We are very excited with the imminent adoption of 3G networks and technologies in India. For a country which is enamoured by television and films, high quality transmission of TV channels, downloading music tracks and streaming video is likely to be killer applications with availability of better bandwidth and reliable data transfer at high speed. 3G technologies have capability to support heavier downloads of multimedia files.

Mobile being such a personal product, entertainment on mobile will see phenomenal growth. Each user will make choices based on his tastes and content developers and providers can fulfill their demands on multimedia platform. Whether it is music on demand, streaming videos, video blogging, video chatting or films shot especially for small mobile screens, we wouldn’t be limited to voice or text.

Last mile connectivity being a major issue, number of Indians with internet access has been very limited. For a large number of present count of 170 million mobile subscribers, internet connectivity via 3G networks would be first brush with it dues to its faster internet browsing capability. Email functions by handheld is expected to become an essential service for mobile Indians in 3G scenario.

Rural India, which is the target for expansion of subscriber base, can be served well with applications that fulfill the lack of certain basic amenities. They include access to knowledge centres like institutes of learning or even libraries, medical facilities and others. Interactive learning can be facilitated with video conferencing or visually interactive medical aid over mobile phones or for that matter even talk to a medical representative sitting in some other location. Farming advice can be sought by sending visual images of their fields/crops to experts in government organisations.

Gaming which is on rise in India, will take off to greater heights as feature rich mobiles will offer console like gaming experience. New emerging technologies will support greater interaction among groups of users. Multiple user gaming, currently not much fun due to poor state of GPRS connection, will see phenomenal growth.

Mobile banking, payment through mobiles will be another growth dimension. Of course for telcos,  especially in current scenario of over subscribed to the point of choking networks, the most significant feature of 3G technologies is the capability to support greater number of voice and data customers. But 3G services, if priced correctly – and this is going to be the success determinant – will see mobiles evolving into an organiser, entertainment device, payment device and of course communication device for masses. Revenue from such value added services through 3G is the ray of light for telcos who will continue to see drop in the bottom line of voice revenue.