The Customer Experience Company

Rural TelecomFacts

594,000 villages 16 major languages, 1,650 dialects.

But the Rural broadband – only 5% of total subscribers.

India has

Telephone : 765 Million Mobile : 729 Million Density : 65 % India had 765 million telephone connections in Nov 2010. Mobile: 729 million. Overall teledensity: 65%

India is today adding 15 million mobiles per month

Global Mobile Subscribers : 5 Billion

Mobiles have changed the very concepts of office and home.

In 2011, over 85% of handsets will be able to access the mobile Web

There will be more smartphones than PCs in the world by 2013

More people can navigate Nokia's phones than navigate a car

Mobiles can create 327,000 jobs in India; US$68 billion industry by 2020

Mobiles can create 327,000 jobs in India; US$68 billion industry by 2020

India has 18 official languages 36,000 newspapers in Hindi and

4K Bengali newspapers. India is an agrarian society but a services-led economy. Need to reconcile the two in communications strategy

2.5 Millions Laptops vs

14 Millions HandsetsOnly 2.5 million laptops were sold in

India in all of 2010, as compared to 14 million handsets per month

3 Screens : TV, Telephone, PC14 million mobiles sold a month. 2 million laptops sold in a year!

Unique Mobile Subscribers in India : 500 Million Only 74 million Indians connect regularly to the Internet

once a month

85% of mobile subscriber growth in India is in the pre-paid segment

India's telecom imports may exceed oil imports -- we need to increase telecom manufacturing in India

India's growth is in youth and middle-class segments, need to address the rural gap alsoIndia's telecom imports may exceed oil imports -- we need to

increase telecom manufacturing in India

Mckinsey : In 20 years rural market in India will become four times the size of the urban market, as

big as Korea/Canada

Local content is key for rural growthNext gen – e-readers, embedded content in devices.

Rural Users have same propensity for multiple SIMs as urban users. Lower propensity for multiple

mobiles/household

For mobile operators, rural CapEx is upto 4 times that of urban;

OpEx 3 times

Large corporates need encouragement to create

Socio-economic enterprises targeted for rural areas

IMRB/IAMAI Survey: 84% of villagers in India are not aware of the Internet

Internet in rural India is still seen as English-centric; hence market is largely voice-centric (90%)

Voice Revolution is peaking65% of India's workforce is in rural areas

Rural Telecom is a challenge and a huge opportunity

One of the Biggest Issues in Rural TelecomBringing down cost of communication for those with very

little income which is to feed themselves

What we need to do ?

A conceptual framework is required integrating economics,

policy, funds, technology

Need to educate rural residents on telecom/

broadband and its benefitsProducts * Services * Information * Benefits

Innovative Content New Business Models

are needed to boost Rural Telecom

Public + Private + Peoplepartnership, to boost rural telecom

Products, Services, Information and Projects should focus more on

Education Healthcare Agri Occupation

Customization of internet, voice services to the benefit of rural residents might encourage them to use it more often.

Example : haats, melas, agri-fairs, promotional vehicles, govt subsidies, schemes etc.

Participation & Investments from Large corporates to create CSR Projects impacting

Rural Livelihoods

Rural broadband diffusion depends on governments for policies, incentives, grants, subsidies

Network being Hardware Apps being Software

We need Thirdware actionable and personalized content

Rural Health care information flow was poor affecting delivery of information & services. Communication should be robust.Uses of rural networks: health data/education/services. Need content+apps in local language

Information that is functional, relevant and actionable and importantly potential to impact livelihood positively.Information for farmers should be decision-critical and actionable; reliable; cutting-edge Information should be delivered with speed, in time (eg. gov subsidies/schemes)

Rural BPO

Cost advantage of rural BPO - wages half of urban levels

Need leadership, work orders, corporate confidence to scale up rural BPO in India

Rural BPO can increase household income fourfold; need to analyse social impacts of these forces

Interesting LinksConcern over widening urban-rural digital divide

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Concern-over-widening-urban-rural-digital-divide/articleshow/7315050.cms

Rural communities to get broadband

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/010911/sta_767543394.shtml

Rural BPO in India: case study researched by Vineeta Shetty.

http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=756&doc_id=202873&f_src=internetevolution_gnews

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