While the Indian telecom sector was driven by operator?s reach on a pan-India basis and subscriber additions in the period upto 2008, the year 2009 was marked by innovations on the tariff front. Tariffs in this sector, where, on an average, 10-12 players in each circle (from 4-5 players in 2008) are jostling for space, have continued to descend. The revenues per minute for operators have fallen by 30% in 2009, which points to the huge tariff cuts Indian telecom operators have undertaken during the period.
When Reliance Communications (R Comm) kick-started its GSM services in the Mumbai circle, it offered free talktime on local calls and SMS to any network which roped in five million new wireless subscribers on its network during January 2009. This customer experience programme (CEP) targeted the then 250 million GSM customers in the country, which has now grown to 366 million.
The next milestone in the history of telecom was marked by the GSM service launched by Tatas in June. What was then described as the ?moment of triumph for the Indian consumer? by Ratan Tata changed the landscape of the telecom sector. Moving away from per minute billing, telecom players introduced the pay-per-use regime. The year that had started with RComm giving out freebies, ended with the introduction of per second billing regime in the Indian telecom industry.
A sneak peek into the year ahead shows that 2010 will set the stage for data growth via 3G in India. It will see rapid adoption of 3G-enabled handsets which will set the base for data growth. Year 2010 will also see the stabilisation on the tariff front. According to an economist with a leading bank, ?The year followed by a drought leads to more than normal increase in output. This points towards more purchasing power in the India, in turn leading to rural telephony being a major driver of growth.? Mobile number portability will see light in the year ahead, which according to industry insiders, may drive consolidation in the industry.