Mobile connections in India will reach 880 million this year, a 5 percent increase from 837 million connections registered last year, according to Gartner. Spending on mobile services will grow 4 percent to reach US$21.4 billion this year driven by data services, which are expected to grow 15 percent to reach US$6.5 billion. Newer and faster networks, a rise in the number of users of these networks, and more affordable smartphones will help to increase spending on data service, said Gartner. The research firm belives that spending on data services will also be heavily driven by mobile apps, particularly mobile video apps.
“Mobile data provides a substantial revenue opportunity in India. Communication service providers (CSPs) will need to focus on creating new pricing, with a focus on data access, such as shared plans. They will also need to refine the services they already provide, with a focus on creating richer, more immersive and more personalized experiences, to increase their customer numbers,” said Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.
Neha added that "in India, the rise in spending on data-only connections will be driven by two user scenarios – first, to complement their fixed broadband connectivity, so they can use their larger-screen data-centric devices on the go. In other use cases, data-only connections will be the way for consumers to access broadband connectivity because of a lack of fixed networks."
Garner predicts that the future will be tough for CSPs and mobile app developers who decide not to upgrade the user experiences they deliver on their services and products. The winners will be those providers best able to satisfy consumers' demand for high data use, while maintaining their margins.
