Here’s what Reliance Jio and Airtel would be offering in 2017

Crashing data tariffs, free voice calls, disruptive entry of Reliance Jio and a no-holds-barred turf war to safeguard Rs 9 lakh crore worth of cumulative investments have sthe tone for an action-packed 2017 for the telecom sector, which also had to grapple with the thorny issue of call drops this year, as per an agency report


If anything, the high-voltage narrative of 2016 has left mobile subscribers craving for more in the coming year both in terms of tariffs which have touched new lows, and technology. 4G has boosted mobile speeds to levels never experienced before by the data-hungry Indians.

"About Rs 9,27,000 crores have been invested so far by telecom service providers (TSPs) in building world class telecom infrastructure," industry body COAI's Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

Incumbent telecom operators in representations throughout the year have shared how their revenues have taken a hit on various accounts ranging from Trai's decision to bar differential tariff platforms like Facebook's Free Basics, Airtel Zero, to Reliance Jio unveiling free services.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP Partner Hemant Joshi said however that the prohibition on discriminatory tariffs has played a significant role to make data services affordable and accessible by everyone and is one of the important factors behind the rising adoption of data services in India.

The telecom regulator's latest recommendation to allow third party platforms to provide free data without bias towards a particular telecom operator or internet content is likely to rekindle the debate on net neutrality in 2017.

Looking back, the going year started-off with a setback- of-sorts for consumers when the Supreme Court quashed penalty provision for call drops, prompting the regulator to seek more powers to penalise errant telecom operators.

The Telecom Department and regulator launched a combined offensive -- in form of review meetings and drive tests - to ensure that service quality issues remain at the forefront all through the year.

To address the problem of call drops, operators have added about 3.51 lakh BTSes in last 12 months, according to Mathews.

Besides this, Trai continues to work on review of service quality norms, ombudsman model, and interconnection all of which are expected to take shape in 2017.

There was never a dull moment for the telecom sector this year, and the market pulsated with action thanks to improved affordability, falling handset prices and operator investments in improving network coverage (helped by policies like Right of Way and spectrum sale).

The year saw India overtaking US to become the world's second-largest smartphone market with an installed base of 275 million devices. It has also predicted that 4G connections will grow to 280 million by 2020.

According to global mobile industry body GSMA, India will add 330 million unique subscribers by 2020 (from 616 million unique users as of June 2016). In addition, the industry is set to invest heavily, with operator capex growing to USD 34 billion between 2016 and 2020, says GSMA.

If anything, demonetisation and digital push -- resulting in increased adoption of mobile wallets -- will put the market on a turbo charge, say industry watchers.

Already, the average Indian is consuming data -- movies, gaming, connecting on social media -- like never before, in the aftermath of the industry price war triggered by the entry of India's richest businessman Mukesh Ambani in the telecom industry.

Jio, which launched full-fledged 4G services in September, has promised free voice calls for life along with rock-bottom data prices, once its ongoing free services come to an end on March 31, 2017.

The market's appetite for data can be gauged from the fact that Ambani had set a target of 100 million customers in the "shortest time possible" for Reliance Jio, but the new venture notched 52 million customers in just 83 days, growing faster than Facebook and WhatsApp.