Mobile VAS industry to touch Rs 100,000 cr by 2020

NEW DELHI: With the launch of 3G and mobile broadband services later this year, the mobile value added services (VAS) industry is expected to ring in a turnover of Rs 100,000 crore by 2020.

According to industry experts, the VAS industry is expected to touch Rs 100,000 crores by 2020 from Rs 15,000 crore now.

The mobile marketing companies attending a conference on VAS agreed that the sector will log a higher growth post the launch of 3G and BWA services.

Over 2.5 lakh villages would be connected to wireless broadband and 3G by 2012, enabling them to access the whole range of value added services, Telecom Secretary P J Thomas said at the conference.

OnMobile Chairman and CEO Arvind Rao said VAS would be a larger industry than advertising or media.

Though VAS was providing only 10 per cent of the revenues for telcos, within this decade the situation would be reversed with value added services ringing 80 per cent of the revenues and voice revenue shrinking to 20 percent.

"India has a real chance to be the world's largest VAS innovator due to its 1.2 billion population and its diversity but government has to promote this by providing support like tax benefit," Rao said.