Data Strategy

*This case study has been designed for iCreate 2016 and is for illustrative purposes only

Kailash, the Marketing head of Telco, a leading telecom operator, had just completed his review with the
board and was immersed in deep thought. Revenue from mobile broadband users has slowed down in
the current year, and is forecasted to further slowdown in the next few quarters.
The growing range of new services and applications indicate a ten-fold increase in mobile broadband users
between 2013 and 2019 worldwide. Network and infrastructure have been planned to accommodate this
level of usage. But the current indicators for India only show a 4-fold increase in customer base. Slowing
subscriber numbers, as well as competitive and regulatory pressures, have led to a slowdown in industry
revenue growth in recent years. The industry needs to reach a critical mass of 500 Million quick enough
for increased revenue growth.

Faster industry level mobile data subscriber growth is the key to bring back the high revenue
growth.
The current trends show that India has the third highest Mobile subscriber base in the world but has only
36% mobile data penetration. Further, the penetration in India is majorly in the metros and urban areas
(45% penetration). The potential in semi-urban and rural markets has not tapped into (currently a
penetration of 25%).
Socio-economic factors are important in driving data usage base in semi-urban/ rural India. The 2014 price
reduction in 3G data service charges showed a huge impact on increasing usage base. Now, the question
is whether affordability is the only barrier.

Is the industry simplifying the solution to this complex problem through price cuts or is that the
only way?
Kailash also needs to determine whether the slow revenue growth in semi-urban and rural markets is
also because the current eco-system (device, service and content) is not relevant to the particular
market segment.
The current user base has been averaging at 110 - 150 MB of data use per user per month even after the
launch of high speed internet (3G and 4G) services. Good mobile internet experience has been
highlighted as an issue. Different segments of users define a good internet experience differently,
ranging from Network speeds to account management and customer service.

Kailash is convinced that the current data strategy needs to be revamped completely and is looking for
answers to the following questions:
1. What are the barriers for increasing mobile internet usage in the current user base?
2. What are the barriers for mobile internet usage in India for semi-urban and rural India? What
are possible solutions and how must the eco-system (devices, pricing, speeds, content etc.)
change?
3. How can we explore the data user count in India and take data users to 500 Million at an
industry level?

ANNEXURE:
Industry trends of mobile internet users
(In Millions) Mobile Internet users
Smartphone users Mobile Subscribers
Jun-14
240.6
123.3
914.92
Jun-15
319.42
167.9
980.81
Jun-16
371
204.1
1008
Subscriber split: Urban - Rural
Rural
Urban

Jun-14
68
172

Jun-15
90
229.42

Jun-16 Mobile subscribers (2016)

109
431
262
577