The mobile services market in India will remain almost at the same level as 2013 at $19.2 billion in 2014.
Meanwhile the research said mobile connections in India will grow to 815 million in 2014, an 8 percent increase from 755 million connections in 2013.
One of the biggest challenges faced by Indian mobile operators is the growing appetite for over-the-top (OTT) voice services, the research said. Explosion in personal connected devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is driving consumer appetite for OTT communication.
Indian mobile market is going through a tough period, with voice average revenue per user (ARPU) is falling very fast, and the increase in data ARPU is not able to fully compensate for the decline, said Neha Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.
“If the prevailing market conditions do not change in the Indian mobile market, India will account for 12 percent worldwide mobile connections, but just 2 percent of worldwide mobile services revenue,” Gupta added.
According to Gupta, mobile broadband provides a substantial revenue opportunity in India on the back of low fixed line broadband penetration. Packing and selling mobile broadband in small and affordable chunks is critical to uptake, he added.
Mobile apps provide another area of opportunity for providers. They help increase loyalty of the customer. According to Gartner, operators that engage with popular content and service brands and bundle their apps and services with their data plans will drive consumer interest in mobile broadband.
