Career Calling
Dr Debasis Chatterji finds promise in India's telecom industry

Profile
Dr Debasis Chatterji holds a Doctorate in Science and has completed his Advanced Management Programme from the Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore. He was also awarded a Diploma in Patent Law from the NALSAR University of Law. Debasis is also a regular speaker at the telecom industry’s leading forums, and has won the Indira Super Achiever Award in 2010. In 2011, he was selected for the Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award.

Netxcell Limited
Netxcell Limited is one of the foremost Application Service Providers in the telecom domain with its pioneering work in developing path-breaking technologies like SMSC. Netxcell’s evolution as a niche telecom application provider, since its inception in the year 2000, has seen the company deliver cutting edge and innovative technology and content-aggregation solution to leading cellular providers across the globe - including pioneering efforts such as cricket-on-mobile, advertising-on-mobile, exam results, and budget-related content. With proven credentials and ongoing business relationships with all the major telecom operators in India, Netxcell manages a customer base of more than 250 million.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The telecom industry in India is one of the fastest-growing in the world today. With the onset of newer technologies such as 3G, the subscriber base has increased to 881.40 million (as on 31 October 2011). Value Added Services (VAS) are at a growing stage in India and there are several more possibilities yet to come up in this sector. The Indian telecom market has been growing at a remarkable growth rate over the past decade with mobile telephony being the single most dominant factor. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total mobile subscriber base increased to 881.40 million in October 2011 from 742.12 million in October 2010, a growth of 18.76% over the year 2010 (YoY). Even if we consider non-active subscribers, the market has around 626.18 million active subscribers, which is quite significant.

The VAS market in India is crowded with a lot of players offering almost similar services. With 15 big and small operators, and many of them having operations in 23 circles - plus their respective head quarters - the number of people employed in this industry runs into thousands. Apart from that, there are almost 100+ odd big and small mobile VAS companies in India, and in the next five years, we can expect it to go further to around 200.

FUTURE PLANS
According to industry experts, the Mobile VAS industry is expected to touch Rs1,00,000 crore by 2020 from the Rs15,000 crore now. The Mobile VAS industry, which is growing quite rapidly, currently contributes around 10% of the revenues of telecom operators, and is expected to contribute around 25% to their revenues within a short span of 2-3 years from now. With mobiles becoming more than a companion for people, and its services being used on an extensive scale, the mobile VAS domain has huge growth opportunities lined up. The recent trends showcase the onset of content-based VAS. At present, the entertainment sector rules the VAS market. However, information based VAS is also emerging very fast. Various sources estimate that today, information segment commands about 30-40% of the total VAS market. The VAS market will come out of the entertainment mode only when there is also great scope in other important sectors such as healthcare, education, rural development, and agriculture etc.

OPPORTUNITIES
The Indian market is yet to mature when it comes to the level of innovation and development done by most of the players. Top mobile VAS companies, like Netxcell Limited, come with a unique technological advantage and the proactive support that is offered to clients. For an instance, all the products that we have deployed have been developed by us: That’s the reason we are sure of resolving any issues within the least turnaround time, and hence are confident of our service support at all times. Like any other job, the VAS domain needs a telecom background to start with. For core VAS engineering and IT, the industry generally hires engineering graduates in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), IT, and MCA. However, for VAS sales and marketing, an MBA degree is preferred. Nowadays, there are core Telecom PG degrees offered by some reputed institutes. However, freshers who are hired are generally trained on the job; the minimum qualification that is required to enter the telecom industry is a graduate degree in engineering for technical positions, and a science or commerce degree for sales and marketing. Since the telecom industry is certain to grow very rapidly and Mobile VAS is going to be a major contributor to telecom operators’ revenues, VAS companies are expected to provide innovative solutions and services. With this kind of requirement, there are good employment opportunities that are available in the industry, especially for people who have an inclination to work in a field that possesses great potential for the aspiring professionals.

The telecom industry in India is one of the most promising even in the times of slowdown as growth is expected. As it is a very niche sector, the demand for a specialised skill set is higher than other sectors. The ability to learn fast and keep innovating will help one survive and emerge successful in this highly competitive industry.