With telecom operators focussing more on the rural market, the mobile subscriber base in the country is set to exceed 771 million by 2013, a study said.
The mobile subscriber base in India is set to exceed 771 million connections by 2013, growing at a CAGR of 14.3 per cent in the same period from 452 million in 2009, a study by research firm Gartner said.
"The Indian mobile industry has now moved out of its hyper growth mode, but it will continue to grow at double-digit rates for (the) next three years as operators focus on rural parts of the country," Gartner Senior Research Analyst Madhusudan Gupta said.
The mobile market penetration is projected to increase from 38.7 per cent in 2009 to 63.5 per cent in 2013.
Gartner attributed the growth primarily to operators increasing their focus on the rural market, local consumer durable and electronic companies entering the domestic mobile handset segment, and lower handset prices.
"Growth will also be triggered by increased adoption of value-added services, which are relevant to both rural and urban markets," Gupta said.
More From This Section
With the subscriber base increasing by about 14 per cent, the total mobile services revenue in India is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent from 2009-2013 to exceed $30 billion, Gartner said.
The Indian mobile connection market continues to be dominated by prepaid subscribers. Prepaid connections accounted for more than 93 per cent of all mobile connections in 2008 and it is expected to grow to more than 96 per cent of the connection base by 2013, surpassing 741 million versus 312 million in 2008.
The postpaid subscriber base will exceed 29 million by 2013, grow at 2.5 per cent from 23 million in 2008.