Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
However, as we all know, first looks can often be deceptive. Let's look at the facts: the iPhone is about a
lot more than just the 3G connectivity. Sure, it does make it a much
more attractive proposition in its 3G guise with access to a full range
of 3G driven services.
But the iPhone is also about the interface, the
style and the aspiration.
As India continues to carve itself a deserved place in the high-tech
economies of the world, style and aspiration should not be undervalued.
Apple, of all companies, knows this. That is why the time is right for
the iPhone, any iPhone, in India.
It is not as if the iPhone 3G will not work, it will just work a little bit slower.
But early adopting Indians will have to take a bit of a gamble, in as
far as not being able to know for sure that their chosen mobile network
operator will be successful in bidding for a slice of the 3G spectrum
when the auctions are finally run sometime next month.
Although unlikely, if either Vodafone or Bharti Airtel were to fail in
this regard the iPhone subscriber would be left holding if not a brick,
then certainly not an iPhone as we know it. The premium paid for the
hardware would have been wasted.
Especially as it seems that Indian government policy would appear to
rule out deals between operators for the first five years after the 3G
licenses have been awarded. A government press statement is quite clear
in this regard, insisting that "No trading/reselling of spectrum is
allowed."
Even if the two networks do get 3G licenses, that isn't the same as
rolling out 3G services across a country like India. So Indian iPhone
users will have to get used to a distinctly 2G experience for many
months to come.
Although pricing remains, even at this late stage in the game, unknown
it does not look like there will be any bargains on the table despite
the lack of 3G. Indian operators are not known for providing subsidies
on high end handsets.
As a consequence, reporters with informers close to the source
are suggesting the Indian iPhone 3G will start at around INR 20,000 (AUD
$525).
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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