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Growth is likely to be triggered by increasing deployment of telephone lines supported to an extent by the roll-out of wireless local loop, Gartner said.

BANGALORE, May 17

RESEARCH firm Gartner Dataquest has forecast a double-digit growth for the Indian fixed line telecom services market.

The local telecom services market is forecast to touch $14 billion in 2006, at a compounded annual growth rate of 14 per cent during 2001-2006. Growth is likely to be triggered by increasing deployment of telephone lines supported to an extent by the roll-out of wireless local loop.

Contributions from rentals and local calls would likely shore up revenue base in future, a news release quoting the report said. Data and Internet services would grow faster and their contribution to total revenues would increase in line with other Asian markets, the report added.

According to Ms Kobita Desai, principal analyst — telecom and mobile, Gartner India, ``the huge price drop is not likely to result in corresponding increase in usage''.

Private carriers need to be more discerning, Ms Desai said in the news release. Typically incumbent is more resilient and can sustain a business at discounted rates with lesser impact on its bottomline while for new entrants it could make their business unsustainable, she added.

According to Gartner, the Asia-Pacific fixed telecom services market will show a modest growth over the next five years, despite some problems plaguing the telecom industry. The firm believes that Asia-Pacific fixed telecom services revenues, which dipped by 4.5 per cent in 2001 will increase to $111.6 billion in 2002, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

The industry will continue to witness a single digit growth rate through 2006, when the market is projected to total $136.8 billion.

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