While the 3G spectrum saga plods on and the two existing players – MTNL and BSNL – report dismal figures of subscribers, a new research report highlights the potential of 3G users in India. Evalueserve, a provider of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services, has said in their new report that by the end of 2013, about 275 million Indian subscribers will use 3G-enabled services, and the number of 3G-enabled handsets will reach close to 395 million.
It does seem like a bloated figure, especially since the service is meant to rely heavily on the urban (above poverty line) audience, which already has access to various other high-speed Internet services at their home or office.
The urban segment is expected to account for about 80 per cent of the 3G consumer base by 2013. The below poverty line segment is expected to remain dormant over four to five years following the launch of 3G.
The rural segment is an untapped market and should see a boom by the end of 2012 or 2013, the report says. This surge is expected to lead to a demand for regional content like video clips, mobile comic strips and mobile magazines.
With rising income per household and improving standards of application-related services in India, the total mobile subscriber base in India could cross the 850 million mark by the end of 2012 and reach nearly 1 billion by the end of 2013, said the report. As of the end of 2008, the number of mobile service users in the country stood at 346.9 million.
Evalueserve’s report is a bit optimistic, if you ask us; but well, we aren’t paid to conduct large-scale consumer research either.