset sales of 155.9 million units. The sales in smartphones category saw a growth of 34.2% quarter on quarter and increase by 294.9% year-on-year and is likely to touch nearly 6 million in calendar 2010. Source |
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| UID No. to be used for mobile user verification | Top |
| The Unique Identification (UID) number project, which is poised to use the 700 million-plus mobile subscriber database and distribution network, will in turn become the basis of issuing mobile connections in the future. The UID number will be the definitive proof for subscriber verification. Security agencies often fret about lack of proper subscriber identification norms and paperwork before issuance of mobile numbers and SIM cards, especially among the fast growing prepaid segment. Source |
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| New telecom gear norms by Feb: DoT | Top |
| The Department of Telecommunications, or DoT, has decided to extend the existing dual process being followed for security clearance of telecom equipment while promising closure on the contentious telecom equipment security issue by February. DoT will firm up and announce its position within the next two weeks. "We will then have a consultation with security agencies after which the new template will replace the existing dispensation ," said DoT secretary R Chandrashekhar. Source |
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| 18.98 million telecom subscribers added in October: Trai | Top |
| India's largest telecom company, Bharti Airtel , added the highest number of mobile subscribers in October, regaining its position among the top three telcos in terms of number of subscribers added. Bharti added more than 3 million subscribers, leading the list of 15 telecom operators that together added more than 18.9 million subscribers in October, showed the data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI )) on Friday. Source |
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| 3G services from Airtel pushed till 2011 | Top |
| With the government putting its leg in the 3G launch citing security reasons, the country's largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, has delayed its 3G services owing to its lack of preparation and the doubtful future of 3G video calls. As per a company executive the 3G services from Airtel may well see the light of the day in 2011. Source |
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| India becomes smartphone makers' delight | Top |
| Smartphone sales have jumped three-fold in the third quarter (July-September) of 2010 over the year-ago period and grown by 34.2 per cent over the second quarter (April-June) of this year, according to the latest IDC survey released on Thursday. This clearly underscores the trend that India mobile handset consumers have started showing higher preference for adopting smartphones. According to the report, smartphone prices continued to drop through the year and as competition increased, devices were made available by vendors at successively lower price points. Source |
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| Govt imposes anti-dumping duty on Chinese telecom equipment | Top |
| India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to 266 per cent on imports of an IT equipment — also used in the telecom sector — to guard the domestic industry from cheap Chinese and Israeli shipments. The restrictive duty on import of 'Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Transmission Equipment' would range from 3 per cent to 266 per cent on the CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) value of imports, the Department of Revenue said. The move would impact import of the equipment from companies like Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co Ltd, ZTE Corporation and Israel-based ECI Telecom Ltd. Source |
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| India Telecom Minister: Looking To Allot More Bandwidth To Telecom Operators | Top |
| India is looking to allot more radio bandwidth to telecom operators for offering basic mobile telephony services, the federal telecommunications minister said. "The real problem is that in India we have the lowest volume of spectrum available to the public and the civil community, so we need to increase the amount of spectrum," Kapil Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of an event. Source |
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| Indian Telecom Network Grows by 40 Percent in 2010 | Top |
| Telecommunications network grew by over 40 per cent during 2010 with addition of 216.13 million connections . Telephone connections stood at 742.13 million on October 31, 2010, whereas it was only 526 million on the same day previous year. Of these 706.70 million are wireless connections. With this, Indian Telecom Network is now the largest wireless network in the world. The current addition of more than 17 million connections per month puts the telecom sector on a strong footing. The target of 600 million connections by the end of Eleventh Five year plan has been achieved in February 2010 itself. Growth of Telecom Sector The opening of the sector has not only led to rapid growth but also helped a great deal towards maximization of consumer benefits as tariffs have been falling across the board. From only 54.6 million telephone subscribers in 2003, the number increased to 621.28 million at the end of March 2010 and further to 742.13 million at the end of October 2010 showing an addition of 120.85 million during the period from March 2010 to October 2010. Wireless telephone connections have contributed to this growth as the number of wireless connections rose from 3.57 million in March 2001 to 13.29 million in 2003, 101.86 million in March 2006, 584.32 million in March 2010 and 706.70 million at the end of October, 2010. The year also witnessed two more telecom companies crossing the 100 million mark in terms of wireless connections. Bharti Airtel was the first Indian Operator to achieve the landmark in 2009. It was followed by Vodafone and Reliance Communication in 2010. Wireline Vs. Wireless The growth of wireless services has been substantial, with wireless subscribers growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57% per annum since 2004. Today, the wireless subscribers are not only much more than the wireline subscribers in the country, but also increasing at a much faster pace. The share of wireless phones has increased from 5.26 per cent in 1999 to 95.23% in October 2010. Private vs. Public The liberalization efforts of the Government are evident in the growing share of the private sector. The private sector is now playing an important role in the expansion of telecom sector. The share of private sector in total telephone connections is now 84.42% as per the latest statistics available for October, 2010 as against a meager 5% in 1999. Teledensity Teledensity is an important indicator of telecom penetration in the country. The teledensity which was 2.32% in March 1999 increased to 12.7% in March 2006 and 52.74% in March 2010 and further to 62.51% in October 2010. Thus there has been continuous improvement in the overall teledensity of the country. The rural teledensity which was above 1.21% in March 2002 has increased to 24.31% in March 2010 and further to 29.25 in October 2010. The urban teledensity has increased from 66.39 in March 2008 to 119.45% in March 2010 and stands at 140.06% at the end of October 2010. Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) Wide gap between urban and rural teledensitites indicate need for rapid increase in teledensity of rural areas. Introduction of wireless phones in rural areas and various measures of Government under USOF for expansion of mobile network in remote rural areas will enhance rural teledensity. Private Service providers are also looking for opportunities in rural areas. Internet and Broadband It is necessary to increase the broadband connectivity for the knowledge-based society to grow quickly and for reaping the consequent economic benefits. Several policies have been announced and implemented to promote broadband in the country. As a result of these measures the broadband subscribers grew from 0.18 million in 2005 to 8.8 million as on March 31, 2010 and about 10.34 million, at the end of the October, 2010. Internet subscribers grew from 9.2 million during QE June 2007 to 17.96 million during QE September 2010. |
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| 70% Indians have mobiles | Top |
| While a corruption scandal rages on spectrum sale, landmarks are being crossed in India's telecom expansion. The number of mobile phone subscribers crossed 700 million in October, which means — given the population of just over 1 billion — seven out of 10 Indians have a cellphone connection. However, the connections may be a bit unevenly spread, as many people have more than one number. Also, those below the age of five are unlikely to have cellphones. Source |
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