Indian Consumer Communications revenue to reach Rs 240 bn

BANGALORE: Indian Consumer Communications Market Revenue is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent from Rs 211 bn in 2008 to reach Rs 240 bn in 2013, according to a report by Gartner, a global research and advisory company.

The communications market includes consumer voice service revenue, consumer broadband access revenue and total consumer internet access revenue.

The consumer fixed line subscriber base will remain at 37 mn connections by 2013, while the broadband subscriber base is expected to increase by CAGR of 26 percent to reach 16 million subscribers during the same period, the report said.

Neha Gupta, senior research analyst Gartner said, "The Indian fixed-line market will see growth from broadband and internet access sectors, which will together grow at the rate of 22 percent to reach INR 55 billion by 2013. The broadband sector will see strong growth, as increased focus will be put on building the last-miles access."

The voice market will contract through 2013 as the number of consumer fixed lines will continue to fall slightly, mostly because pressure from mobile substitution will persist.

Revenue from voice services will continue to dominate overall fixed line services in India.But its contribution will go down from 91 per cent in 2008 to 77 per cent in 2013. The number of fixed lines will continue to decrease slightly until 2012,but will start picking up in 2013 as carriers will focus more on fixed broadband, bundling voice lines free with it.

Migration to voice over broadband will pick up, but will remain low, it said.