The share of wireless users has shot up to 40% of India’s total telephone subscriber base. As per E&Y forecast India’s mobile users will make up 70% of the total telephone subscriber base by 2007. It pegs India’s total telephone subscriber base at 203m by end of 2007, in which wireless will account for 142m. It also expects India’s teledensity levels to touch 20%, and annual telecom industry revenues to about $25bn by 2007. The reason for such optimism is attributed to the introduction of unified licensing, the DoT nod for operators to transfer wireless licences, the allowing of intra-circle wireless mergers and the implementation of the IUC regime.  
 

In the largest all-cash deal, the second-largest US mobile phone group, Cingular (owned by regional carriers SBC Communications and BellSouth) recently took over it rival AT&T Wireless. AT&T Wireless split from its parent company AT&T in July '01 to become a full-fledged wireless major. 
 

The cell phone manufacturers are benefiting from booming emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, where they sell relatively cheap handsets to first-time buyers. They also target existing customers in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, who are replacing old models. 

Japan is leading this trend. Two years after the world’s first third-generation mobile networks were launched there, consumers are now embracing services such as video conferencing on models with built-in cameras and large color screens. In the US and Western Europe, consumers are also replacing their old monochrome models for those with color displays and cameras, but use less-advanced data services such as picture messaging because networks have not been upgraded. 

Smartphones, which feature calendars, email, pictures, music and other services in one device, were one of the fastest-growing new categories.