VOA常速英语2007-India's Mobile Phone Market Fastest Growing in W

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
28 October 2007

India's mobile phone market has become the fastest growing in the world, with Indians adding nearly six million new connections every month. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, much of the growth is among low-income consumers.

 

Ramu Prasad, 40, has been wheeling his cart loaded with fresh vegetables through a South Delhi residential¹ area every morning for the past 15 years. He has many regular customers, but until recently, he could only do business with them when they were home.

 

Prasad solved the problem six months ago by purchasing a mobile phone.

 

Prasad's customers now place their orders from anywhere, over his mobile, and he delivers the vegetables when they are in the house.

 

When mobile phones were introduced here more than a decade ago, they were considered a luxury. But low calling charges and cheap handsets have brought them within the reach of tens of millions of people like Prasad.

 

Telecom companies are going all out to woo such customers, offering them deals that make cell phones affordable² for even those who earn as little as $125 a month.

 

Handsets are available for $45. Users can buy new pre-paid phone cards for less than 50 cents. Companies offer consumers the option of paying one lifetime fee of about $25, and never having to pay for incoming calls again. In most of the world, mobile phone operators charge for incoming as well as out-going calls.

As a result, low-income, self-employed people like maids, cooks, taxi drivers, plumbers³, and construction workers are snapping up mobiles at a frantic⁴ pace. Six million new connections are being added every month. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India says this is the fastest pace in the world.

Two hundred fifty million people now have mobile phones in India. The government expects that number to double by 2010.

 

Naveen Mishra, a senior marketing⁵ analyst⁶ with the telecommunications consulting firm IDC in New Delhi, says that in a country of more than a billion people, there is still a vast market to be tapped.

 

"If you see the penetration⁸, we are still at 20 percent, not more than that. So that leaves a huge opportunity," said Mishra. "It is a very hot market, that is why people are eying the Indian market."

 

So far, most of the growth is coming from urban areas. Telecommunication⁷ companies say they will invest billions of dollars in coming years to expand their presence into the country's vast rural areas, where most of the population lives.

International telecom companies are joining domestic firms in rushing to tap into all these potential customers. The world's largest mobile phone company, Vodafone, established its presence earlier this year by acquiring a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, an Indian-Hong Kong joint⁹ venture.

This month, U.S network provider AT&T applied¹⁰ for licenses¹¹ to operate in India in partnership¹² with a local group.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

4 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

8 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。