The World's Fastest Growing Mobile Services Market

I am not a tech enthusiast, still when my friend asked me suggestions to buy a new mobile phone; I went online to search for new mobile phone models. To my surprise, my search just went on and on. There is a quick and shocking increase in the number of mobile brands and models launching in India. The number of service providers have also increased double fold. This new finding interested me to know more about the growing mobile phone market in India.

The mobile telecommunications system in India stands second in the world. Many global consultancy firms have projected that India’s telecom network will overtake China in the next 10-15 years. Now, that’s not a small thing.

The first mobile telephone service started in the capital city of Delhi in 1985. Since then, there has been a tremendous growth in the field. Even though the period between 1985 and 1990 saw a slower pace in further developments in the mobile services field, nineties reflected a positive attitude towards the market. India's 1st Mobile service provider was ‘MobileNet’ which was later acquired by Bharti Airtel. Competition went up as new players tried their hands in the mobile segment.

Now, more than 26 mobile service providers are providing cellular services in India. Some of the major players are Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance, and Tata Indicom and Government owned BSNL/MTNL. 2008 also saw MTNL pioneering its 3G (third generation) services in India. Other private players entered the market with 3G solutions immediately after this development.

As the demand for mobile phones grew, operators came up with new and innovative ideas to lure customers. One was to have a tie up with mobile phone brands to sell their services along with the handset. Thus, when you buy a Nokia phone, you get an Airtel connection free.

This was the time Reliance communication (RCOM) and Research in Motion (RIM) launched Blackberry services in India on CDMA network. Customers could thus, make use of the data services of CDMA along with high speed internet access and international roaming. Businesses and corporates found this extremely attractive and added Blackberry into their monthly expenses making it a necessity for officials on the move.

To rope in the low income group in to the mobile phone usage market, mobile phone companies are also coming up with cheap handsets and lifetime prepaid services. Thus, there is every effort to expand the market share. Sincere attempts to retain the current customers with special offers and exemplary customer service are also gaining momentum.