New entrants will face tough market conditions – price erosion on mobile phones is as high as 12-15% per year, and shelf life is often measured in weeks instead of months, Pai said.
“[But] India is at an inflexion point in cellular market where a 13 operator, 650 milllion plus subscriber market is about to transition from voice-centric industry to a data-driven business,” and new entrants and established vendors alike are vying to take advantage of this change, he said.
The peculiarities of the Indian market – where mobile social networking is rare but mobile TV and media are growing extremely popular – have also led to a shift in emphasis to devices.
“This nation is hooked on plain simple video-rich mobile television beaming cricket, Bollywood and soaps in that order,” he said. “The 3G / BWA device suddenly appears to have turned king-maker in this wildly interesting market place.”