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The October that just went by was a great month for the industry. A record number of 1 crore and 4 lakh new wireless subscribers were added during this period, including GSM and CDMA. As the total number of fixed and wireless phones in India crosses the 36 crore mark, teledensity reached 31.6 per hundred. While the impending slowdown is sending shivers down the spine of the corporate world, the man on the street seems to be not even aware. And, clearly, those who are catering to this segment are making hay.

 A very interesting reason for this boom came from an industry senior who said that with everything becoming unaffordable for the common man in the last few months, being able to chat and gossip with other people is one of the cheapest things people do today. Jokes apart, I know that my own maid now uses her cell phone more to talk to her sisters because the cycle rickshaw fares have gone up, and its cheaper to talk to them rather than visit them.

 Actually that is what everybody is doing at a time when there is the threat of an economic slowdown-look for technologies, solutions and processes that make life and work more efficient. And the mobile phone is clearly a great solution.

 I believe that slowdown presents itself as a great opportunity for the mobile phone. It is up to the phone manufacturers and operators to seize the opportunity and come out with handsets and schemes with prices and features that make them a compelling proposition. Why should the thousands of executives traveling round the week not be able to conduct business and close deals on mobile phones and save crores of rupees spent on travel. It will be a great for the cause of the environment also.

 While it is time to celebrate the mobile boom, fixed or landline seems to bring only bad news. BSNL, the flag bearer of this technology in India, has not been able to still put its act together, and there is no reason why fixed or landline phones should continue to slide. There are those rare pockets where BSNL fixed line has succeeded that we hear about, but the overall picture is grim.

 The slowdown once again throws up an online and Web opportunity to make working (in business as well as non-business organizations) more efficient and cost effective, where broadband will play a big role. There is a goldmine for all the copper in the fixed lines. BSNL needs to put on its thinking hat to exploit this opportunity that is now beginning to pick up speed, as broadband crosses the 5 million mark. Needless to point out here, but the fact is that besides BSNL, all other operators are on the “adding million new subscribers every month bandwagon”.

 It is not just mobile phones, but perhaps most telecom services today have a potentially important role in doing things more efficiently in these tough times. Operators who believe in this will win.

ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in