New Delhi: Indian telecom market is expected to grow further as a new report on Indian telecom sector by Ernst and Young find that the 3G subscriber base in India would reach at about 25 to 30 million and 3G revenue would grow around $4 to $5 billion by 2012. The total telecom subscriber base is likely to reach approximately 690 million to 700 million by 2012 including about 640 million to 650 million wireless users and approximately 45 million to 50 million fixed line users.

The report titled 'India Telecom 2012 Study' also finds that the number of telecom operators in each circle would go up to 10 or 12 with the allotment of new licenses. Though the number may come down to four or five in each circle by 2012, around 60 percent of the subscribers would come from circle B and C.

The competition in the Indian telecom market is expected to increase with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommending Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). According to the report the WiMax would have about 8 to 10 million subscribers and could account for about 1 to 1.5 billion by 2012. The report mentioned that Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will have to be spread across the country and porting of numbers has to be made affordable, for the success of the system in India.

The Average Revenue Per User (Arpu) is likely to stabilize over the next two years. Blended Arpus is expected to stabilize at Rs 150 to Rs 155 by 2010, while Minutes of Usage (MOU) per subscriber per month would stabilize at approximately 520 minutes to 530 minutes per subscriber in 2011.

The report predicts a data revolution as a result of the launch of 3G and WiMax services, and by 2012 these services are expected to gain popularity initially in the top cities and gradually penetrate to the rest of the country.