Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC), one of industry’s leading accounting and business consultancy firm, in its latest report titled “Mobile Broadband Outlook 2015” has said that the number of 3G subscribers in India is projected to cross 107 million-mark by 2015. Looking at the recently concluded 3G spectrum and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) auction, which resulted in a more-than-estimated revenue inflow of Rs. 1.06 trillion for the Government, this projection might well turn out to be true. What is interesting is that PWC has estimated the rural subscribers to comprise 24 per cent of the overall 3G subscriber base by 2015. This mobile broadband penetration will be driven by the introduction of innovative technologies, decreasing price of 3G/High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) enabled handsets and enhanced user experience. Maintaining a positive outlook towards the mobile services sector, the report says that the mobile subscriber base is projected to cross 1 billion in 2014, thanks to high additions, mostly in rural areas. The report thus presents a very promising picture for the Mobile broadband growth.3g
This growth is vital for social and economic development of our country in a number of ways:
* India is expected to add 136 million people to its workforce in next 10 years. With such a whopping increment, primary access to information and data becomes indispensable for reaping maximum benefits.
* Our Government has been actively pursuing the inclusive agenda for the growth of rural areas. All these rural development schemes will definitely get a boost from increased broadband access. But the broadband penetration in rural areas is still quite low, owing to non-scalable wire line infrastructure. Thus, mobile broadband can play a role in integrating rural India with rest of the country and help widen markets by creating better information flows. The financial-inclusion plans undertaken by the Government can leverage the platform to reach out to a large base of unbanked customers across India.
* Mobile broadband can act as a catalyst in various sectors including Telecom, financial services, Media & Entertainment by giving them opportunities to expand the service offerings.
Mobile broadband has the potential to deliver the Broadband power which we have long aspired for. It can thus act as a key differentiator in our quest for being an Economic Superpower. However, what we do not want is for it to get mired in excessive policy changes and regulatory frameworks. That would really be unfortunate.
Do you think that Mobile Broadband should be recognized as a key component in our National Broadband Strategy?
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