Mobiles to help increase FIs' reach

INDIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT 2008

The main users of the mobile internet are expected to come from the lower end of the pyramid or the rural areas, given its affordability.

The panelists addressing the issue of how to mobilise the mobile internet in India viewed the mobile internet as the way to increase the internet’s penetration, as well as a means of improving the reach of financial institutions in the country.

Identifying India as a voiced-based market, Naimur Rahman, director, OneWorld International, South Asia, said, “According to a recent study, games, ringtones and music were the only three value-added services being offered in India. In India, the mobile is still being looked at as a voice device.” Therefore, operators should offer something that will bring in better value-added services, he added.

Rahman further said that mobile devices are not only a tool for talking, but there is a need for better knowledge services to prove that. Pointing out that India had an edge due to the lower cost of innovation, Ramalinga Raju, founder and Chairman, Satyam Computer Services, said, “India offers creativity and viable mass.” He added, “The mobile paradigm is to be seen not as one that only connects people, but one that can create convergence, as well as creating value rapidly in a manner that everyone can easily afford.”

The panelists predicted that the main users of the mobile internet would come from the lower end of the pyramid or the rural areas, given that the mobile internet will be an affordable means to increase the penetration of the internet. “We are in a nation building mode, institutions like mobile operators and IT companies are trying to develop a new reach. Affordability will be the plank that will bridge this divide. Mobile penetration can only happen once the affordability factor is addressed,” said Jai Menon, Director of Innovation at Bharti Airtel.

Pointing out the regulatory loopholes in the system, Williem Elfrink, chief globalisation officer and executive vice-president, Cisco Services, said, “To mobilise the mobile internet we need to think of new business models. This business needs scale, which requires a public-private partnership model. There is a need to capture good ideas and then scale them, and for this smart regulation is required.”

All the panelists however agreed that it was not viable to depend on operators to develop applications. Ben J Verawaayen, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, said, “Operators will not have the capacity to focus on value-added services. We have to look at mobiles as a device of the future. Operators should open up for other people to create services.”