It is not very difficult to know the status of people you are travelling with, or people around you. Not at all, because phones these days have become a status symbol. You go to an elite restaurant or first class AC compartment of a train you’ll hear the iPhone cellular tune. Check out an uber or ola your ear drums will ring with a MI or Samsung. Hang on a public transport with a Lava or Intex or anything else.
Did I forget Nokia?- Not just me, we all have.
India currently is the world’s second largest tele-communications market with a gigantic subscriber base of 1.05 billion, and has the 3rd highest number of internet users across the globe which is in no turn to slow down the pace. The Indian mobile economy is growing rapidly and will contribute substantially to India’s GDP, according to a report prepared by GSM Association. The liberal and reformist policies of the Government of India have been instrumental along with strong consumer demand in the rapid growth in the Indian telecom sector. The government has enabled easy market access to telecom equipment and a fair and proactive regulatory framework that has ensured availability of telecom services to consumer at affordable prices.
The growth of chinese manufacturers into the category played a vital role in shaping the Indian mobile phone industry. Vivo, Oppo, Gionee and many such brands have entered the telecommunication market, posing a threat to other ancestor names. India’s telephone subscriber base expanded at a CAGR of 19.16 per cent, reaching 1188.5 million during FY-17. Tele-density (defined as the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals) in India, increased from 17.9 in FY-07 to 92.59 in FY-17.
Indian smartphone makers fell to ruses from the same playbook they’d used to dislodge the likes of Blackberry and Nokia; brands that were big, complacent and unable to see the future or react in time. In Nokia’s case it was dual-SIM phones. With BlackBerry, it was smartphones. With the Indian players, it was their relatively sluggish adoption of 4G. Nokia was a pioneer in the smartphone market, literally introducing consumers to the smartphone with its initial Symbian Series 60 devices in 2002. But, it became stagnant with no growth reforms. ”They didn’t make the leap of faith onto Windows Phone until 2011. Now they are suffering from their slow response.” — Wayne LamBut in 2007, Apple introduced its iPhone. With its full touchscreen and app-based operating system, the iPhone changed the very definition of what a smartphone should be. That was the hoax about the rise and fall of certain key brands. Let’s talk about the mobile industry as a whole, it’s market size, government initiatives and future perspectives.
Market Size-
Data usage on Indian telecom operators’ networks (excluding Reliance Jio), doubled in six months to 359 petabytes or 3.7 million gigabytes per month as 4G data usage share increased to 34 per cent by the end of June 2017. Smartphones sales across the globe increased 6.7 per cent year-on-year to 366.2 million between April-June 2017, on the back of increased demand of 4G smartphones in India and other emerging markets.
The mobile industry is expected to create a total economic value of Rs 14 trillion (US$ 217.37 billion) by the year 2020. It would generate around 3 million direct job opportunities and 2 million indirect jobs during this period.
Investment-
With daily increasing subscriber base, there have been a lot of investments and developments in the sector. The industry has attracted FDI worth US$ 24.033 billion during the period April 2000 to June 2017, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Future Perspectives-
India will emerge as a leading player in the virtual world by having 700 million internet users of the 4.7 billion global users by 2025, as per a Microsoft report. Internet economy expected to touch Rs 10 trillion (US$ 155 billion) by 2018, contributing around 5 per cent to the country’s GDP. With the government’s favourable regulation policies and 4G services hitting the market, the Indian telecommunication sector is expected to witness fast growth in the next few years.
Thing to witness here is, how much of this becomes concrete and how much sheds to air.