BWI: Mobile Phones Emerge as a Viable Medium for Providing Utility Services in South Asia, Finds Frost & Sullivan

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Frost & Sullivan
Thursday, March 21, 2013 02:15 PM IST (08:45 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, Lifestyle, People; Business: Business services, Information technology, Media & entertainment, Telecommunications; Technology
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Mobile Phones Emerge as a Viable Medium for Providing Utility Services in South Asia, Finds Frost & Sullivan
Though it is a fledgling market, mobile utility services have impressive potential in the region

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, March 21, 2013 -- (Business Wire India) -- Rapid proliferation of mobile communication services has positioned itself as the ideal platform to provide people from all walks of life the access to utility services such as banking, healthcare and education. According to Frost & Sullivan, mobile utility service is still a fledgling market in the region but has impressive potential. Mobile data services explosion, innovative business models, as well as increasing smartphone and tablet PC penetration will give a leg up to the adoption of utility mobile applications across South Asia.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com), Mobile VAS: Utility Mobile Applications and Data Usage in South Asia, finds that the market earned revenues of $0.28 billion in 2011. This is estimated to reach $4.88 billion in 2018 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50.3 percent. Mobile commerce is expected to experience the highest adoption rates and grow at a CAGR of 55.9 percent, followed by the mobile healthcare and education services.

"Operators have developed many utility services for the segments of education, commerce, banking and finance, and healthcare," said the Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst. "However the adoption has been very low. Operators are struggling to package these services in a format which will make them accessible to all. Telecom companies are also concerned about return on investments for services tailored for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) consumers. High cost of the services and lack of vernacular support is hampering the end user adoption."

Going forward, operators in South Asia must focus on both the feature phone and the smartphone owners. This will enable them to offer utility services on advanced as well as traditional channels such as SMS for maximum reach.

"It is vital to provide interactive voice response (IVR) based services for users that are disinclined to use SMS-based services or data services," noted the analyst. "These efforts will go a long way in bolstering market prospects. By 2018, the utility mobile applications are expected to account for almost 7.6 percent of the overall operator revenues in South Asia."

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides a brief synopsis of the research and a table of contents, then send an e-mail to Priya George / Akshata Mhatre, Corporate Communications, at priyag@frost.com / akshatam@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, a brochure will be sent to you by e-mail.

Mobile VAS: Utility Mobile Applications and Data Usage in South Asia is part of the Mobile & Wireless Communications Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: South Asia and Middle East Telecom Infrastructure Market, Mobile VAS in Emerging Markets, Fixed and Mobile Broadband Infrastructure in South Asia, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Market in India, Internet Protocol (IPTV) Market in India, and Mobile Infotainment and Communication Services and Data Usage in South Asia. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Mobile VAS: Utility Mobile Applications and Data Usage in South Asia
P6C3-65



CONTACT DETAILS
Akshata Mhatre, Corporate Communications - South Asia, Frost & Sullivan, +91 9867873010, akshatam@frost.com
Priya George, Corporate Communications - South Asia, Frost & Sullivan, +91 9840355432, priyag@frost.com
Nimisha Iyer, Corporate Communications - South Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Frost & Sullivan, +91 9820050519, niyer@frost.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, MEDIA, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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