India's mobile VAS market expected to grow to $9.5 billion by 2015

Helped by rising penetration of handsets, India's Mobile Value Added Solution (MVAS) market is expected to almost double to USD 9.5 billion by 2015 compared to last year, a report by IT major Wipro said.

India's MVAS market is estimated at USD 4.9 billion in 2012, a joint report by Wipro Technologies, the global IT consulting and outsourcing arm of Wipro Ltd, and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said.

The report, 'Future Thought of Business (FTOB) MVAS', added that MVAS market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent between 2012 and 2015 to reach USD 9.5 billion in 2015 from an estimated USD 4.9 billion in 2012.

"an expected MVAS revolution in India is being made possible by the dramatic growth in mobile device penetration and mobile network capacity and this market offers abundant opportunities for growth to all industry participants" Wipro Technologies Senior VP and Global Head (Media and Telecom) Ayan Mukerji said.

However, the basic informational mobile services are set to decline in India, he added.

The report findings are based on evaluations of over 450 consumers and providers of MVAS in India in order to identify the major drivers and barriers of the Indian MVAS market and provide insights that will help to grow this market.

Domestic mobile operators could focus on providing better network and connectivity and global operators could increase their base by testing new VAS offerings in the Indian market, the report said on the opportunities for different participants in the Indian MVAS market, the report said.

Content and VAS technology could focus on the consumer experience and developing personalised content and original equipment manufacturers could innovate with lost cost smartphones and mobile devices to drive penetration, it added.

The research focused on the mEducation, mEntertainment, mFinance and mHealth application areas and found that there is pent up market demand from consumers for sophisticated mobile services in India .

The report said to realise the market's full potential, the industry requires a collaborative effort across mobile network operators, telecom equipment vendors and mobile service content providers.