c


Connecting a Billion People
A strategic imperative to prosper in the Indian mobile handset market and to grow with a

billion aspirations



Shilpa Rawat
XLRI, Jamshedpur
+919955372767
Shilpa.xlri@astra.xlri.ac.inTable of content

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 2
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3
2. Associative Factors-Consumer Psychology .................................................................... 4
Connecting People .......................................................................................................... 4
3. Behaivoral Factors .......................................................................................................... 5
Product Branding and Recognition ................................................................................. 5
4. Cognitive Factors ............................................................................................................ 7
Predicting customer requirements and growth in aspirations) ........................................ 7
5. Demographic Factors ...................................................................................................... 8
Rural Markets. ................................................................................................................ 8
6. Technical Aspects ........................................................................................................... 9
7.Customer Care ............................................................................................................... 12
8. Fostering Collaborations for Mutual Growth ............................................................... 13
9. Looking Forward .......................................................................................................... 15

Executive Summary

Now 8 years after advent of mobile handsets in Indian Markets, we see Nokia emerging
as a clear market leaded across all segments of Mobile phones with 79% market share
followed by LG, Samsung & Motorola. The questions arise: What it takes to establish
brand loyalty with Indians?, How to motivate, inspire and fuel the aspirations of the
Indian consumers?, What is needed to blend the product with the culture and lifestyle of
middle class India?.In this paper we explore the challenges faced in the past & present by
Nokia and Motorola, the two most recognizable names in mobile handsets in India, and
how one "adopted" Indian culture and now how "adapting" to the Indian culture is
important for the other. We further predict certain future trends in the Indian markets and
raise questions on what it means for the future of cellular telephony and how market
players can keep pace with growing aspirations and peculiar needs of the Indian
consumers. The strategy to analyze Indian consumer mindset has been through various
factors which influence them like psychosocial, financial technical etc in both rural and
urban sectors. We have followed the ABCD approach in studying those factors in detail
A: associative has more 2 do with consumer psychology, B: behaivoural, C:cognitive i.e.
consumer's past experience, D:demographic is consumer's pattern of saving and
spending based on culture and society. The paper also throws light on how can forming
collaboration can foster mutual growth and what are the challenges one has to face in
future.


21. Introduction

The number of mobile subscribers in India is expected to grow from just over 100 million
today to more than 350 million by 2010, an addition of 250 million subscribers in just
1
four years . As the wireless telecommunications market booms in India, five million new
subscribers are signing up for mobile phone connections every month. And, one of the
world's fastest growing mobile phone markets is now also expanding into the
countryside. As of early 2006, about 50% of all the towns and villages in India could
receive a mobile signal. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
2
has set a goal to reach 90% coverage by the end of 2007.

Despite 12 years of deregulation, the number of fixed-line telecom subscribers has
increased less than 15% in the last three years, from 41.5 million to 47.5 million, and
most of which has been confined to urban areas. This can be primarily attributed to the
following reasons:
Ø The need of the people for mobility and seamless connectivity without being
restricted by time, geography and distance.
Ø The cost of installing new fixed lines is roughly three times the price of installing
a mobile line in India

So what does this mean for the mobile handset manufacturers?

When the Indian spectrum and mobile industry first opened up in 1999, we witnessed a
host of global Mobile handset manufacturers eyeing the Indian market which was taking
off with the introduction of progressive economic reforms, exponential growth in IT and
Knowledge industry, and rising aspirations and living standards of the people among
other factors. The mobile manufacturers had to face challenges to benefit from this rapid
growth in the Indian economy.

Ø They had to wait till the concept of mobile communication, its utility and the
freedom it brought along had become widespread among the common public,
until then they had to focus on establishing brand equity and loyalty with already
aware consumers.
Ø The mobile handset industry had to understand the political, economic,
geographical and demographic scenario and challenges inherent in them to be
able to market their products successfully in addition to understanding price
sensitivity and the wariness of the Indian consumers for loans and motivation to
move towards Individual Empowerment from communication to interaction and
expression.
Ø And once the market became active how to strike the chord with hearts and minds
of Indian consumer.

