India to have 115.3m mobile owners by 2007

Pragati Simlote

NEW DELHI: Mobile ownership in India is expected to exceed 100 million in 2007 as 'the largest middle class in the world' takes up ownership.

According to Research and Markets' “India Mobile Market Statistics 2006”, this would make India the third largest mobile population in world by 2007 as middle classes 'go mobile'. With 115.3 million forecasted mobile owners in 2007, India ranks third in the world behind China and the US.

According to the report, Indian mobile owners are becoming younger as a result of cheaper calls, subsidized handsets and widespread availability of prepay lowering the barriers to ownership.

Relatively low GDP combined with the popularity of prepay still exerts downward pressure on ARPU in India. Average revenues stand at under $8 per month in 2006, lower than the global average at $21.30. 25 - 29 year olds spend the most, with ARPU at over $8 pcm.

According to the findings, the rising use of data services, particularly SMS, has stemmed ARPU decline in this age group. This is not the case among older users where ARPU is fast in decline, particularly among 35-39 year olds where we expect the greatest churn to postpaid contracts.

Early indications point to long-term growth in the Indian mobile data market, albeit mainly confined to messaging based applications. With SMS pricing falling by up to 50 percent, traffic has risen sharply. Messaging revenues will exceed $1 billion annually in 2007.