Spectrum for mobile broadband will boost India's GDP by $80 billion by 2015: GSMA

A 10-per cent growth in mobile broadband will add Rs3,50,600 crore ($80 billion) to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015, according to the association of mobile phone operators in the country, GSMA.

"A 10-per cent increase in mobile broadband penetration will generate a combined Rs3,50,600 crore ($80 billion) in additional revenues for India's transport, healthcare and education sectors by 2015," GSMA said in a release.

The figures come from a new study, commissioned by the GSMA and conducted by analyst firm Analysys Mason, on the economic impact of mobile broadband growth on these key industry sectors, the release said.

Broadband connectivity, which is a driver of socio-economic development, will fuel growth across all industry sectors and contribute to increase in GDP, GSMA said.

According to Analysys Mason, a 10-per cent increase in broadband penetration will lead to net growth revenue increases of 42 per cent in the healthcare sector (equating to an additional Rs1,21,500 crore or $27.4 billion), 36.8 per cent in education (an extra Rs1,40,200 crore or $31.2 billion) and 18.8 per cent in the transport sector (an additional Rs88,900 crore or $20 billion).
 
Currently, broadband penetration in India is 1.7-per cent and is forecast to rise to 12.5 per cent by 2015. However, to achieve this, it is essential that additional spectrum is released quickly, most notably the 700MHz and 2.6GHz bands, so that mobile operators can roll out next-generation mobile broadband networks and services and meet demand, GSMA said in its release.

As of April-June 2011, there were 3.5 million HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) mobile broadband connections in India and this figure is expected to rise exponentially to 225.5 million by the end of 2015, provided the right amount of spectrum is allocated for mobile services, it said.