A telecom revolution this decade

From the time when just a handful owned mobiles, the decade gone by has brought a cellphone to every second Indian. It’s also been a decade driven by affordability. Call rates have tumbled from Rs 4.50 in 1999 to 30 paise per minute. Handsets can be bought for just Rs 700

Everywhere you go, the ring follows

1999: National Telecom Policy '99 (NTP 99) ushers in the revenue-sharing regime from a fixed licence fee. Makes a stronger business case for operators; tariffs drop

2000: Department of Telecom’s services arm is hived off and BSNL is born

2001: Fourth cellular operator allowed in each circle, competition hots up. Till then, there were two private operators per circle. PSUs MTNL and BSNL held the third slot

2003: January - Reliance Infocomm is first to roll out CDMA services; introduces game-changing tariffs at 40 paise per minute. It triggers technology war between CDMA and GSM platforms

May: Calling Party Pays regime ushered in. Incoming calls turn free; mobile usage goes up

November: Unified Access Service Licence allows operators to offer any type of service using any technology including cellular, fixedline, NLD and ILD, internet, radio paging. Customer gains from lower prices and more value-added services

2005 - Motorola rolls out first Made in India mobile at Rs 1,700

Tata Teleservices launches 'Non Stop Life' scheme with two-year validity

Others counter it with Lifetime Validity plans, allowing incoming calls free for life without recharging

2006: India becomes the fifth country to have 100 million mobile subscribers

2007: Indian telecom comes of age with India's biggest cross-border M&A. Vodafone buys 67% in Hutchison Essar for $11.08 billion, valuing the company at $18 billion

Government allots licences to new players; Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications get okay for offering GSM-based services as well

2009: India gets a taste of 3G as PSUs, BSNL and MTNL launch services like video calling and movie downloads on mobile

Per-second billing comes in. Rates crash and so do bills. Operators’ revenues dwindle

India joins 500 million mobile users club

ET Comment

More in store

Those who think the big telecom game is over with rock bottom tariffs, couldn't be more wrong. The mobile will soon transcend voice calls and be used for video conferencing, movie downloads, fast speed internet surfing and much more, once 3G is here next year. Waiting in the wings are 3G's successors, fourth generation technologies like Long-Term Evolution that will offer even higher data transfer rates, allowing video on demand.

But all this will require funds and regional and new operators may not be able to withstand the onslaught by established players. Mobile number portability, which will let users change an operator while retaining the number, augurs well for the consumer, but not for operators. Amid fierce competition, consolidation is inevitable. Only the timing and rules have to be decided.