India's 3G adoption is expected to have a slow start

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 26 November 2010, 10:22 IST
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India's 3G adoption is expected to have a slow start
Bangalore: Despite the much talked about introduction and highly anticipated revolution in mobile data, India's 3G adoption is expected to be quite slow in the early stages, reveals a new research by Nielsen. Although there is a very high level of awareness about 3G and its facilities, it may be as long as 8-10 years before the majority of mobile users are on a 3G plan. As per the research, 19 percent of the respondents said they would definitely adopt 3G while 43 percent said they may or may not adopt the service. Another 5 percent said they will not adopt the new technology. Nielsen revealed the study as part of its Consumer 360 conference in Delhi on 3G Adoption. It revealed that nearly 70 percent of urban mobile subscribers are aware of 3G services and 63 percent are familiar with the concept. The study predicts that only one in five of India's urban mobile subscribers will adopt 3G services in the short term. "Simply making 3G services affordable will not offer an easy answer to accelerating adoption as we move into an era of more unpredictable handset replacement cycles. It will come down to the user experience and relevance of services," said Arjun Urs, The Nielsen Company Director (Client Solutions India). "While service providers have succeeded in popularizing the concept of 3G and articulating its promises clearly, consumers seem tentative about their disposition to embrace the technology," Urs added. Working professionals and internet-savvy youth are the most eager group ready to adopt 3G. For telecos, bundling 3G services with new handsets would be the most effective course of action as 35 percent of subscribers say they would go for new handsets if the current ones failed to provide 3G services. The study suggests that bundling innovative services and delivering an attractive user experience will be the best way to accelerate the uptake.