The wireless phone subscriber base in India has already crossed the 100 million mark and will more than double to 265.2 million by 2010, reports In-Stat. Providers will continue to rake in profits, however, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) levels have declined significantly, and the downward trend is expected to continue, the high-tech market research firm says.
"The primary growth drivers for the subscriber base include the fact that India is an under-penetrated market, low tariff structure, increasing ability of the population to afford mobile services, and rapid network expansion by operators," says Mayank Jain, In-Stat analyst.
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- ARPU in India is one of the lowest in the world and is expected to decline further to US$5.60 by 2010. - The prime reason for the decline in ARPU is the downward trend in tariff structure for subscribers due to intense competition. - The leading operators are Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Reliance, Hutchison, and Idea Cellular. Combined, these players accounted for about 84% of the subscriber base in 2005.