BANGALORE, INDIA: That broadband can spur inclusive growth is well acknowledged by the global industry.

In India, while the Government and industry have helped achieve a stupendous growth in the number of mobile subscribers – now numbering well over 400 million – broadband connectivity remains an unfinished agenda. With less than 40million fixed or wireline connections, it is clear that broadband uptake will largely be mobile in nature.

To make that possible, India needs to migrate to the next generation of telecommunications technology, called Third Generation or 3G. While countries with much lesser subscribers are reaping the benefits of next generation (3G) connectivity, India remains a voice driven 2G (second generation) market. Factors that have made 2G a huge success in India are a combination of the lowest tariffs in the world, competition with many players, availability of low cost and affordable end user devices or handsets, and a rapid network rollouts. In fact, mobile networks now cover nearly 70 percent of India’s land mass and nearly 80 percent of our population.

But then, what stops India from replicating the 2G success in the 3G domain? With 3G rolled out successfully in hundreds of networks across the world, India can ride the mobile broadband bandwagon with ease by quickly embracing global standards. The key however is the ‘availability of spectrum’. Till desired spectrum is made available and auctioned quickly and transparently, inclusive growth and development for communities and society at large will not happen.

With quicker auctions however, groundwork for which has already been done during the last year, operators can rapidly roll out 3G networks using their existing network such as towers and other infrastructure to achieve nationwide coverage. Mobile broadband over 3G will help enable access of basic yet, much needed services such as health, education, and governance to the country’s citizens especially the millions residing in rural areas.

3G: Bridging the digital divide
3G is a mature technology - with over 300 million subscribers across 116 countries being supported on over 275 commercially deployed networks – with an unrivalled ecosystem of over 1500 end user devices including handsets.

3G enables wireless or mobile broadband (MBB), which has the capacity to drive substantial productivity growth across economies. According to studies carried out in the USA, mobile wireless broadband services in 2005 generated productivity gains to the U.S. economy worth $28 billion per year. More recently, at this year’s Mobile World Congress, leading telecom leaders pointed about how the wider roll out and adoption of mobile broadband services can stimulate growth and even help the world recover early from the current economic crisis.

Better access to communications can boost a country’s economy by empowering citizens and providing new revenue-creating opportunities. Studies have shown that even a small increase in mobile penetration can have a positive effect on a country’s gross domestic product as mobile communications boosts economic activity at a macro level. In fact, a World Bank report about the impact of broadband on growth in 120 countries from 1980 to 2006 reveals a 1.21% increase in per capita GDP growth in developed countries, and a 1.38% increase in developing countries, for every 10% growth in broadband penetration.