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BANGALORE, India (AFP) - As mobile phones threaten to outpace the growth of desktops, Indian software firms are looking to take on the world in the emerging markets of mobile commerce and wireless communications.
The global wireless technology market is expected to be worth nearly $10 trillion in five years and m-commerce, analysts say, would open new business avenues for Indian firms.
"Indians have an equal chance in the m-commerce and wireless area to prove our technological competence in building software, as it is still a happening thing in the U.S.," said Santosh Xavier, senior manager of Silicon Automation Systems. "We were left behind in the Internet revolution, but we will make sure that we will emerge on top of this one," Xavier told AFP.
Companies such as Silicon Automation, some dot.com firms and other Indian Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) start-ups are putting together core teams of skilled engineers to tap the growing m-commerce market. "We are focusing on building WAP gateways to enable people to access the Internet. WAP's main function is for accessing Internet through mobiles," Xavier said.
Silicon Automation - the only Indian member of the 600-strong international WAP Forum - is eyeing Europe and the United States, as well as the China market, which has 22 million mobile and smart devices. "We will be testing our first product in China shortly. Indian software experts can deliver and contribute to a host of applications in m-commerce and WAP," Xavier said.
An Indian consortium, comprising the state government of Karnataka and other bodies, launched a WAP initiative last week aimed at forging a leading role for India in the development of future Internet technologies and their deployment.
The initiative seeks to develop and support Internet sites in India that will make available WAP, Bluetooth and other associated technology standards and define the role of a body that will advise the government in framing relevant laws.
Prakash Panjwani, Nokia's product marketing manager for South Asia, said new technologies meant many people's first taste of the Internet would soon be through their mobile phones.
"Cellular phones will outnumber personal computers as we move into a mobile information society. The Internet, mobility and digitalization of books and other information will be the main drivers in this society," Panjwani said. "By 2003, there will be more handsets connected to the Internet than desktops, worldwide. Importantly, information technology, telecommunications and consumer electronics are converging." Panjwani said the m-commerce industry would be worth $200 billion by the end of this year and new global players were "entering fast."
Jasmeet Singh, vice-president of Rediff.com India Ltd., said the m-commerce and wireless market in India would take off in a big way.
"We are now providing a bunch of services on cellular phones. The applications will also enable Internet browsing and notification services soon," Singh said. "This is the cutting edge of technology and the users will benefit. I foresee a crash in the prices of WAP-enabled cellular phones in India soon," he said. "By 2003, mobile phones in India, from the present three million, will overtake personal computers which are at about 11 million," Singh said.
Industry experts said India could excel in client software development, packaged software development for the global market and embedded systems design, as well as development in the m-commerce and wireless era.
True Blue Technologies Pvt Ltd., a three-month-old start-up firm, is building its development plans around wireless.
"We are building applications for certain protocols, languages and platforms. Also, our technology product called DynaWeb will help connect the old wired world to new wireless devices. The company will license it globally," said True Blue director Ramesh Ramaswamy.
"We are looking for global contracts and have started with a team of 15 professionals after being convinced that the future of telecommunications is wireless," Ramaswamy said.
Mohan Kumar, managing director of Motorola India Electronics Ltd., said: "It took 100 years for land lines to reach the one billion mark worldwide. The mobile took only 10 years to reach the same, since 1987"
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