1
http://indiastocktoday.blogspot.com/2007/07/apply-for-zylog-omnitech-but-allocation.html
2
Global Sources,EEtimes India, http://www.eetindia.co.in
32. Associative Factors-Consumer Psychology
Connecting People

With the opening up of the economy and the advent of various telecom operators the
phone and call rates have drastically gone down over the years, enabling people to fulfill
their liking and need to talk to their loved ones across the vast country. The phones are
serving the purpose of connecting people and Indians tend to incline towards
advertisements that depict this theme through sentiments and feelings rather than mere
technical features, the reason also being that technical specifications are
incomprehensible to most of the general customers.

3
Nokia's marketing campaign skillfully targets the same by striking the chord with the
hearts of the consumers by not relying on celebrity endorsements but on common people
which consumers can relate to. The advertisements generally use the familiar
surroundings of a market place, streets or home, and cover a spectrum of human emotions
while subtly displaying Nokia phones as a tool to communicate those emotions. The
advertisements range from anxious friends waiting for a news, a boy trying to find
innovative ways to propose his love, father son affection, to the very popular "Har jabe
mein rang" meaning a color in every pocket thus striking aspiration, one of the most
loved and desired of emotion, when Nokia launched a low cost color display phone. This
way Nokia connected itself emotionally with the people in India and is positively
influencing people to buy a Nokia when they go out to buy a phone for talking to their
loved ones.

Motorola advertisements on the other hands follow a different and very distinct culture
and theme. They place emphasis on generating a fashion statement and a certain
"coolness" that can be associated with a product. Even their recent advertisement
featuring Abhishek Bacchan (an emerging movie star) in a nightclub, focuses more on the
celebrity and flashes off the actual product on screen in just snapshots which emphasis on
its sleek design and hardly depict the other features that a phone might have. A large
majority of the people cannot relate to the advertisement as they haven't been to
nightclubs in their lives. Motorola's marketing seems to have missed out on the basic use
of a phone that people seek for in India, irrespective of its features which is enabling
people to talk and helping people foster relationships. Abhishek Bacchan (son of
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bacchan) though a rising star still doesn't not have an image
of dependability and he isn't commonly seen as a striver who has made it big all by
himself. Motorola needs a brand ambassador that people look upto and aspire to be.
Motorola has to get closer to the common man if it has to have a large pie of the
exponentially growing mobile market in India. Motorola can think of lending an
emotional and sentimental touch to the advertising and focusing on the exchange of ideas
and thoughts over the phone while simultaneously projecting their phones as the cool
devices that help do the same.

3
Press Release, Nokia's marketing & communications campaigns
http://press.nokia.com/PR/199812/778237_5.html
4Taking the above factors in mind specifically in regards to the Indian markets, Nokia can
be appreciated for taken care that every aspect of their phones irrespective of the price
range and smartness, never deviates from the central theme i.e. connecting people. This is
amply demonstrated in the initial screen on switching on a Nokia phone which displays
hands together, one being that of a child. This might seem inconsequential but relates to
the basic emotion of every person, that of sharing love and care, which generates a
positive emotion and energy when a person switches on a phone. Motorola's strategy
needs a change in this emerging global market which still identifies itself with the
traditional values, if it aspires to be a leader here.
.
3. Behavioral Factors
Product Branding and Recognition

In India people like to make all major product purchase decisions after consultation and
advice from their friends, family and other well wishers. This tendency become more
dominant for mobile phone purchases as they still are very expensive even for the people
in the rapidly growing IT and other high income sectors. As an example the cost of an
entry level phone is, approximately ¼ of the monthly income of an average Software
Engineer in India. Hence, word of mouth publicity and general consumer perception
about a product plays a major role in its success.

