Strategic Thought Transformation - The IIPM Think Tank

S T R A T E G I C I N S I G H T
Macro-economic
stabilization that
began with the
1990s’ reforms
should be coupled
with microeconomic
activities
CDMA, ICT, media, entertainment, and
marketing;
continued benchmarking of China’s
mobile experiences to promote policies
supporting rapid growth and -penetration
strategies.
With India’s mobile marketplace, the
shift to rapid growth requires:
continued market-driven regulatory
reforms to support industry growth and
mobile penetration in rural India;
growth strategies of the dominant operators,
which will reduce the digital divide
between urban and rural regions, while
enabling these operators to internationalize
over time;
support of the localization strategies
by the mobile equipment manufacturing
leaders, including production facilities,
R&D hubs and relationships with Indianbased
contractors;
boosting R&D by India’s leading business
outsourcing providers (BPOs).
With new mobile services, successful
initiatives require:
successful cooperation among the
different participants of the mobile value
system, including operators, manufacturers,
software developers, content providers,
media players, and technologists;
new revenue-sharing models that
provide adequate incentives to content
providers and developers, while satisfying
operators and manufacturers;
strengthening the base of media and
entertainment properties (from Indian TV
to ‘Bollywood’) by facilitating adoption of
new technologies for content services and
marketing;
With 3G and spectrum issues, success
is predicated on:
market-driven regulatory reforms in
mobile communications, Internet services,
and new broadband access technologies
(incl. VoIP, WiMAX);
comprehensive, market-driven policies
to overcome the impending spectral
shortage;
promoting government’s existing
broadband and IT initiatives, including
the potential of 3G in advanced services
in cities and low-cost applications in the
rural regions.
With Indian competitiveness, the macroeconomic
stabilization that began with
the 1990s’ reforms should be coupled with
microeconomic activities by:
accelerating India’s ongoing transition
from factor-driven growth to investmentdriven
growth;
facilitating mobile revolution via aggressive
growth policies and continued
liberalization of inward FDI;
capitalizing on the mobile impact on
economic growth;
supporting sophisticated strategies by
companies and attractive business environment
by regions;
supporting efforts to create dual business
models, which leverage local cost structure
to develop breakthrough products and
services for worldwide markets.
With ICT globalization, the absolute
superiority of US innovation has been
eclipsed. It is not that American innovation
has failed; in fact, US innovators are
thriving. Rather, new ICT players such as
India are also thriving. In this magnificent
transformation, mobile industry is the midwife
of the future.
Reference
On mobile evolution, see Steinbock, D. (2002)
Wireless Horizon: Strategy and Competition in the
Worldwide Mobile Marketplace (New York: Amacom).
World Bank Development Indicators.
Indian Cellular Association (ICA).
In other words, 60 million of the handsets are
purchased by new subscribers, and remaining 40
million as a replacement of old handsets.
Reliance capitalized on CDMA to become the
second largest mobile operator, which allowed LG
and Samsung to build foothold in the combined
GSM/CDMA market.
“Nokia celebrates the inauguration of its manufacturing
facility in Chennai, India,” Nokia Press
Release, March 11, 2006. On Nokia’s success and
globalization, Steinbock, D. (2001), The Nokia
Revolution (Amacom Books, May 2001); What
Next Globalization and the Finnish ICT Cluster,
Finland’s Ministry of Interior, 2005.
Reportedly, BSNL and MTNL expected to invest
900 billion rupees in 2005-2010 to purchase
equipment and expand networks. This represented
85 percent of the total sector investment.
See Steinbock, D. (2005), “Design and Mobile
Innovation”, Design Management Institute (DMI)
Review, Fall 2005.to the telecom sector. See Grant
Thornton India, May 2006.
The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators
July-September 2005, TRAI, Dec 2005.
“Improved Rural Connectivity – One Of The
Top Priorities,” by Shri Dayanidhi Maran, Minister
for Communications and Information Technology,
Address for the 3G GSM World Congress at Barcelona,
February 14, 2006.
In addition to voice, Reliance Communications
Ventures Ltd.is banking on data and video.
Reliance has its network available in over 240,000
towns and villages across the country (42 percent
of the rural population). By the end of the year,
it hopes to double the rural coverage to 400,000
villages (50 percent of the rural population). kind
of short-term manipulation.
Dan Steinbock, ICT Director,
India, America & China Institute
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STRATEGIC INNOVATORS
An IIPM Intelligence Unit Publication