My Blog : Great Indian Telecom Boom whats store for Operators and Customers

India have witnesses fast growth bith in terms of number of subscribers , coverage and introduction of mobile broadband.

Some stats for Indian telecom growth

1. 860 mn subscribers as of July 2011 expected to cross 1000 mn by 2013.
2. Addition of 15 mn subscribers per month
3. Three lakhs cell sites expected to grow to 4.5 lakhs by 2015

4. Rural teledensity stands at 33 % whereas urban is touching 100 %

5. Average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) 150-200 INR

Some stats on India

1. Popullation at 1.2 billion

2. 77% lives in Rural and 23 % in Urban

3. 50 % below 25 yrs and 65 % below 35 yrs

Operator perspective

- Past two years have seen licenses being allocated which has increased competition and have driven prices to abysmal low. This has resulted in addition of subscribers but overall profits have not responded proportionally.

- 3G aution has been very expensive affairs for operators .

-With profit growth hampered along with cost of 3G roll out means cost optimization will be key driver for operators.

Some of the initiatives envisaged includes:

1. Becoming lead operator : We have seen realignmnet of manpower which has led to lay off by major operators in recent past . This is only one part of being lean , it has to be supported by systems and processes E2E otherwise actual benefits will short fall.

2. Power is major operation cost of network accounting for 60 % . Two billion litres of diesel is consumed each year by telecom operator which is huge amount and leads to higher outlay . Alternate source of fuel like solar system have huge cost barrier . This area of alternate energy requires innovation and governmant support .

3. Optimize infrastructure sharing , which will be more important for rural and semi urban areas.

4. Business analytics to drive decisions with so many information in multiple systems

5. Customer insight to drive personalized products/offerings

I dont think Indian operators will have time to take challenge or take pie from over the top operators like facebook, google, apple etc . Operators will be mere pipe provider , will be spending time in operations and evolving networks to 3G to LTE in near future.

Customer Perscpective

1. One of the cheapest telecom services rates

2. Mobile broadband services providing on move access to internet and applications with Smartphone penetration

3. Offerings of application from over the top providers ex apple , google etc

4. Service Quality like speed will be not the key differentiator for customer as all operators will have more and less same quality but operator with better coverage will be winner.

5. Bundling of products personalized to end user will be lucrative offer to catch customer mindset

In my opinion , operator which can work on below three aspect will be winner in long run

1. lean operator: In terms of cost of running business , agile time to market products .

2. Better rural strategy

3. Capture mindset of Indian Youth

MY BLOG : Wishing all great citizens HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY . Year gone by and how we go about to be developed nation

Wishing all citizens of this Great nation "Happy Independence Day". I am proud of being born and brought up in India. Country is full of heroism, diversity and infinite things to learn.

We Indians have been aspiring to be developed nation and still I feel we have been struggling. We have come long way and still stand in illusion to touch destinity.

Positives for India

1. We have stable GDP growth.

2. Globally we have transformed being recognized as emerging economy and India companies are competing globally in IT, Telecom, Automobile etc

3. We have vibrant young population which is very positive sign .

These positives is overshadowed by key issues which none of the government is able to find way out :

1. Rural - Urban divide : Benefits of liberalization has created big urban and rural divide . What I feel this can only be bridged by :
- Focus on agriculture reforms : Land reforms , enhancing productivity yield , fair price , wastage which is 30 % o and rural coperative socities like Amul

2. Education System : Our governmanr schools have failed to deliver education in recent past . Its not due to lack of education or quality teachers but lack of accountability. Mr Kapil Sibbal talks a lot about education reforms but has no vision on how to take education to roots , best he can do is open FDI for foreign universities which will target high end market but our problem of government aided quality eduaction will be untouched.

3. Health System: I feel very shamefull when I see only AIIMS being the hospital for ages. We have seen private hospitals coming up but very few are committed for poor patient treatment although have been allocated land to ensure certain % of treatment for poor.

4. Infrastructure : Pressure on infrastructure have increased over years and pace of infrastructure have been lacklustre. You travel on Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh , Triangle connectin in NCR have been initiated 12 years and still not complete .

What does this means and what should government and we citizens are expected to do to touch that last mile of being developed nations.

This requires holistic approach focussed on:

1. Role of Government and Private particiaption : Government have to be very clear about what is there role and where they should focus. Education , Health and infrastructure are three areas where government is required to participate actively with engagement of private participation. Give concession in urban areas and take commitment for rural development .I dont think any industrilist will mind if intentions are clear.

2. Identify 5 key new industries besides IT, automobile and start developing expertise , efficiency to compete at global level.

3. Over privatization without accountability and weak governance will lead to leaving citizens at mercy of dumping , unhygienic products, substandard quality and services. Government should provide effective governance, lay out specification on standards and grievance resolution.

4. Agricluture and distribution needs use of better technology. I believe coperative society is better model for India.

5. Judiciary , Police and municipal corporation needs overhauling.

Except point 5 , other are something which is implementable and can be easlily done but requires leader who leads country from front with clear message and passion to deliver.

Its disheartening we have honest PM with most scams , we have intellectual PM who lacks leadership and passion for India to take to next stage .

" We need leader who can lead India to nest stage , with each year we are loosing steps in forward direction and unfortunately Gandhi grandson have not shown enough promise till now to fit role of leader required"

Testimony to above is how many of us look forward to hear our leader address to nation on independence day.

As citizen of India , I do have duties which I pledge to do :

1. We are unbalance society with huge divide between rich and poor. We should contribute back to society by contribution in terms of monetory, clothes , food etc.

2. At home do save money , water, electricity and food.

3. As parents we develop good citizens

4. In office provide better work environment for emplyees as Manager or leader

5. Protect environment by not throwing garbage on roads , plant trees

6. Lastly and most important dont pay bribe for small things like traffic challan, water connection etc .

Opinion expressed are my personal and I firmly believe we as nation stand out in terms of citizens , rich cuture and value. We need to take charge in whatver means to be "Good Citizens" . let government leads through capable leader to see us being Developed Nation.

JAI HIND