Nokia and Motorola market their mobile phones in a very distinct manner in India and
the difference can be perceived by observing the print and TV advertisements of both the
4
companies . Motorola advertises some particular feature of their phones while Nokia
concentrates on making the people aware of the presence of a particular model in the
market and uses its theme of "Connecting People" in all its advertisements. The Moto
Razr, a popular phone in India, by Motorola branded and marketed as a slim phone and
even the advertising campaigns emphasize this unique feature, the result being the
general public considers it as a phone that is slim and looks over its other good features.
This results in Moto Razr being considered for purchase by the potential customers only
when interested or have an inclination for "slim phones" and is generally ignored by
consumers who are plainly interested in purchasing a phone. This factor also brings Moto
Razr in direct competition with the phones of other companies which also brand and
market their phones as slim phones. Slim phone is a relative term and the next new phone
would be slimmer than that of the last years which was sold as being the slimmest phone.
Hence customers, who plan to keep the phone for a longer period of time, consider that
the slimmest phone tag won't last much longer and hence have a tendency to go in for
something which is durable and immune to the changes in style. On the other hand,
Nokia 1100 was smartly advertised as a phone that's "Made for India" and this rightly
struck the chord with the consumers. Nokia never advertised it as an entry level phone

4
Guardian Unlimited, http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/category/mobile_phones/
5and avoided placing too much emphasis on its low cost. By avoiding stereotyping and
branding a phone as a "slim phone", "mp3 phone" or a "camera phone" lets the user
discover and also gives a sense of satisfaction to the consumer that he own a complete
5
phone and not a "slim phone" or a "camera phone". Nokia 1100 has a very useful and
strategically placed torch on the top which proves to be very useful during the frequent
power cuts in India. Nokia in its advertisements just had a slight reference to the torch but
never marketed 1100 as a torch phone instead they advertised it as a "Made for India"
phone which people found easy to relate with.


6
Made for India: The popular Nokia 1100 with easily customizable outer cover.

The phone has very simple value additions like a non slippery finish which proved to be
useful in the humid climate of India where excessive sweating in summer months causes
the phone to slip out of hands many a times especially in a crowded bus or train. In
addition to this it has a dust proof cover which obviously is a well thought of feature for a
dusty surrounding. Nokia choose to let consumers discover all these features and hence
avoided the product being labeled as a low end phone or more simply a torch phone.

On the other hand Motorola is branding its new Motophone as an entry level phone, low
on price and mainly meant for the first time users and the rural market. This we feel has
restricted the phones reach and would not be a choice for consumers who are not first
time users or rural. Motorola should concentrate on making the presence of Moto Razar
7
and SLVR felt in the Indian Markets and not labeling the phones according to their best
feature.
Rapid changes and product improvement put on a demand on naming a product. Nokia
phones are numbered in series and the nomenclature is such that its easy on the mind to
recognize the first 2 digits as the series number and the next 2 the model version in that

5
GSIO Arena, users opinion and views http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_1100-reviews-512.php

6
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/mobile-phone/nokia-1100/
7
http://www.esato.com/phones/index.php/phone=141
6particular series of mobile phones. It's a consistency Nokia has maintained in its all
major mobile phones over the years and people understand it now. Motorola needs to
make the consumers aware of the series that is easy on the mind as mobile phones
undergo up gradations quickly and its confusing to remember all the new names.

4. Cognitive Factors
Predicting customer requirements and growth in aspirations)

In the mobile market that is growing at a scorching pace, with over 5 million new mobile
subscribers being added in a month a figure that would be tough to beat in any sector
anywhere in the world, predicting and fulfilling the ever changing customer requirements
becomes more challenging when all the major players in the world are aiming for a
greater share.

Valuable lessons can be learned by observing that over the years Nokia has stayed ahead
of the competition in India by strategically rolling out a series of products to strengthen
8
their market share and each product was a precursor for the future launches . Firstly,
Nokia built strong understanding with customer by rolling out simple products, great user
interfaces and standards, which provided all basic important functions like, Voice and
SMS services. The product durability, ease of use, pleasing features of the initial products
made Nokia a recognizable name among the people. In the next logical step Nokia slowly
started moving towards introducing multiple features and convergence of many
technologies in the phone, yet keeping the standards and interfaces same and not
stereotyping any particular product. Stress on "Connecting people" in better and better
ways like "High Speed Image Transfers", MP3s etc still remained the basic aim.




