Mobile broadband growth center of new India collaboration

The expansion of mobile broadband services in India looks to have received a boost from the formation of a collaborative effort of the country’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, the GSMA, the Cellular Operators of India organization and the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India.
The announcement was made during the Mobile Broadband-India Empowering the Mobile Ecosystem seminar in New Delhi. The seminar is focused on the use of LTE technology to connect India’s citizens to the Internet; provide people with access to online information designed to improve health, education and employment prospects; and further stimulate the Indian economy.
As part of the initiative, the GSMA said it was in full support of the Indian government’s efforts to release spectrum in both the 700 MHZ and 2.6 GHz bands in line with international spectrum allocations to further mobile broadband deployment.
“India has always been a global leader in information technology, providing the world with much needed leadership and direction in IT and research and development,” stated Shri Kapil Sibal, the Honourable Minister for Communications and Information Technology. “However, it is time to bring the Internet revolution to our rural communities and I believe mobile broadband will play a significant role in achieving this. The Indian government understands the need for wireless broadband connectivity and is working towards making adequate spectrum available to support these services.”
India’s mobile market has seen rapid growth over the past several years with more than 700 million customers and wireless penetration toping 60%. Analysts predict the country’s mobile data market will increase from $4 billion in 2010 to $10 billion by 2015, with total mobile customers nearing 1.3 million.