Mobile VAS in India: Numbers that you should know

Mobile VAS Numbers for India:

Key Numbers as of March 2008

  • Total Mobile subcribers – 250mn
  • Avg. ARPU : Rs. 250/
  • Prepaid connection comprise 85% of total subscriber base.
  • VAS constitutes 7% of the total total telecom revenue for Indian operators.
  • Digital music (including CRBT and ringtones) constitutes 35% of VAS revenue
  • Almost half of Indians use ULCH (Ultra Low Cost Handsets)

ARPU Split of Rs 250

Voice + Rentals 90% Rs 225 Includes Rentals, Activation Charges, etc.
P2P SMS (primarily)

Also: GPRS Data, Call Roaming, CLI

5% Rs 12.50 None of this flows through to the VAS Providers
Other VAS 5% Rs 12.50 Rs 4,300 cr / $1 billion annualised revenue
Revenue for VASPs 17% of the 5% above Rs 2 Rs 750 cr cr / $180 million annualised revenue

VAS Revenues by Category

Category

Penetration

Numbers (million)

Revenue (Rs / mo)

ARPU

Total Revenue (Rs / mo)

VAS Revenue (Rs / mo)

Annual VAS Revenue

Key Players

P2P SMS

35%

80 m

Rs 30

Rs 11

Rs 250 cr

Rs 3,500 cr

CRBT

25%

65 m

Rs 25

Rs 5.50

Rs 165 cr

Rs 30 cr

Rs 350 cr

OnMobile

BhartiTele

Hungama

IVR / Voice Portal

15%

30 m

Rs 20

Rs 3

Rs 60 cr

Rs 10 cr

Rs 125 cr

OnMobile

One97

Cellebrum

Downloads (Ringtones, Wallpapers, Games)

10%

25 m

Rs 10

Re 1

Rs 25 cr

Rs 6 cr

Rs 75 cr

Hungama
SMS Subs.

5%

15 m

Rs 20

Re 1

Rs 30 cr

Rs 6 cr

Rs 75 cr

One97
P2A SMS

15%

30 m

Rs 6

Re 1

Rs 30 cr

Rs 6 cr

Rs 75 cr

IndiaTimes
Misc

Re 1

Rs 50 cr

Rs 5 cr

Rs 50 cr

TOTAL (ex-P2P SMS)

250 m

Rs 12.50

Rs 360 cr

Rs 63 cr

Rs 750 cr

Does this mean that VAS market is ~200mn industry only (though the expected CAGR is ~44% )?

Entities in VAS Value chain

  • Content/Application Owner – cos. like saregama/mauj/Rajshri who develop coyrighted content
  • Aggregator – aggregates content like games/wallpapers/ringtones and distributes it to suit customer needs [players : mauj, hungama mobile, indiatimes mobile etc]
  • software developer – develops applications (like payment/games/middleware etc.) for mobile VAS [players - mchek/July systems/webaroo/affle etc]
  • Technology Enabler – provides the platform that plugs into telco networks and acts like a bridge between aggregator and telcos [players include OnMobile, cellnext. mauj etc]

Operators still dominate the revenue sharing arrangement in VAS [Of the amount paid by end users, 60-70% is kept by operator, aggregator gets 20-25% and content app/owner gets 10-15% of the revenue]

Via Emergic (with permission from Rajesh) and our earlier post on VAS Market Research

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  • comment(s) on Mobile VAS in India: Numbers that you should know

    17 Responses to Mobile VAS in India: Numbers that you should know

    1. Interesting! Is there some data available on ‘return on capital employed’ on infrastructure and just VAS?

      I guess that probably is the reason for SPICE’s exit?

    2. Pingback: Weekly Recap |Technology and Business Startups in India

    3. Ash says:

      How do I get a number(like pluggd.in number 567673434) for people to SMS my company. Any cost would be appreciated

    4. Pingback: Mukta Arts acquire 51% stake in Coruscant Tec, VAS Content Provider |Technology and Business Startups in India

    5. siju says:

      how to conect pc to mobile with out credit card

    6. Pingback: Mobile VAS player TeleDNA Raises $10Mn from Peepul Capital |Technology and Business Startups in India

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    8. 5,6 & 7 Digit Short Codes (free CRM tool)
      10 Digit Long Codes (free CRM tool)
      Online Bulk SMS
      Bulk SMS APIs
      SMPP & HTTP connectivity
      White-labeled SMS Reseller Websites

      Office – 0484 6492646, 0484 6491646
      Thomas Antony – +91-98468 19078
      Prema Sankar – +91-99461 29734
      Email: fastalerts@mobme.in
      Website: http://www.fastalerts.in

    9. kirti says:

      ny data on revenue sharing part of vas..lk sms polls

    10. ammar says:

      Please can you send me the latest ARPU split 09 figures

    11. Pingback: VAS Consumption In India – Indian Men Use more.. « Meena Kapoor’s Blog

    12. Pingback: FUTURE of Mobile VAS in India – Here to Stay and Grow « Meena Kapoor’s Blog

    13. ashish kite says:

      Hello sir,

      I have posted some analysis on my blog about Future of mobile VAS.

      your views on it would be appreciated.

      Regards,

      Ashish Kite

    14. Anil says:

      Hello,

      I want to start my own mobile VAS service.

      From where and how can I get VAS voice numbers
      in India?

    15. Anindya says:

      Any idea how to get numbers like revenue generated from mobile apps only…more specifically of rural areas…