9
The desirable: Nokia N90 .





8
Nokia Connects,business week, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_13/b3977063.htm
9
Cnet.amu,where tech becomes life,Nokia N90 by Alex Kidman
7Nokia continues towards the same goal still as can be assessed from the statement that
"There is increasing demand for convergence and multiple functionalities in high-end
handsets. The N-series will try to address that." Nokia feels that the new platform
strategy wherein different handsets are launched under a platform, like the N-Series, will
become a status and style statement and drive numbers." Nokia has also come with Nokia
Concept Stores in order to give a feel of tomorrow's technology and future promises in
the industry
5. Demographic Factors
Rural Markets.

India resides in its villages and this is as true as it was years ago even with the large
migration to cities, the rural population hovers at around 70% of the total. With the
economic prosperity reaching the inroads, rural markets gain importance because of
number of aspiring potential customers who with the exposure to cable television have
growing aspirations for all the present day gadgets. Building on the success of its Village
Phone replication program, Grameen Foundation has announced a new initiative, Village
Phone Direct, that uses the existing mobile operator's network and allows microfinance
institutions (MFIs) to directly implement the program, define the local marketing
10
strategy, and control all aspects of implementation . "We developed Village Phone
Direct in response to requests from microfinance institutions," said David Keogh,
Director of Village Technology at Grameen Foundation's Technology Center. "It allows
virtually any MFI to directly offer mobile communication services for their
communities." Pilots for Village Phone Direct are currently planned in four countries –
India, Haiti, Angola and Pakistan. Grameen Foundation, together with local microfinance
institutions and local operators, first launched the Village Phone project in 2003 in
Uganda. In 2005, Nokia and Grameen Foundation started an initiative to expand the
program and create new small businesses and affordable access in rural communities
around the world. Grameen Foundation has partnered with Nokia to enhance the existing
program by making a "Village Phone Business Kit" available for purchase in emerging
markets. This Business Kit includes a Nokia mobile phone, a booster antenna, a
recharging solution and custom-designed cables to connect all the components.
Microfinance clients can purchase this kit through their microfinance institution, taking
out a loan which will be repaid with proceeds from the business. The client then becomes
a Village Phone Operator and rents the use of the phone on a per-call basis to people in
their community earning revenues from the first call onwards.
Motorola is taking Indian rural markets seriously now and have partnered with ITC's e-
11
chaupa l (An initiative to empower farmers) and aim to sell their Motophone in the rural


10
Grameen Foundation news releases, Nokia Launch Village Phone Direct,
http://www.grameenfoundation.org/resource_center/newsroom/news_releases/~story=194
11 Dyutita, Lack of Switch Effect in Advertising, http://dyutita.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

8markets. The phone features local language voice commands and is inexpensive,
approximately costing Rs 1600. ($36).



12
Motophone : Motorola's inexpensive phone aimed at the rural and entry level market.

They have also come up with a bicycle based mobile charging unit for people who don't
have consistent access to electricity. The phone can be charged by placing it on a holder
attached to a bi-cycles handle. Motorola has taken the first step in the rural markets but a
lot needs to be done if Motorola aspires to be a major player in the Indian markets and
wants to capture this high potential market as the aspirations of these 70% rural
population are set to grow over the coming years.

6. Technical Aspects

Skillful marketing in combination with desirable technical features and ease of use make
for a potent combination that is needed to stay ahead of competition and maintain and
edge in the future. Nokia and Motorola make an interesting study as both the products
have good technical backing but have different orientations and target customers in the
Indian markets Motorola's products are known for their sleek designs and attractive
colors. To be a dominating player in the Indian markets a right blend has to achieved in
which Nokia seems to have an edge at present. Motorola is realizing the specific demands
of the Indian consumers and conditions and is catching up fast and a lot of interesting
action can be expected in this area. A few of the technical aspects that Indian consumer
seem to give a special attention to while purchasing a phone have been discussed below.

