Telecommunications & Technology
Airtel Mobile Data continues to grow vigorously (67% revenue growth Y/Y) and now contributes over half of the overall Y/Y India wireless revenue growth rate of 10% (5.4% of this 10%). Therefore, data is helping to offset the tepid voice minutes growth pattern. Notably, data ARPU at Rs25 (averaged across the entire customer base) now contributes 13% of the overall ARPU (of Rs202). This percentage is rising, thus helping overall ARPU.
One should note that Airtel India has not
Mobile phones have increasingly become more than a communication device – 40% of the respondents in a survey across urban/ semi-urban and rural areas claim that it is currently their primary means of entertainment. While people are upgrading their phones to smartphones and increasingly using their phones to watch videos, listen to music or take photos, having a smartphone does not equate to having a mobile data plan yet. People quite frequently buy pirated content (videos/ music) from local retailers; which is then shared among friends. Moreover, the rise in the number of people that have smartphones, but no data subscription is leading to the growth
India currently has 200 mn+ Internet users growing at 4 mn per month. This compares to 106 mn at end-June 2011. Active users would be around 170 mn. At the end of 2013, India has 55 Mn Broadband subscribers [Speed > 512 Kbps]. However, the real opportunity lies in the mobile area where the number of people who access the Internet through mobile handsets is 130 mn (December 2013). This would rise to 185 mn by June 2014. The number of rural subscribers has gone up to 27 mn as of December 2013 from 4 mn as of June 2012. The increasing affordability of smartphones is driving mobile Internet penetration. Also, given broadband plans are more affordable now, 3G users will rise to 175 mn by 2015 versus 50 mn currently.
Online e-Commerce and Productivity in India
28% of all travel is booked online. 7% of bank users in India access their accounts online. 25% of IT returns are filed online. 47% of classifieds business
The Thailand 3G Story is ahead of India as it reaches around ~40% penetration with almost 50% of the consumers having Internet-ready handsets (smartphone/feature-phones).
Thai Consumers appear to be willing to spend more for data services. This is contrary to our Indonesia and Philippine findings, where most aren’t willing to raise spending. Networks have deteriorated and now majority of the respondents are willing to raise their overall telecom spend for better network quality or faster download speeds. Poor network quality, we believe, is linked to under-investment