According to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the total mobile services market revenue in India is expected to touch USD 37 billion by 2017. India is presently the second-largest telecommunication market in the world, and ranks third among the number of internet users. The ongoing wave of digital transformation is impacting the telecom sector both directly and indirectly. It is not merely connecting people, but also providing a robust platform for budding innovations in other sectors to flourish.

Here are some key events and factors that are ensuring not just a booming telecom market, but also a vibrant digital revolution that ensures that the customer wins hands down.

Telecom and retail unite

Favourable government policies, 4G services hitting the market, and the deregulation of FDI norms is helping telecom sector grow by leaps and bounds. Moreover, with the launch of Reliance Jio, the sale of 4G VoLTE compatible smart phones have correspondingly gone up. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts India to overtake US as the second-largest smartphone market globally by 2017. To make up for their lost customers due to Reliance Jio and to attract new ones, the soon to be merged entity operators Idea Cellular and Vodafone India have partnered with India’s leading e-commerce sites Flipkart and Amazon respectively. When prospective 4G smartphone buyers visit these ecommerce sites for attractive offers, they are also offered bundling schemes by these service providers. Thus, all three entities, and the customer, gains.

Related: Why Digital Transformation is the Only Way Forward for Business

Reliance Jio and its after effects 

Digital transformation is not just about decreasing cost, it is more about giving an exceptional customer experience that impels growth. In this case, Reliance Jio came up with 4G with VoLTE, which not only gives high speed data but superior call quality, additional services, and seamless omnichannel digital experience.

Unlike 3G and 2G, which are primarily designed with voice calls in mind, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is a data-only networking technology. The catch is, in places where 4G signal is unavailable, the chances of call dropping is high. But to address this issue, Jio ensured they have Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) in place to allow the phone to switch back to a 2G or 3G signal wherever 4G is not available.

Support and development by the Indian government

For any service to achieve scale it has to be affordable, available throughout the country and easily accessible. As a step to modernize cities in India and offer smarter living experience to its citizens, Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat, is the first city in India to have high-speed (2Mbps) Wi-Fi service covering 75% open area of the city.
To encourage online booking, the government is not levying any service charges on booking e-tickets on IRCTC.
Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, announced in the budget this year that the government has so far received over 250 investment proposals worth Rs 126,000 crore in the electronic manufacturing sector to make phones and television sets in India.

As part of the ‘Digital Village’ initiative, the government will be deploying free Wi-Fi in 1050 rural villages in the country. This initiative has promised that by the end of 2018, high speed broadband will reach more than 150,000 gram panchayats via Wifi hotspots.

Potential new services due to digital transformation

The 2017 global edition of the GSMA’s ‘Mobile Economy’ report reveals by the end of this decade the 5.7 billion-subscriber milestone will be achieved, of which India alone is expected to add 310 million new unique customers.
With enterprises having global presence and employees travelling between offices, more and more businesses are going for web-based applications and embracing cloud services (IaaS, SaaS or PaaS) to store data. Telecom companies have a vital role to play as cloud service providers and cloud carriers.

Telecom companies have access to enormous data including customer profiles, location data, device data, customer usage patterns, apps downloaded, etc. They can create new revenue streams by tying up with businesses from other sectors. By studying these data, companies can unlock hidden knowledge about their customers’ habits, predict their requirements, make more informed decisions, create new innovations and build forward-looking plans for the future.

One of the most important infrastructure for the new breed of disruptive industries is high-speed mobile broadband. Broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017. With a total of over 50 million video calling minutes per day, India leads WhatsApp’s video calling market.

What is next for telecom’s digital revolution?

At a time when global telecom players are getting ready for 5G, in India, the service providers are struggling to reach 4G services. Although India has the second largest internet user base, it still lags behind when it comes to internet speed. To solve this issue, ISRO will be launching three satellites (GSAT-19, GSAT-II and GSAT-20) in the coming months. The multiple spot beams used by these satellites will provide high quality internet, phone and video services, covering the entire country. GSAT-19, which is slated to be launched in June 2017, will be able to transfer data at 4 gigabytes/sec.

The Government of India plans to auction the 5G spectrum in bands like 3,300 MHz and 3,400 MHz to promote initiatives like Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine communications, instant high definition video transfer, as well as its Smart Cities initiative – Sectoral report from IBEF.org

Banking on this announcement, there is heavy investment pouring in from the government as well as corporates (both Indian as well as International). For instance, Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson is introducing a new radio system in the Indian market, which will provide the necessary infrastructure required by mobile companies in order to provide Fifth-Generation (5G) services in future.

Though 5G is going to be a bit of journey, once the required standards are in place, the rollout will be quick and the customer experience will improve by several folds. Market Research Store – a leading research firm – predicts 10.3 per cent year-on-year growth for the Indian telecommunication services, which is expected to reach USD 103.9 billion by 2020.

The Indian telecom sector’s contribution towards the national GDP is estimated to double from Rs 7.7 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 14 lakh crore by 2020. With management of spectrum, telecom infrastructure development, broadband strategy, licensing and regulatory issues, strategies planned for revival of public sector undertakings, and shift to a world that is AI-first, the Indian telecom growth story seems to be on track to achieve all the projected goals.