UK-based mobile operator Vodafone sees the Indian mobile market growing to 500 million subscribers by 2012, from 160 million.
CEO Arun Sarin spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the 3GSM World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday, responding to questions about Vodafone's acquisition of a controlling stake in India's number four cellphone group Hutchison Essar.
Earlier this week, Vodafone, which owns a 50% stake in SA's largest mobile phone operator Vodacom, said it secured a 67% share in the Indian company.
Sarin pointed out that key to the Indian market is not an expected growth in average revenue per user, but an increase in mobile penetration - from 15% now to 40% in five years.
He also announced Vodafone would sidestep the high costs of rolling out a network in India, by reaching an agreement to share a network with number one operator Bharti Airtel.
Meanwhile, in his keynote address at the 3GSM World Congress, Sarin cautioned mobile operators in mature markets must move quickly if they wish to diversify.
Failure to act fast could mean being locked out by players in the finance, advertising, entertainment and Internet space, Sarin told delegates. This, he explained, is a result of new entrants coming into the mobile industry from the adjacent sector.
Convergence revenue
He advocated wider sources of revenue for mobile companies, saying while mobile "is good", converged communications and entertainment "are better".
Sarin also urged mobile operators to turn to standardisation and network sharing to accelerate the uptake of mobile banking, advertising, entertainment and Internet services.
The industry, he stated, should hurry up with the evolution of 3G technology, as WiMax players could swoop on the mobile space.
More mobile moves
On the heels of the $11.1 billion deal with Essar Hutchison, Vodafone announced several other deals at the 3GSM World Congress.
The mobile giant said it signed a deal with Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom to launch M-PESA - a mobile payment solution that allows customers to complete simple financial transactions via cellphone.
In addition, Vodafone will deliver an enhanced instant messaging (IM) service with Microsoft, accessible from PC and cellphones. It has extended its partnership with Yahoo in a similar deal involving its existing IM service.
Three other deals involve mobile devices, including an agreement with Nokia, as part of the companies' existing partnership on the development of S60 software on Symbian OS, which will see Vodafone-specific software released to all S60 licensees.
The mobile operator also reached into China by concluding a deal with the country's handset producer ZTE for the manufacture of a low-cost, Vodafone-branded cellphone. The mobile operator said these handsets would be available across all its markets from the second quarter of this year.
Lastly, Vodafone and BlackBerry producer Research In Motion announced the 8 800 smartphone would be the latest in the Vodafone range of BlackBerry devices.
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