Marketing strategy in times of slowdown: Indian telecom industry

Abstract

Telecom industry in India is one of the fastest growing in the world and India is projected to become the second largest telecom market globally by 2010. India added 113.26 million new customers in 2008, the largest globally. The country’s cellular base witnessed close to 50 per cent growth in 2008, with an average 9.5 million customers added every month. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), at the end of April 2009, the total number of telephone connections reached 441.47 million. With this growth, the overall teledensity reached 37.94 at the end of April 2009. According to Business Monitor International, India is currently adding 8-10 million mobile subscribers every month. It is estimated that by mid 2012, around half the country's population will own a mobile phone. This would translate into 612 million mobile subscribers, accounting for a tele-density of around 51 per cent by 2012. It is projected that the industry will generate revenues worth US$ 43 billion in 2009-10. Wireline services subscriber base stood at 37.96 million in quarter ending March 2009 as compared to 37.90 million in quarter ending December 2008. Rural Wireline Subscriber base stood at 10.58 million in quarter ending March 2009 as compared to 10.68 million in quarter ending December 2008.