India is expected to register over 771 Million mobile connections by 2013 due to the increasing focus of operators on rural markets and availability of low-priced handsets.
According to the projections of the research firm Gartner, mobile connections in India will surpass 771 Million by 2013, growing at a CAGR of 14.3% from 452 Million connections this year, as reported by PCWorld. India is also likely to retain its position of being the second-largest wireless market in the world in terms of mobile connections after China.
The country's total mobile services revenue is anticipated to surge at a CAGR of 12.5% from 2009 till 2013, thus surpassing US$30 Billion. The penetration level of mobile market is also expected to grow to 63.5% in 2013 from 38.7% in 2009.
Prepaid subscribers will keep on dominating the mobile connection market in India. Over 93% mobile connections in 2008 were prepaid connections and the figure is expected to increase to over 96% by 2013, thereby surpassing 741 Million from 312 Million in 2008. In the meantime, the postpaid subscriber base will cross 29 Million by 2013, growing 2.5% from 23 Million in 2008.
Data services' revenue will substantially contribute to the growth mobile services' overall growth in India, at a CAGR of 16.8% during 2009-2013. Besides, the churn rate (i.e. the rate at which a subscriber switches his/her operator) is expected to exceed 59% in 2013 from the current rate of 53%.
The growth will mainly be due to the increasing focus of mobile operators on the rural markets as well as low-priced handsets, and local consumer durable and electronic goods companies entering the mobile handset market of India.
Increased adoption of value-added services - relevant to both urban as well as rural markets - will also contribute to the growth of Indian mobile market. It is also learnt that several multinational mobile service providers like NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and Telenor have made bulk investments in mobile services joint ventures in India.
Furthermore, Gartner has forecasted a decline in average revenue per user (ARPU) and lower voice tariffs in wake of intensifying competition, particularly considering the rate at which the rural markets are being targeted.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, "The worldwide economic downturn has failed to cause any harm to the growth of mobile subscribers in India as consumers here look upon communications as a necessity. Moreover, the launch of 3G services will further boost the Indian telecom sector's revenues in coming times."
Related Market Research Reports:
Emerging Rural Mobile Market in India
Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2013
Indian 3G Mobile Forecast to 2012
