India is inching towards the title of super-nation, but As the Maruti Suzuki’s “Kitna Deti Hai” ad series gives insight that Indians are a nation are extremely mileage or rather “value for money” conscious under all circumstances.

Cost of roaming expenses (national or international) have been always been one of the key issues of the telecom subscribers since ages now. With advent of internet being the “know it all” guru, it has become the core part of our lives. Especially for travelers who have just landed in an alien territory and want to go through the adaptation process as soon as possible. Dreaded by the future bill shock they might get, they stead carefully in their mobile data usage and lookout for free wifi offerings all around.

Well, national roaming has been regulated by Dept. of Telecommunications, Govt. of India, but the same doesn’t apply to international roaming. So you might have to fork out average Rs. 120 or $ 2 per SMS and data charges might give a heart attack.

International travel has been growing for Indians, The statistics show that from 2009, the number of citizens travelling beyond the country’s borders has grown by 13 per cent every year and in 2012 it was around 20 Million. That’s Huge!!!

Around One -third these travelers use there India mobile connections on international roaming, around the same size buy an international number at the destination and rest rely on international SIMs, Calling Cards etc.

A typical market size for International SIM is around Rs. 600 Crores…Now, I got your attention!!!

Though Airtel & Reliance have an international SIM offering for their users, it still not promoted that much, as it cannibalizes their roaming revenues. International SIM business in India is currently dominated by Matrix Cellular (~45%), Clay Telecom & Uniconnect.

Recently, International SIM market is moving towards a Single SIM for 100+ Countries with costs at par with the country’s local provider. By the way 80% Outward Indian travelers currently go to a set of 14 countries only. Further a prepaid international SIM has been promoted as it’s a secure option for both users and sellers.

In my personal opinion there is scope for an entrant with:

• Established Brand
• Good Distribution / Retail Network
• Ability for Marketing Innovation

Indian government has laid down the entry requirement at the DoT site and frankly the entry cost is minimalist. The business model which are ZERO capex are easily available. The business and product road map can be as diverse as we can think of Internet Dongle, Handset Bundling, Tablet bundling, Travel Forex Cards, Travel Ticketing, etc.

A slice of Indian Telecom opportunity awaits!!!