India is the world’s second-largest telecommunications market, with 898 million subscribers as on March 2013. The sector 's revenue grew by 13.4 per cent to reach US$ 64.1 billion in FY12.
Telecom infrastructure in India is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent during 2008-15 to reach 571,000 towers in 2015.
Internet traffic in India is expected to reach to 2.5 Exabyte’s per month in 2017 from 393 pet bytes per month in 2012, as per a Cisco study. In addition, the wireless connectivity in India is expected to grow at about 40 per cent traffic by 2017, up from 38 per cent in 2012.
India has immense opportunities for telecom operators and is one of the best markets for telecom business. “Right now, we feel the Indian market is ripe for M&A stories,” highlighted Mr. Dmitry Shukov, CEO, Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL).
Key Statistics
India has recorded 55.48 crore mobile users as per Juxt’s study titled, India Mobile Landscape (IML) 2013. “More than 29.8 crore, about 54 per cent, of these device owners are in rural areas as compared to 25.6 crore in cities and towns," added Mr. Mrutyunjay, Co-founder, Juxt.
The telecommunications industry attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$ 12,866 million during April 2000 to June 2013, an increase of 7 per cent to the total FDI inflows, according to data published by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Moreover, the cumulative revenue of telecom service providers was recorded at Rs 54,284 crore (US$ 8.32 billion) in the January-March 2013 quarter, as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data.
Market Dynamics
The Indian mobile phone market is highly competitive with more than 150 device manufacturers trying to attract the consumers with their schemes and offers. Most of these producers focus their efforts on the low-cost feature phone market, which constitutes over 91 per cent of overall mobile phone sales, offering a huge
References: Introduction The company was incorporated as Birla Communications Limited on March 14, 1995 and commenced business on August 11, 1995 The company name was changed to Birla AT&T Communications Limited on May 30, 1996 following the execution of a joint venture agreement dated December 5, 1995 between AT&T Corporation and Grasim Industries Limited.