Top 10 Technologies and Services to Watch Out in 2010

Voice&Data takes a sneak peak into 2010 with Indian telcos to identify ten technologies and services that will keep them busy working on or talking about

1) 3G/WiMax: India will see both noise and action on 3G and WiMax, all depending on the auction of the spectrum. Over the past two years India has been very optimistic and patient. 2010 might just prove lucky for private players and of course the subscribers waiting for high speed mobile broadband connectivity.

2) Mobile Number Portability: Having missed the December 2009 deadline, MNP will invite a lot of consumer interest. Most likely to be implemented mid 2010, the service will keep the mobile operators on their toes.

3) Long Term Evolution: While some countries across the globe will be testing and get riding on, Indian communication community will use it as a fresh talking point. There will be 15 LTE networks in commercial service by the end of 2010, and a total of 42 networks in 21 countries have already committed to the 4G technology. Not to forget, Telecommunication Regulation Authority of India plans to bring out a consultation paper on the next generation technology. Hope that this time it does not go so wrong with its homework and set unachievable deadlines.

4) Mobile Apps: Mobile is going for the kill, literally. There is a tough fight among several contenders to be the most deadly application. Rural-centric applications will emerge as innovation in the form of SMS, IVR based applications in the areas of mobile commerce, mobile media, mobile marketing and advertisement. Mobile social networking will make a good match with other applications. There will be a thrust on location-based services. Also, mobile web applications are definitely something to look out for.

5) Green to Grow, Glow: As one of the most active participants at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, India has taken a voluntary commitment of 20% emission intensity cuts by 2020. The country is committed to the National Action Plan, which aims to generate 20,000mw of solar energy by 2022. The Indian telecommunications industry will also see investments in greener technologies and equipment.

6) Unified Communications: The Indian market has started extensively adopting unified communications (UC) with industries across major verticals deploying UC applications. The total market size of UC in India was approximately USD 670 mn in 2008, which is likely to grow to over USD 1 bn by 2010.

7) Lining From the Cloud: Cloud computing will completely flip the way mobile applications are being developed, acquired, and used. It will dramatically reduce the requirement of advanced handsets for running mobile applications.

8) High Definition Video: High Definition Video conferencing is opening up possibilities in communication not in enterprise segment alone, but in consumer business line as well. The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be covered in HD format. DTH service provider Sun Direct expects about 45,000 to 50,000 users to subscribe to its recently launched high-definition television service in India by March 2010.

9) Broader Roads for Broadband: Having over achieved targets for cellular services, the country is now looking at strengthening the broadband subscriber base. The government of India has an ambitious plan to expand broadband coverage to connect every gram panchayat to broadband network by May 2012.

10) Enterprise Mobility: Enterprises will be relooking at their entire IT architecture and strategize ways to ensure that the entire workforce — be it blue collar manufacturing employees, gray collar service employees or white collar management employees — is able to leverage and add-on to the intelligence available at the back office.