Revenue and growth in Telecommunications sector
The total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from Rs. 178,831 crore in the previous fiscal.
Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to 6.94 million in 2005- 2006. Out of this 1.35 million were broadband connections. More than a billion people use the internet globally.
Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.
It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004.
The value added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the potential to grow from $500 million in 2006 to a whopping $10 billion by 2009.
On the other hand, in the mobile telephony space, Airtel controls 21.4% subscriber base followed by Reliance with 20.3%, BSNL with 18.6%, Vodafone with 14.7% subscriber base (as per June 2005 data).
Following list shows the GSM subscriber figure till Jan 2009
1 Bharti Airtel -------------------88382758--------------------- 33.04%
2 Vodafone Essar---------------- 63340024 ----------------------23.68%
3 BSNL---------------------------- 42673357 ---------------------15.95%
4 IDEA ---------------------------40016153 ----------------------14.96%
5 Aircel--------------------------- 16761397---------------------- 6.27%
6 Reliance Telecom --------------10353841--------------------- 3.87%
8 MTNL--------------------------- 4003807 ------------------------1.50%
9 BPL------------------------------ 2007303----------------------- 0.75%
The mobile service has seen phenomenal growth since 2000. In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections has crossed fixed-line connections. Currently there are an estimated 201.29 million mobile phone users in India compared to 39.73 million fixed line subscribers.
India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant players are Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few states.
The total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from Rs. 178,831 crore in the previous fiscal.
Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to 6.94 million in 2005- 2006. Out of this 1.35 million were broadband connections. More than a billion people use the internet globally.
Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.
It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004.
The value added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the potential to grow from $500 million in 2006 to a whopping $10 billion by 2009.
On the other hand, in the mobile telephony space, Airtel controls 21.4% subscriber base followed by Reliance with 20.3%, BSNL with 18.6%, Vodafone with 14.7% subscriber base (as per June 2005 data).
Following list shows the GSM subscriber figure till Jan 2009
1 Bharti Airtel -------------------88382758--------------------- 33.04%
2 Vodafone Essar---------------- 63340024 ----------------------23.68%
3 BSNL---------------------------- 42673357 ---------------------15.95%
4 IDEA ---------------------------40016153 ----------------------14.96%
5 Aircel--------------------------- 16761397---------------------- 6.27%
6 Reliance Telecom --------------10353841--------------------- 3.87%
8 MTNL--------------------------- 4003807 ------------------------1.50%
9 BPL------------------------------ 2007303----------------------- 0.75%
The mobile service has seen phenomenal growth since 2000. In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections has crossed fixed-line connections. Currently there are an estimated 201.29 million mobile phone users in India compared to 39.73 million fixed line subscribers.
India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant players are Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few states.