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C
AST YOUR MIND
back a bit, to the mid-1990s. The only
means of communication a lay Indian had was a landline
phone fixed either at home or in the workplace. Once
away from these premises, he or she was totally unconnected
from family, friends and workplace. The Internet was an enigma.
Not many people had heard of “wireless” and “mobile phone.”
Talking or surfing on the move was something people thought
was possible only in a
Star Wars
or a James Bond movie.
Today, all of this and much more has become possible. More
Indians today own a mobile phone than ever before. And the
number is growing rapidly. And, why would it not? People use a
mobile handset today not only to talk, but also to get news
updates including blow-by-blow cricket reports; to trade, shop,
and bank online; to check availability and book railway tickets;
to get the results of key state and national level examinations; to
surf the Internet from anywhere and everywhere and at any time
of the day. Traders or those interested in commodities can check
prices online on a real time basis using a mobile handset.
For their part, enterprises are able to do things thought impos-
sible in the past, certainly at today’s costs. They can hire the best
talent, literally from their boardrooms, using multi-city video-
conferencing infrastructures put up by new-generation operators
including Reliance Infocomm. More and more companies, large
and small, are using the same infrastructure for sales and review
meetings. Fast moving consumer goods and automobile manu-
facturers are connected with vendors and dealers on a real time
basis, and this is leading to massive savings for them in inven-
tory and related costs. All this has led to significant capital
formation in the country.
Today, India is the second fastest growing market after China.
It has the same number of subscribers today that China had some
five years ago. China’s success stems from its economic policy.
Economic growth was accorded top priority in the late 1970s and
early 1980s. China identified telecommunications as a key indus-
try almost a decade earlier than India did, and started directing
resources including foreign investment towards the deployment
of networks – both landline and mobile. India, in contrast, was
a closed economy until recently, with heavy regulation in the
telecom industry. Until as late as 1998, two licences each had
been auctioned to private entities in each of its 23 telecom circles
(markets).
Service providers have unleashed a digital revolution in a
country of over one billion people, with some 8,000 companies
listed on the stock exchanges. Gnawing at the digital divide marks
Redefining communication,
transforming India
Reliance Infocomm
10
Mar 98
0.9
0
Incremental Additions
Cumulative Subs (LHS)
20
30
40
50
60
Mar 99
1.2
0.3
Mar 00
1.9
0.7
Mar 01
Mar 02
Mar 03
Mar 04
Mar 05
6.4
2.9
3.6
1 7.
33.5
18.5
52.17
18.67
Millions
15.9
8.5
Mobile subscriber growth