‘Internet boom in India to boost telecom revenue by $8 billion’

An 8-billion USD goldmine awaits Indian telecom companies if they can capitalise on the expected boom in India’s online market.

According to the study of Google and AT Kearney released on August 21, the expected rise in the use of smartphones and telecom penetration will add an additional $8 billion or Rs 50,000 crore in incremental revenues in the next three years.

“Digital content and services…as well as digital customer engagement, can unlock massive opportunity in e-stores and e-care,” said Nikolai Dobberstein, partner, AT Kearney.

The study predicts that the number of mobile internet users in the country are expected to increase three-folds to 480 million by 2017. While smartphones penetration is set to touch 385 million people, e-transactions are set to reach 160 million.

Consultancy firm AT Kearney was hired by online advertising giant Google to study the prospects for telecom companies in the growth of internet and mobile penetration in the country.

In a 15-city survey, where around 3,500 people were interviewed, AT Kearney found that people looked forward to completing more transactions online.

Thirty percent of the total number of phones are internet-enabled, various services is expected to create multiple opportunities, beyond simple network delivery. Media content and services would account for $6.2 billion or 75% of incremental revenues. The report added, additional revenues could come provided companies generate content in regional Indian vernaculars.

“Indian telecos have a great opportunity to proactively create tremendous value by driving a digital strategy aligned with consumer needs,” said Rajan Anandan, vice-president and managing director, sales and operations, Google India.

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