Renew ability - In spite of the falling prices of mobile phones the entry costs still remain
proportionately higher, hence placing an emphasis on product renew ability. Nokia
phones are especially attractive to customers who place a weightage on this aspect
because the outer body of the phone, the skins and the back battery cover are easily

12
Motorola to take on Nokia with
Motophone,http://www.dancewithshadows.com/pub/motorola-motophone.asp
9customizable and replaceable. Thus, customer does not have to worry about the phone
getting scratched or externally damaged as the outer cover replacement is easily available
for a very low cost anywhere on the streets and hence the customer has this satisfaction
with Nokia that he can always have a new looking phone. Motorola's phones are sleeker
and have a more complicated design comparatively, this combined with their low market
share, makes the availability of accessories and parts difficult which further deters people
to purchase a Motorola in India.

Battery and Charger- The same charger is used across all Nokia phone categories, and
this feature proves worthy is situations like travel or even on a long day when the battery
runs out, and Nokia's charger is easily accessible in India compared to that of Motorola's
because of the 79% market share of Nokia. If the battery runs out in office or at a friends
place there is always a good chance that someone in the office or a friend might be
having a Nokia phone and the same charger can be used for your phone too, in spite of
the phone being a completely different model. Secondly Nokia also uses the same battery
across all its models and it is comparatively easy to take out and put in a different battery
on the same phone. As an example suppose the battery runs out and there is no charger in
reach, one could always borrow a battery from someone around having a Nokia phone
and use it to make some urgent calls as its very easy to open the back cover and replace
the battery and the process is the same for all Nokia phones. To add to these features,
Nokia's talk time is also generally perceived to be better than all other phones in India.
This combined with the charger and battery compatibility gives the product a
dependability which is translates into good word of mouth publicity for Nokia. Motorola
has to take steps to emulate the battery and charger compatibility and simultaneously also
improve the battery life and make customers aware of the improvement so the perception
about Nokia phones being the best in battery life can change and people start
experimenting with the other phones too.

Suitability for Indian Conditions - During a large part of the year Indian climate is hot
and humid and the crowded means of public transport require mobile phones to bear the
heat and humidity and also be sturdy enough to take a fall.

Nokia's models are mostly candy bar phones and not flip phones and a lot of their
mobiles aren't slim, but they still have been market leaders over the years in spite of
Motorola bringing out slimmer, lighter and stylish flip phones. This is a fact which says a
lot about the Indian Consumers preference and the need for sturdy phones that can be
held firmly and that flip phones are perceived to be a bit delicate when compared to
candy bar phones. To beat the effect of humidity on the color of the phone body, Indian
mobile phone users are in a habit of using transparent plastic covers for their phones. This
keeps the phone from loosing its shine due to the hot humid conditions and body sweat.
These ubiquitous covers are available on road sides in India for candy bar phones. The
plastic covers aren't available for the flip phones and this makes them susceptible to dirt
and humidity which causes them to loose shine after a few months of usage and the flip
phone makers to loose their market share!
10Software: A simplified and an easy to use software attracts most consumer to continue
with a higher end Nokia when they plan to upgrade their phones. Nokia has an
impression of being user friendly, and the higher end Nokia phones use the same concept
and basics of the other Nokia phones but with enhancements, enabling the user to use the
new and higher phones efficiently without have to read manuals. Nokia had an edge here
over Motorola due to the immense success and the liking developed for its 3310 phone
during the start of the mobile communication revolution. It was the first mobile phone of
many and the good experience with this phone has helped Nokia built of reputation of
making user friendly and easy to learn phones.
Games: Snake is one of the most popular mobile games played by youngsters in India.
Nokia is well known for putting Snake on most of their phones and it has provided an
improved version of Snake on its mobile phones over the years on its entry and higher
level phones. Hence when a Nokia customer who is a avid snake gamer migrates to a
higher end phone his choice would again rest with Nokia phone as they provide him with
improved version of his favorite game snake and since he is familiar with the controls
13
and software the choice becomes obvious . Versions include:
· Snake - The original, for monochrome phones. Graphics consisted of black
squares, and it had 4 directions. An example of a phone with it installed is the
Nokia 5110
· Snake II - Included on monochrome phones. Snake improved to a snake pattern,
introduction of bonus bugs etc... An example of a phone with it installed is the
Nokia 3310
· Snake EX - Included on color phones. Graphics improved to SNES quality,
introduction of health. An example of a phone with it installed is the Nokia 6260
· Snake EX2
· Snakes - A 3D version. Graphics improved to basic PlayStation quality.
Introduction of hex levels etc... An example of a phone with it installed is the
Nokia N80
· Snake III - A 3D version, different from Snakes in the fact that Snake III takes a
more living snake approach, rather than the alternate universe feel of Snakes. An
example of a phone with it installed is the Nokia 3250
Indian youngsters have a great liking for the mobile game and as seen above Nokia has
taken this game very seriously and always provided the Indian youth a new flavor of their
favorite game. Motorola has to make gaming popular in its phone and has to come out
with a game that can be uniquely identified to Motorola phones in particular and has to
ensure that it fulfills the Indian gamers need of a simple yet interesting and engrossing
game, as complex games can be played on computers and the same consistency has to
maintained in all its models so that a gamer does not loose his favorite game as he
migrates to a higher end Motorola.

