In 2010 we believe that Indian Telecom industry expects to continue with its fast pace of subscriber additions, at least 11 million per month, launch of 3G and WiMAX spectrum, while tariff would continue to slide during the year.
The industry having crossed the 500 million subscriber mark earlier in September 2009 itself, the next milestone would be 750 million. (Global research and analysis firm Gartner, in a recent study, estimatesIndian mobile users to touch 771 million by 2013).
However, this would be a long way off, even though subscriber addition is expected to continue at fast pace in 2010 as companies expand networks to rural areas and new firms commence operations.
3G
One of the main catalysts for growth would be the launch of 3G and WiMAX spectrum, expected to take place by mid-January. 3G, or third generation telecom services, would result in addition or more subscribers as they would bring in a host of data-enabled services to the industry, and growth would come in from both voice and data.
WiMAX
Additionally, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had announced the simultaneous auction of WiMax spectrum that would result in adding of additional data-enabled customers on telecom networks. A host of telecom operators are expected to join the bandwagon for WiMax spectrum.
Tariffs
Cheap call tariffs and mobile handsets were other factors that drove demand in 2009, and telecom companies are expected to continue price was both in call rates and instruments in 2010. This, according to industry analysts, will result in telecom sector’s exponential growth.
The industry also expects launching of innovative and customer friendly schemes like the one second billing in 2010. These schemes would continue to help in improving tele-density and penetration of telecom services in rural and semi-urban areas in the country.
Infrastructure operators
The year 2010 would be that of the infrastructure players. Apart from an expected consolidation in the sector, the infrastructure majors will increase the pace of tower rollout across all the 22 circles in the country.
Bandwidth
An expected increase in bandwidth landing in the country, with telecom companies are laying more submarine cables, would also benefit the industry. This would be beneficial to bandwidth-intensive sectors like BPO, IT and banking.
The industry expects telecom companies to launch terrestrial cables with 50 GB capacities each, to be hiked depending on demand. This coupled with a planned increase by operators this year and next year, would also result in an increase in capacity landing atIndian shores.
MNP
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today announced that Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will initially start in the country with metros and category ‘A’ circles from 31st March 2009.
TRAI also issued new guidelines and regulations on Mobile Number Portability. The MNP allows the subscribers to retain their existing mobile telephone number when they move from one Access Provider to another irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile technology to another of the same Access Provider, in a licensed service area.
The facility of retention of existing mobile telephone number despite moving to a new telecom service provider helps the subscriber maintain contacts with his friends/clientele.
Salient features of the MNP are as follows:
• MNP facility shall be available only within a given licensed service area.
• A subscriber holding a mobile number is eligible to make a porting request only after 90 days of the date of activation of his mobile connection. If a number is already ported once, the number can again be ported only after 90 days from the date of the previous porting.
• The subscriber who wishes to port his mobile number should approach the Recipient operator (the operator to whom the subscriber wants to port his number). The Subscriber may be required to pay porting charges, if any, to the Recipient Operator.
• The subscriber making the porting request is required to have cleared all the bills issued prior to the date of porting request. He shall give an undertaking that he has already paid all billed dues to the Donor Operator as on the date of the request for porting and that he shall pay dues to the Donor Operator pertaining to the mobile number till its eventual porting and that he understands and agrees that in event of non-payment of any such dues to the Donor Operator, the ported mobile number shall be liable to be disconnected by the Recipient Operator.
• A subscriber may withdraw his porting request within 24 hours of its submission to the Recipient Operator. However, the porting charges shall not be refundable.
• The regulation envisage a maximum time period of 4 days for the completion of porting process in all licensed service areas except in the case of J&K, Assam and North East licensed service areas where the maximum time allowed is 12 days. However, efforts will be made to further reduce the porting period.
• Access Providers are required to implement All Call Query method.
• The Originating operator shall be responsible to route the call to correct terminating network.
According to the TRAI the introduction of MNP in India will helps in increasing competition between the service providers and acts as a catalyst for the service providers to improve their quality of service.
Through these MNP regulations, the TRAI is laying down the basic business process framework for implementation of MNP in the country.
