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Even as Indian telecom players make huge investments to keep pace with the rapid growth in subscriber numbers, poor quality of service (QoS) is a rapidly emerging concern in this sector.
An analysis by CRISIL Research reveals that the number of base stations installed by Indian mobile service providers is inadequate to provide high-quality services to the rapidly growing population of Indian subscribers. Indian subscribers, on an average, tend to talk 50 per cent more than those in the rest of the world - the average minutes of use (MoU) in India, at 475 minutes per subscriber per month, is around 1.5 times the world average. However, the number of base transceiver stations (base stations) per million subscribers in India is only 25 per cent higher than the global average. Clearly, base station inadequacy is one of the key causes of poor quality of service such as network congestion, call drops, and poor voice quality.
The number of base stations that an operator has, is a crucial determinant of network performance in any environment. Shortfalls in respect of most external factors, such as spectrum, can be overcome by installing more base stations. Mr. Manoj Mohta, Head, CRISIL Research,, emphasises, "Although network traffic has grown exponentially in India over the last two years - an annual subscriber growth of 73 per cent and an annual 17 per cent growth in average minutes of use (MoU) - operators have continued to focus on rolling out networks in newer areas over augmenting the capacity of existing networks. The telecom sector's long term growth prospects may be jeopardised if service providers do not act soon - we are of the view that Indian mobile operators need to install many more base stations per million subscribers to achieve adequate QoS."
Furthermore, with increasing teledensity, the goal of the regulator needs to expand from being almost exclusively focused on increasing coverage to promoting a balance between increasing coverage and improving QoS in covered areas.
CRISIL Research believes that the regulatory regime in India now needs to catalyse the next stage of the Indian telecom revolution by putting in place a long-term spectrum policy aimed towards encouraging efficient use of spectrum, and implementing number portability to facilitate greater customer choice with respect to QoS.
Adds Mr.Mohta, "Our estimates indicate that the total capex needed to implement number portability is less than 10 per cent of the planned capex of the industry for just one year. Clearly, capex should not be an impediment to implementing mobile number portability in consumer interest".
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Media Contact
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Analytical Contacts
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Ramya Krishnan Anil
Head, Market Development & Communications
CRISIL
Phone: +91-22-6758-8051
Mobile: +91 98203 42671
Facsimile: +91-22-6758-8088
Email: RamyaKA@crisil.com
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Manoj Mohta
Head, CRISIL Research
Phone: +91-22-6691 3554
Email : mmohta@crisil.com
Ajay Srinivasan
Analyst,
CRISIL Research
Tel: +91-22-6691 3530
Email: ajsrinivasan@crisil.com
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About CRISIL Limited
CRISIL is India's leading Ratings, Research, Risk and Policy Advisory Company.
About CRISIL Research
CRISIL Research is India's largest independent, integrated research house. We leverage our unique, integrated research platform and capabilities spanning the entire economy-industry company spectrum to deliver superior perspectives and insights to over 500 domestic and global clients, through a range of subscription products and customised solutions.
We provide our clients with a vital competitive advantage in today's dynamic environment - 'Knowledge for Action.'
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