13
Nokia sets India go gaming with N-Gage QD ,exchange4media News ,trend
spottingService,www.exchange4media.com
117. Customer Care

Since the cost of Mobile phones are comparatively higher in proportion to the income in
India, and the cost of repairing low due to the cheap labor costs, people prefer to get their
damaged and non functional phones repaired and avoid purchasing new and expensive
phones whenever possible. Simultaneously with the growth of high demand IT industry
and the culture of "husband & wife" working, has grown the increased need to coordinate
at all times which demands faster service of the mobile handsets. Due to the above
tendency, the presence of service centers and repair shops gain further importance for the
success of a product.

14
"Nokia Care", the service center for Nokia phones , dots every major "bazaar" in India.
This gives recognition to the product and comfort to the people that help is accessible
when the phones malfunction or get damaged. Nokia has the largest number of customer
support centers in India, approximately spread across 260 town and villages in India and
strategically and aptly names "NOKIA CARE" in consistency with their theme of
connecting people. By coining the term "Care Centers", Nokia has attached a positive
emotion to a task of getting a phone repaired and also its willingness to help consumers at
a personal level. Nokia retail shops on the streets are easily accessible, and most of these
shops and care centers don't portray an expensive or a posh look. This also helps in
bringing in the customer who has this perception that posh shops with their flashy
designs, air conditioned interiors and fashionable décor invariably sell overpriced product
and simultaneously this also does not intimidate some customers by a image which does
not blend with the rest of the market.

By the above mentioned strategic thinking and by placing their retail shops in middle and
upper middle class localities Nokia is ensuring that they are accessible and always
noticeable to the people who are the biggest buyers of their products. On the other hand,
Motorola's retail and repair centers are just 143 and those too are commonly in malls and
in fashionable districts which the middle class people don't frequent much. Though,
Malls have large chunk of people walking in daily especially in high growth cities like
Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, but still malls in India are not a serious shopping place
and are mostly a meeting place for youngsters. The above thinking can be attributed to
the fact that he concept of "bazaar" is rooted deep into the India psyche and if any major
shopping has to be done, heading out to the "bazaar" is the first thing that strikes the
mind. Malls convey an image of higher costs to most of the middle age group and they
view as malls to be selling overpriced goods, though this might not be the fact. Middle
aged people are also a major segment of the mobile consumers and they like to go to the
shops in the markets that they have been shopping since all these years. For the age group
of 35-55 years, mobile device and usage is comparatively new. Therefore several
problems might arise during the usage of the product; in terms of user interface, or some

14
Nokia supports decision, http://www.nokia.co.in/A4536241
12minor defects in the product. It's natural that would buy a product from a company whose
shops are accessible.

