Proliferation of public wi-fi can provide USD 3 billion potential revenue opportunity for telecom operators between 2017-2019, as it will help adding new customers and increasing data consumption by existing users, says a report.
The study by Analysys Mason, commissioned by tech giant Google, found “a significant fraction of users” saying they would be interested in purchasing a new mobile broadband SIM card to continue accessing high speed Internet, after having experienced high speed Internet through high-speed wi-fi services from Google-Railtel.
Google, in partnership with RailTel, has rolled out public wi-fi services at 400 Indian railway stations. An average user consumed over 300 MB in a 30 minute-session, as per the study. RailTel Corporation is the telecom arm of Indian Railways.
A section of users, who were already using mobile broadband data, “expressed willingness to upgrade their current data plan” after experiencing multiple use cases offered by high-speed Internet, the study said.
“Demand stimulation with free high-speed public Wi-Fi has the potential to increase revenue for other operators by about USD 3 billion cumulatively from 2017 to 2019,” it said, adding that access to unfettered high speed wi-fi broadband is expected to result in “tangible business benefits” for stakeholders like telecom operators and handset manufacturers.
Respondents, who expressed interest in purchasing a new mobile broadband SIM, said they were willing to spend an average of about USD 2.2 additionally on data services.
Similarly, respondents who were interested in upgrading their current data plan said they were willing to spend an additional USD 2.3 average for usage upgrade.
Interestingly, about 14 per cent of the respondents said they were willing to upgrade their smartphones after experiencing high-speed wi-fi, with an additional monthly spend of USD 5.9 towards upgrading their handset.