India may have 90 million 3G users over next three years

India's 3G subscriber base may shoot up to 90 million over the next three years, as companies gauge huge revenue potential in the country's fast-growing value added services (VAS) market, an industry player said.

India's 3G subscriber base may shoot up to 90 million over the next three years, as companies gauge huge revenue potential in the country's fast-growing value added services (VAS) market, an industry player said.

HT Image

"India's 3G subscriber base is likely to touch 90 million by 2013. It is estimated that five to seven per cent of mobile handsets would be 3G-enabled by 2010-2011. This is a large opportunity for all participants in the 3G area," Nazara Technologies' Chief Executive Officer, Nitish Mittersain, told PTI in Mumbai.

Nazara Technologies, a mobile content provider that creates games, expects to generate revenues worth Rs 100 crore from mobile games within the first year of 3G's launch.

Applications like caller tunes, ad tunes, live TV, video-viewing and gaming would be keyed up, he said.

"Making multimedia available will help growth of mobile advertising. The value added services (VAS) market in India accounts for 9-10 per cent of total revenue of telecom operators, with SMS alone accounting for 44 per cent of that share," Mittersain said.

"Over 400 million people in India now own mobile phones and voice is increasingly becoming a commodity. 3G is increasingly becoming synonymous with value-added applications," Mittersain said.