A large chunk of people in India still aren't very fluent with English irrespective of the
income segment. Such people are also not very comfortable shopping at high end
shopping malls and flashy shops as it's a general opinion that not speaking English at
such places is embarrassing and doesn't speak well about a person. Non English
consumers feel comfortable at shops which are at their familiar localities and have
familiar faces talking in regional languages. Motorola by portraying itself as fashionable
brand is segmenting itself from the vast majority of people in India who are potential
buyers Considering the above factors Motorola should make its presence felt in the
Indian bazaar rather than in the expensive looking shopping malls which gives them the
false image of being overpriced.
Motorola also is trailing behind in simplifying things for its customers as an example the
Motorola phone repair section on its India website says "Below is a list of Motorola
repair centers. Please always make sure that you call the centre first to get full details
about the exact process that you need to follow to get your phone repaired. For further
information on your repair options please call Motorola on phone number found" and
the service centers are also not listed alphabetically and are in a random order. Motorola
is targeting the aware users and a unprofessional website does not convey the image that
the marketing is aiming for. This is a needless complication for the Motorola customers
whereas Nokia expects its customers to go to the very accessible care center directly and
get product examined or in case of urgent solutions they have a helpline number which
simplifies the process a lot.

8. Fostering Collaborations for Mutual Growth

Reliance CDMA and Nokia: Nokia's collaboration with Reliance on manufacturing
CDMA systems for them, played off very well. Reliance has been rapidly increasing its
subscriber base and LG India's CDMA segment has shown negative growth of 63% and
Motorola negative 62%, whereas Nokia has shown robust growth of 39% (Courtesy
Cyber media Research). Mobile phone major Nokia has set an ambitious target to triple
its share in the CDMA-based cell phone market in Asia Pacific including India and to
achieve it the company has decided to work closely with two major Indian operators --
Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices. CDMA markets are still in nascent stage in
industry and have an enormous potential.

IDEA Cellular and Nokia: IDEA Cellular Limited (IDEA) has demonstrated live mobile
multimedia services over an EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) network in
15
the city of Delhi . IDEA has chosen Nokia's EDGE system to pilot data services that are

15
Press release, India's IDEA Cellular selects Nokia to pilot launch EDGE services in Delhi
February 10, 2004,www.nokia.co.in
13on average three times faster than services delivered over GPRS. IDEA is the leading
cellular operator in the country, with a subscriber base of over 3 million across the
country. With the acquisition of Escotel, IDEA Cellular has enhanced its footprint to
cover around 60% of India's population and over 65% of the potential telecom-market.
IDEA now has presence in 11 circles across the country. Idea has established. IDEA has
many firsts to its credit, from introducing the SMS in 9 languages to Music Messaging
with Cellular Jockey and an interactive Voice Portal with Say Idea. With Nokia's
collaboration with Idea, Nokia is certainly set to gain Ideas emerging cellular user base as
well.

Radio: With privatization, radio is expected to follow the growth curve of the television
industry which grew rapidly following the entry of private players. TV advertisement
spend grew at an annual compounded rate of 30% for 8 years after privatization, while
TV penetration simultaneously doubled. In comparison, the advertisement spend on radio
is expected to grow at a higher annual compounded rate of 45% over the next 5 years.
(This compares extremely favorably against the projected growth rate of 15% for total
advertisement spend) By 2007, advertisement spend on radio is expected to touch Rs 12
million - a 12 fold increase over 2001.And the market share of private radio stations is
expected to increase (from 0% in 2001) to 80% within 6 years of their entry.

16
(Private TV players have taken 5 years to corner 50% of the TV ad rupee.) . How can
the mobile phone manufacturers make use of this opportunity, and are India ready for the
17
visual radio on mobile phones?
With the service - personalized radio requests with video clips on mobiles - yet to find
many takers, a vigorous marketing campaign is set to popularize this paid service. Radio
Mirchi, India's largest private radio network, launched visual radio in July in Delhi with
Hewlett Packard and Nokia. A connection with Hutch (Hutchison Essar Limited) or
Airtel along with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-enabled mobiles enable the
reception of visual signals. Radio Mirchi sources said though visual radio penetration is
10 percent in Delhi and six-seven percent in Mumbai, much still needs to be done. In
2003, Nokia had announced visual radio as an upcoming feature of their new range of
multi-media phones. The content is created entirely by Radio Mirchi, HP provides the
technology solution, Nokia produces the sets on which visual radio is made available and
Hutch provides the conduit for the content to reach the subscriber through the GPRS
network. With this, listeners of Radio Mirchi can receive visuals on their mobile sets,
plus information on the songs being played, choose ring tones and also content on the
artistes, participate in radio station promotions, polls and contests. Besides, this can
translates into demand for mobile handsets that have an inbuilt FM radio which proves to


