One crore jobs in Telecom sector by 2012: Study

New Delhi: A study by PwC has said that, the Indian Telecom Sector will provide 1 crore employment to the youngsters by 2012. The telecom sector will provide 28 lakh direct jobs & 70 indirect jobs by 2012, the study conducted by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) & PcW.

The mobile industry observed a huge rise of 700% in India, from having more than 10 lakh subscribers in 1998 to over 75.2 crore subscribers in 2010, the study named “Indian Mobile Services Sector: Struggling to Maintain Sustainable Growth” said. This industry played a vital role in India’s growth story & the industry today contributes nearly 2% to the GDP,” the study is saying so.

The study, conversely, indicated that though the industry has taken significant gait in the past decade, the task of providing access to mobile services at affordable rates across the hinterlands remains incomplete. The urban Tele-density at 154 per cent is far ahead of the rural Tele-density of 34 per cent. While this spells opportunity for the industry, significant investments will be required in order to increase reach in the rural areas.

Similarly, India’s internet and broadband penetration are only around 1.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. This can be explained by derisory wire line infrastructure.

Hence, mobile broadband, which is an opportunity for providers, will require increasing investments.

"The challenges that the Indian telecom sector faces today are unique and many-sided and will require inventive solutions coming from operators and regulator working together," PwC India Telecom Executive Direction and Leader Mohammad Chowdhury said.

In such a scenario, Foreign Direct Investment contribution and increased capital expenditures by industry contributors are the need of the hour. Current trends indicate significant reversal in FDI inflows and capex expense implying strong headwinds for the industry.

FDI in telecom sector in India was USD 1.7 billion in FY2011, down by almost 35 per cent compared with USD 2.6 billion in FY2010.

Investments in sector by leading operators are down 50 per cent.

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