India’s population is 1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est. US Central Intelligence Agency)
It’s spread across 25 states. Almost 800 million live in rural areas.
Cellular networks in India cover:
“…approximately 60 per cent of the Indian population and nearly 39 per cent of India’s physical territory.”
- “Rustic Flavor”, Voice and Data Magazine, 3 June 2008
May 2008 Figures from Telecom Regulatory authority of India (TRAI):
July 2008 figures from TRAI, as cited in Hindu Business Line:
“Worldwide wireless subscriber base expected to increase by 11.7% percent from 2.6 billion in 2006 to 4.6 billion in 2011. GSM is expected to remain as the most dominant medium for mobile communications. ARPU from subscribers living in low-income rural communities is forecast to drop as low as USD 4.0 per month in India, USD 3.5 per month in Pakistan and USD 3.0 per month in Bangladesh.”
- Portio Research report, October 2007
“The Indian rural market comprises 600,000 villages and close to 800 million Indians. It accounts for approximately 50% of the economic output and 57% of consumption. It is expected that of the next 250 million Indian wireless users, approximately 100 million will be from rural areas.
Operators still need to innovate and embrace viable business models in rural India. While there are efficient models that have worked in the high density urban areas, the private sector is still under pressure to find a feasible business model for the rural market.”
- “Rural Telecom: The Last Frontier. Connecting India’s rural telecom community”, July 2008, Ernst & Young and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
“Between 1.5 and 2 million new base stations will be required to extend service to the next two billion subscribers and more than half of these will be located in areas without access to electric grids.”
“Mobile Networks go Green: the Lean Base Station”, Unstrung Insider, May 2008
“India, not China, will be the greatest contributor to the ‘next billion’ mobile users, adding 294m subscriptions between year-end 2006 and year-end 2010. India’s 14% penetration rate (versus China’s 42%) gives this market substantially more room to grow.”
- “The Next Billion: How Emerging Markets are Shaping the Mobile Industry”, Pyramid Research, Oct 2007
Of the world’s top 10 growth markets, India is number one with 294 million subscriber additions from 2006-2010, a 21% share of new additions.