The telecom sector in India has undergone significant changes over the past two decades. In the 1990s, the sector moved from a state-regulated monopoly to increased privatization and competition under new policies. This has led to technological advances, increased customer choice, and a shift to market forces. India now has the 7th largest telecom network in the world, with rapid subscriber growth expected to continue. The mobile market in particular is booming, with over 1.5 million new wireless subscribers added each month. Major players like Bharti Airtel have significant market share but also face threats from new entrants and technology changes. The telecom sector is projected to almost triple in revenue by 2007 as India's teledensity increases
14. India outshining China In the 9th year of wireless operation China 6.8 million India 28 million Subscriber In millions Years India Vs China in comparable years of service
The Indian telecom sector has been witnessing significant change.
The sector is on the cusp of paradigm shift.
Today, India has the seventh largest telecom network in the world, which is growing at an overall rate of over 20%. - Morgan Stanley estimates that the total revenue from the Indian telecom market in 2003 was US$ 9.2 billion.
Presently, wireline services contribute about half of the total service revenues in the telecom market.
India has about 44.76 million fixed lines and 48 million wireless subscribers contributing to the total teledensity of about 8.62%.
The Telecom Equipment Market in India is also on a growth path. - It is expected that during 2004 - 08 , t elecom equipment market size would be worth US$ 19.4 billion. - The telecom handset market, meanwhile is set to touch US$ 8.4 billion.
Indian GSM service providers are presently operating in over 70 networks - covering almost 2000 cities and towns and thousands of villages, - serving 37.37 million subscribers. CDMA ( Code Division Multiple Access) mobile has a subscriber base of 11 million in the country.
The Government of India authored the landmark National Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP 99) and since then, has undertaken various steps to achieve the stated policy objectives. - Key highlights of NTP 99 are migration from a fixed to a revenue share license fee regime and l iberalisation of the long distance sector.
A landmark decision has been taken by the GOI to increase the FDI limit in telecom from 49% to 74%. -The Government announced the Interconnection Usage Charge (IUC) regime, implemented from May 2003. - In December 2003, the Government came out with the Unified Access Licence allowing both basic and cellular service providers to provide access, using any technology in a specified service area. - The customs duty structure on imports related to telecom and specified infrastructure equipment has further been rationalised. - Parts of such equipment are being exempted from basic customs duty.
In terms of performance, India has clearly outshined China. - In its ninth years of existence of wireless services, China had about 6.8 million subscribers. - In comparison, India starting late in 1995 had 28 million wireless subscribers by the end of 2003.
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