The MBiT Index study, Nokia’s annual report on mobile broadband performance in India, has revealed exponential growth of 3G data traffic across the country in 2015.
According to the survey, there has been 85% year-on-year 3G traffic growth in 2015 following 3G expansion and device availability. Survey also that the monthly 3G data usage per user passed 750 MB and the traffic outpaced 2G for the first time across all circles.
“Aggressive 3G network expansion in existing circles and new launches by operators have been instrumental in increasing data traffic in India. It is expected that this data traffic growth will be boosted in the coming years by the auction of additional spectrum, an increase in smartphone penetration and the development of the content ecosystem,” said Sandeep Girotra, Vice President and Head of India Market, Nokia. “Moreover, the rapid evolution of the device ecosystem, supported by a decline in prices, presents significant growth opportunities for operators as they launch and expand 4G LTE networks in coming years,” he added.
“If we see the data revenues of telecos with 2G, it was about 5% to 8% of the revenues. With the increase of 3G presence, the number has reached between 18% to 20%,” said Romal Shetty, Head of Telecom Services at KPMG. He also added that with the advent of 4G the number is expected to reach close to 30%.
“The lack of spectrum available to the telecom companies is an issue in India,” said Shetty.
“The availablity of the spectrum is an issue in India. We have about 12 operators fighting for spectrum in per kilometre area in India,” Shetty said. He also added that Bangladesh has three times per kilometre spectrum as that of India.
He also emphasised that the good thing about it is that the numbers have started increasing pan India, outside the Tier I cities. “The data consumption has been improving throughout the country. This phenomenon has been found ouside the top 10 cities of India also,” he said. He also opined that telecos need to step up their capital expenditure for improving the telecom infrastructure in India.
“We still believe that 3G has a lot of scope in India as we feel it is still growing,” a Vodafone spokesperson told Deccan Herald. “What we believe is that, though 4G is a new technology, but the ecosystem is not yet developed for it. So, we have launched it only in the specific circles,” he added. Vodafone recently launched 4G services in five circles that constitute close to 50% of the revenues to the company.
DH News Service