New Delhi : The GSMA recently announced that it has expanded its regional office in New Delhi with its relocation to Connaught Place, one of the largest financial and commercial centres in the city. The new office was inaugurated at a ceremony on 25 October 2018, with GSMA Director General Mats Granryd and Dr R.S. Sharma, Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and addressed by Minister of Communications (I/C) Manoj Sinha, who joined via video conference. The inauguration was also attended by many other government dignitaries and senior mobile industry executives.
With nearly 750 million unique mobile subscribers, India is the second largest mobile market in the world, accounting for 15 per cent of the global subscriber base. Over the next several years, India will be a major driver of mobile industry growth in the Asia Pacific region and globally and is set to reach nearly 920 million subscribers in 2025.
“Since we established our first presence here in 2012, we have witnessed tremendous change in the Indian mobile landscape,” said Manoj Misra, Senior Public Policy Director, GSMA. “We are now on the cusp of a new era of intelligent connectivity, which will have a powerful impact on individuals, industry, society and our economy. With 5G networks set to launch in India in 2020, the GSMA is playing a vital role in driving collaboration across the industry and with regulatory authorities to ensure that India can fully capitalise on the potential of 5G.”
Supporting Mobile Industry Growth
From its new central location in the capital city, the GSMA will continue to undertake a range of advocacy initiatives and industry programmes on behalf of its members and will further develop its world-class market intelligence and industry insight capabilities.
The GSMA and its members engage closely with the Department of Telecommunications and TRAI to ensure a regulatory environment that will foster investment and fuel innovation, focusing on key issues such as spectrum for mobile broadband, mobile taxation, network planning and privacy and data protection. Beyond these critical public policy initiatives, the GSMA is focused on accelerating digital and financial inclusion across India through its Mobile for Development organisation, working with members to deliver services in areas such as Mobile Money, mAgriculture, mUtilities, mHealth, Connected Women and Disaster Response, among others.
The GSMA also supports its members through industry programmes including Future Networks, Identity and Internet of Things. For example, leading Indian mobile operators have been instrumental in the development and broad adoption of the GSMA Mobile Connect mobile-based authentication solution, which allows consumers to safely and seamlessly access services such as e-commerce, banking, health, digital entertainment and e-government services on their mobile devices.
The new GSMA office also supports the growth of the organisation’s GSMA Intelligence platform and data services, with nearly 20 developers and analysts based in Delhi. GSMA Intelligence is viewed as the definitive source of mobile operator data, analysis and forecasts, delivering the most accurate and complete set of industry metrics available.
“We look forward to the next phase of our industry’s development and working with our members and stakeholders across the global ecosystem to create a truly ‘Digital India’.” Misra concluded.
