Is India on the verge of a telecom revolution? According to a recent study by
Research group Gartner, a 300 percent increase in telecom user base is expected
in the country by 2006. Gartner estimates that 128 million telephones of all
kinds - fixed, cellular and limited mobility, will be ringing loudly in the
country in another 4 years.
Currently there are some 43 million telephones of all kinds in India. The
plain landlines dominate the landscape with 36 million units followed by nearly
7 million cellular phones. Gartner estimates that the landlines would continue
to dominate the segment even in 2006 with an installed base of 75 million, a
market share of 60 percent. The market for cellular phones is expected by
Gartner to zoom by 650 percent to some 44.5 million. The hybrid phones using
wireless in local loop will account for another 8.35 million units.
If the predictions actually come true, Indian telecom market will grow into
one of the largest in the world, next only to China. It would offer tremendous
opportunities to the IT industry, both in hardware and software areas. To cater
to such a large subscriber base, the telecom service companies would have make
massive investments in computer hardware and software.
The back end operations of a telecom service company is highly technology
intensive to handle tasks such as billing, customer service, fault detection,
monitoring etc.
Already telecom software is a major opportunity area for India's software
majors. India's top software company, TCS, senses the opportunity in telecom
software and has announced its intention to hire some 1,500 professionals to
fulfil the demand from this segment. TCS is also venturing to China to capture a
significant chunk of the demand for telecom software. Other software giants like
Wipro and Infosys too have significant presence in this segment.
But how is the big surge in demand for telecom services going to happen is
the big question. The telecom industry, barring the cellular operators, still
dominated by government-run companies, has to undertake intense marketing
efforts to convince people about the usefulness of a telephone connection. A
telephone is still considered a luxury even in thousands of middle class homes
in this country. And the industry has yet to reach out to the lower middle class
segments. The complicated process involved in getting a telephone connection and
the indifferent attitude of the telecom employees to attend to faults have not
made telephone connection a 'must buy' item in millions of potential homes.
With pre-paid cellular cards and wireless in local loop, technology is no
longer an issue in installing huge telecom networks.
The attitudinal change among the telecom companies is the biggest stumbling
block in realizing the big potential this industry has in India. Till this
change happens, estimates put up by agencies like Gartner will remain a mirage
only.