16
Source: HSBC report and others
17
Visual Radio is now playing in India, www.hutch.in/pdf/press/Visual_Radio_Release.pdf
14be handy during the long commute hours. Nokia has already launched more than 20
18
Nokia devices in India that are compatible with visual radio .
Visual radio is the first of its kind being offered in India, which would be an enjoyable
experience for the customers. This is a new and exciting opportunity for both Nokia and
Motorola to reach a larger number of consumers and create a futuristic image for their
mobile phones.
Music: Mobile devices have emerged as one of the most preferred mediums for listening
to music as is also evident from the fact that over 280 million MP3 enabled devices are
expected to be sold by 2010.
Nokia N series aims to drive the trend and continue to introduce initiatives to deliver a
superior music experience. Nokia has collaborated with the Indian Music Industry (IMI),
to announce the 'Legends of India' initiative, for Nokia N-series Music edition devices.
Ghazal singer, Jagjit Singh unveiled the offering, which provides 100 preloaded songs by
10 Indian artistes, such as RD Burman, Asha Bhosle and Jagjit Singh, among others.
The 'Legends of India', available on the recently launched, Nokia N91, N71 and N70,
offers the DRM- compliant songs across genres ranging from Hindi film music,
devotional, ghazals and remixes.
Another aim is to contribute towards promoting the music ecosystem at large, and help
the Indian music industry to regularize the distribution of legal music content. Nokia
shipped more than 40 million mobile devices with an integrated music player in 2005.

9. Looking Forward

The interesting and exciting challenges that arise are: What would it take to be a leader
in the Indian mobile handset markets in the near and distant future? How much will
Individual empowerment fuel the R&D for cutting edge next generation communication
technologies? Half a decade since mobiles started to gain popularity, cellular industry is
seeing a transition. Increased demand for much higher value added services and a switch
to next generation communication technologies requires more sophisticated yet customer
friendly devices that maintain transparency between technology and user experience. As
individual empowerment marches on in India with the economic and social change that
give the freedom to an individual to make his own independent decisions which were



18 Visual Radio A Contradiction in Terms, the Newest VAS, Runa Mukherje,
Convergence plus, http://www.convergenceplus.com/aug06%20mobility%2003.html
15restricted by the old social and economic structure, there would be a further demand for
the "enabler" devices.
A slow but promising transition can also be seen in the rural India as well that constitutes
about 70% of the country, making these people the market movers of the coming years.
Catering to the demands and marketing the products to these consumers through the right
blend of price, performance, durability and simplicity would not be an easy task. With the
increased penetration of the communication devices the human network would not be just
visualization for India, as the social structure composed of individuals, friends,
collaborators or other organizations connected through technology using a variety of
devices would be achievable in a lifetime with the current growth rate. There is an
increased demand from the first time consumers that are peculiar and challenging than
ever before. Selling in the present complex culture, with the transition of the people from
the strivers to the achievers, traditional to the modern, localized to the global and
ignorance to awareness is a Herculean task that would demand rethink on the present
strategy. The great motivating factor for every one aspiring to have a share in the Mobile
Industry is that the market is only 9% of its potential value now and five million people
are jumping on to the mobile bandwagon each month. So today here we are again, in the
same context as we were a decade ago with the same challenges but bigger rewards in
store.

















16References



Mobile Analyst Watch :This blog from John Sun, a tech PR and analyst relations
professional in the San Francisco Bay Area, tracks the analysts talking about the mobile
devices, content and services markets.

The Guardian Weekly Global Network

ICMR, center for management research: Nokia's strategy in India: n overview of Nokia's
entry and expansion strategies in India

The Digital Mindset, "Made For India" marketing:
http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/archive/0001/01/01/881.html

Techtree, http://www.techtree.com:editorial synopsis and ratings

CII,BDA Wireless India,Catalysing next wave in economic growth, Mr. Vikram Tiwathia

INDIA Information Technology Industry; past ,present and future and a tool for national
development, Somesh K Mathur
17