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BUSINESS
India
emerging as major mobile phone market
By
Devajit Mahanta
Mobile phones have become an indispensable part for our daily life
now. But in developing nations throu-ghout the world, mobile phones have
had an altogether more transformative impact – helping to unlock economic
opportunity by dramatically reducing transaction costs and improving access
to information. The Government of India expects 500 million mobile phone
users by 2010. India
has registered more than 8 million new connections in the month of August
alone, taking the total number in the country to more than 200 million.
From the development since the first mobile phone launch, the industries
has developed rapidly and changed a lot in the short 20 years. Here are the
different stages of the mobile phone: First Generation (1G)-the first
generation mobile phone refers to the mobile phones that were developed in
the 1980s. Second Generation (2G)-GSM, CDMA and TDMA are the different
protocols that brought the mobile phone into the second generation stage.
Second and a Half Generation (2.5G)- Still under the same network protocol,
but provided services such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service). Third Generation (3G) - a whole new network
protocol launched in the twenty-first century. The 3G protocol enables high
speed connection (speed similar to broadband connection) to access through
internet and also video calls. Besides the convergence from the first
generation to the third generation mobile phones, the functions featured in
mobile phones are getting more sophisticated and more useful.
In rich countries, mobile phones seem to be something of a mixed blessing-
particularly if you are stuck on a train next to teenager with a crazy frog
ring tone. But in poor countries, mobile phones have no oblivious downside
and have already delivered remarkable benefits, in terms of economic growth
and personal empowerment. At its simplest, a mobile phone can allow a
farmer or a fisherman to find out what that day’s prices are in various
markets, so that he can take his goods to the market offering the best
prices. Jadav may be a relatively poor 35-year-old man living in a Mumbai
slum, but he still typifies the reason why India's mobile phone market is
the world's fastest growing. He spends about 20 rupees per day on topping
up the mobile phone he acquired two months ago to keep in touch with his
mother in Bihar. "My uncle in the
village has a phone too. So my mother doesn't have to go far to make a
long-distance call," says Jadav, who earns just 200 rupees per day.
That may not seem much too many people, but it still means Jadav, who goes
by one name, represents the new cell phone user in India:
lower-middle class, self-employed and urban. The mobile phone growth is
being driven almost entirely by lower-income groups. It's not an indicator
of wealth any more. The development of mobile phones has brought convenient
and advantages to the world. Though, the disadvantages brought along with the
fast grown technology cannot be ignored. Symptoms caused by the radiation
of mobile phones are one of the most argued problems. Many scientists
believe that the radiation from the mobile phones may cause different
symptoms such as headache, earaches, blurring of vision and even causing
cancer. Though, these problems are still under research. Psychiatrists
believe that mobile phone addiction is becoming one of the biggest non-drug
addictions in the 21st century. Mobile phones with camera functions are causing
privacy problems. Saudi
Arabia has already banned camera phones
through out the country while many countries are concerned about this
problem. Cyber bullying now-a-days treat as a national disasters among the
teenagers which psychological effects are much more severe that
face-to-face bullying. Cyber bullying is a bullying act using offensive
words and behavior via online chatting, emails or SMS text messages.
Readers can send their feedback at devajitmahanta@gmail.com
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