The sole bread and butter of the companies flourishing in MVAS in India is the RBT (Ring Back Tone) which currently constitutes about 35% to the total MVAS revenue.
The operators are therefore always looking for newer ways of generating revenue other than voice. This calls for a situation when they need to collaborate.
Handset manufacturers are also suffering stiff competition as India currently has more than 68 handset manufacturers. Local manufacturers are doing good and Micromax is special to mention. They have achieved good success in limited amount of time. Still there is a good amount (15%) of grey market sale in India. Distribution has still not evolved in a standard way, 70% of the sales of mobile handsets is carried out through indirect (retailer) channels.
Some of the operators and handset manufacturers have sensed the need and they are already going in collaborations with big layers like Nokia, Samsung etc. They are offering discounted data plans, free voice usage and things like that.
India is the second largest market for handset manufacturers and soon (by 2013) it would be the largest market. The growth is going at a rapid pace and the demand for mobile is growing fast. The key growth drivers are:
1. Rise in consumer spending and increase in income levels
2. Rising awareness among people and increasing education levels
3. Low telephony penetration
4. Advent of technologies like 3G, MNP etc
India currently contributes about 10% of the global sales of mobile handsets and therefore it is the hot market for every handset manufacturer. India is divided into 23 telecom circles and there are 15 telecom carriers competing with each other. If we look at the technology, most of the mobile handsets are GSM (75%). Average selling price (ASP) in India currently stands at $52 and most of the handsets sold (80%) are priced below $100. Local manufacturing in India is bound to increase because the availability of low cost skilled engineering pool.
