The Big 6 Wireless Operators led by Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Vodafone India, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom and Idea Cellular control 93% of the market i.e 258 mn subscribers of total 277 mn.
The subscriber base is expected to double from the current levels within the next 5-6 years and this is where the new entrants in the wireless game who are betting on. Along with the new entrants, existing smallerp layers such as BPL Mobile, MTNL, Shyam Telelink and HFCL Infotel face an uphill task in retaining customers once the much needed mobile number portability is in place.
We are surprised by Videocon promoted Datacom’s CEO Dhoot’s statement on Mumbai circle which already has 65% of cellular penetration,
I do not think this is a cause of concern since there is a market for 6 mn which can be addressed and there is a scope to relook at tariffs.
The new entrants do not have any plans for 3G [atleast haven’t spoken about it] where bulk of the ARPUs will be 2 years from now. Depending on just voice, limited 2G data capabilities and limited value added services maybe suicidal for the new entrants and small players.
