Mobile phone mania in India

Mobile phone mania in India

Mobiles were initially started off as a lifestyle statement; with over priced calls and then the whole mobile landscape changed with the introduction of Calling Party Pays regime. With the entry of Reliance (and Tata’s), the mobile market has notched up significant gains. I would not call it as the “fastest growing market” or “explosion of user base”. Those phrases are reserved for the idiots in the mainstream media.

However, growing mobile user base is a reflection of the pathetic landline connectivity. This is by and large non-existent in the rural areas. Indeed, setting up the landlines is expensive but is far cheaper in the longer run to maintain and upgrade.

Of late, mobile add on applications are proving to be a BIG revenue earner for the telecom companies. One of them is Blackberry and Blackberry Connect. I believe Airtel and Hutch are the only two players in this space.

Of course, I am not overtly enthused by the idea of email on the move. First and foremost, the high cost of the entry, which makes it accessible to the corporate types or well-heeled Indians. Secondly, the added cost of GPRS subscription. This itself adds to the cost of the ownership. We all know how pathetic the GPRS access speed is. Finally, I have issues with browsing Internet on a small screen or even replying to it. It has indeed given rise to a new medical disorder called as “Repetitive Stress Syndrome” or “trigger thumb”- which makes the thumb prone for injury with repetitive use.

In any case, the mobile web applications are not yet ready for the mass market. At least not in India. High cost of the data access, inefficient use of spectrum and connectivity woes are all built in. Plus of course, lack of localized content. This itself would turn off the potential customers.

Reliance is of course miles ahead of others in having an applications development portal. I have no definite idea about the profitability of their “R World” applications ever since they went paid. Yet, it was indeed possible to access my email, surf the mobile web pages (crappy experience nonetheless) and watch movie clips on multimedia phones. All this 3 years before any other mobile operator knew about it.

The way out for these bozos is to develop mobile applications platform and then introduce localized content. If the rural thrust is to happen, convince the farmer to invest in this technology because it is going to give him a higher price for his product. Convince the farmer’s wife that it would help her to stay in touch with others or form self-help groups. Similar scenarios can be worked out in that manner. People would discover the use of mobile phones on their own. Just as a simple SMS became a lingo.

Further, the health of any telecom sector is defined by the ratio of mobile phones to the fixed line telephony. Mobiles may become convergence devices; integrated cameras or Mp3 players or gaming platforms (none of which excites me). Yet, they cannot ever beat the data access via landlines. It might be possible 5 years down the line that the mobile phones may be “rediscovered”. Nokia or Sony might just bring out the older versions citing the “simplicity” factor.

I strongly believe that the bottom end of the market needs to be addressed to instead of becoming top heavy. More money needs to be spent on making efficient chips to make mobile phones as a mass product with low ownership costs.