With the auction for 3G Spectrum hotting up in India, we were intrigued to Analyze on where Indian Telecom Operators stand in Non-Voice revenues a.k.a – Value Added Services – VAS. It is surprising to find that Indian operators rank at the bottom of the chart.
At 10-11% of revenues, contribution of value added services to the overall revenues of Indian wireless operators remains one of the lowest globally. NTT DoCoMO in Japan has the highest contribution of VAS at 45% of customers ARPU and Verizon Wireless in the US has gained to our surprise and has ARPU of about 30% from VAS. The following chart shows the details [Enlargeable],
A significant portion of the current non-voice revenues is contributed by SMS and caller ring back tones, while mix of data and other applications remains relatively low. Low voice tariffs prevalent in India prevent potential arbitrage in using SMS v/s a voice call. Low penetration of data revenues in the Indian market reflects significant growth potential over the next 3-5 years, post impending 3G rollout. Non-voice revenues in India have stagnated at 10-11% for many quarters.
