$8-bn opportunity in store for Indian telecom cos: report

New Delhi: The growing internet usage in India is expected to help telecom companies in the country generate additional cumulative revenues of $8 billion (Rs 48,000 crore) over the next three years, according to a study by Google and AT Kearney released on Thursday.

Digital opportunities offered by synergy of internet and mobile communication such as mobile banking, e-commerce, utility based communications and online media content will drive the next phase of internet growth, the study said.

The mobile Internet users in the country are expected to more than triple to 480 million by 2017 and smartphone penetration will grow six times to reach 385 million people with the number of users who make transactions online will grow to 160 million, the study predited.

“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.

Additional revenues would be driven by an upsurge in data usage and within that, the ‘media content and services’ category alone would account for 75% of incremental revenues, the report said, adding that media companies ahould generate content in regional languages to seize the opportunity.

“Indian telcos 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.

The study looked into consumer lifestyle needs and internal digitisation capabilities of Indian telecom companies to compile a list of four top-priority areas.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.