Analysts following the Indian mobile phone market are watching with interest the announcement by Nokia that they would be launching entry-level dual SIM phones in India very soon. This announcement was preceded by Samsung announcing that they would strengthen their dual SIM phone portfolio in India, with a sharp focus on the sub 4 K category. Other MNC handset brands are expected to follow suit.

Four years ago when Indian brands like Spice launched their first dual SIM handsets, little did one realise that they had started addressing a clear need of the Indian telecom consumer. While the MNC brands were focused on the larger cities and towns, the nascent Indian handset brands focused on the tier B and Tier C towns where the telecom density was reaching the tipping point. One key driver for the growth in tele-density in the hinterlands was the intense competition that was forcing the telecom operators to drive down call rates. This led to a situation where the consumer started using multiple prepaid SIMs, with usage being driven by the cheapest plan being offered.

The Indian brands quickly rode this trend, by sourcing ?low cost-feature rich? dual SIM phones, primarily from China and Taiwan, thus allowing the customer to keep both SIM cards on one phone. This business model has worked well. Result: The combined market share for the Indian brands has gone up from less then 3% three years ago to 15% this year. It is now clear that the dual SIM category has changed the dynamics of mobile telephony in a nation with a subscriber base at over 650 million.

This success has truly opened up the Indian handset market. It is now estimated that there are more than 100 handset brands operating in the market today. Apart from the MNC brands (Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony and Motorola), Indian players like Spice, Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Zen, Lemon, Videocon and many more are operating in the market. Over the last two years, the dual SIM phones have also evolved from plain Jane phones to relatively high feature devices. For example, many of the dual SIM phones offer two radio receivers (dual processors) which allow both the SIMs to be active. With this, you never end up missing a call on either of your SIM cards.

As the Indian brands have gained volumes, some of them have also focused on brand building by advertising heavily. With this, there is also a fair amount of acceptance for the dual SIM handsets with the youth in the urban cities.

As the MNC vendors lose market share and the Indian brands gain traction, it is the Indian consumer who is truly benefiting from this intense competition in the market. In a consumer forum which I had attended recently, a young college student from Delhi summed it up by saying that many of the Indian dual SIM handsets were ?much more for less?.

The fact that Nokia and Samsung, who have a combined share of approx 75% in the Indian market have decided to bring focus on the dual SIM category, will lead to more choice for the consumer. It is expected that these launches from Nokia and Samsung will be extremely price competitive. The phones launched by Nokia are also supposed to be integrated with Nokia Life Tools service (for information on healthcare, education and entertainment) as well as Ovi Mail.This also implies that established Indian players will have to focus on innovative products and up the ante if they want their dream run to continue?focus on price will no longer be a differentiator for them. A few leading Indian brands are busy reinventing themselves. One thing is clear. The dual SIM category is here to stay.

The writer is CEO, Spice Hotspot