2006年VOA标准英语-India's Massive Mobile Phone Market Expands to

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
20 August 2006 

Indian minister for Communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran, right, and Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir state Mufti Mohammed Sayeed during launch of network expansion in Srinagar, India (File photo)

In India, five million new subscribers are signing up for mobile phone connections every month, as the wireless² telecommunications market booms. And, one of the world's fastest growing mobile phone markets is now expanding into the countryside.

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Five years ago, India had five million mobile phone users. That number has now exploded to 105 million, and the frantic⁴ growth shows no signs of slowing down.

But many new mobile phone subscribers no longer come from the booming towns and cities. As growth in urban areas begins to plateau, mobile operators are eyeing the next big market - the vast rural areas, where 70 percent of India's more than one billion people live.

Over the next year, telecom operators plan to spend billions of dollars to expand coverage⁵ to the sprawling⁶ countryside by rolling out the towers and base stations needed for wireless phone networks.

The new investments are expected to enhance wireless coverage in the countryside from just 30 percent at present to 85 percent next year.

Naveen Chopra is head of marketing⁷ at one of India's largest mobile operators, Hutchinson Essar. He says the response from rural consumers has been extremely encouraging.

"It is quite heartening to see that, whenever we do put up what is called a base station, or a tower in a small village or hamlet, the number of people who actually want to go mobile right upfront within two to three months is quite a large number, the urge to go mobile is almost universal, it is only a question, do people have the means to do it," he said.

Telecommunication³ companies are trying to ensure affordability⁸ for low-income consumers. They hope that low calling rates and cheap handsets will create a mobile phone revolution in rural areas, as they did in the cities.

India has the lowest calling rates in the world - about two cents a minute.

The huge market for handsets has also driven down the prices of phones. Nokia, which has the largest market share in India, now sells a basic handset for $44. Motorola plans to launch a mobile phone for under $30 in October.

Chopra says the rural market will be important for both mobile operators and manufacturers.

"The revenue per subscriber¹ may be lower, but the number of subscribers that are on offer are going to be significantly more, so there will be a change in the balance to some extent," he added.

India began liberalizing its heavily regulated telecommunications sector⁹ in the mid-1990s, when telephone density¹⁰ was less than two percent. That figure has since climbed to around 22 percent, and the government's target is for 500 million subscribers,or around 50 percent, by the end of the decade. Mobile phones are expected to account for most of the new subscriptions¹¹.

1 subscriber   

n.用户，订户；（慈善机关等的）定期捐款者；预约者；签署者

参考例句：

• The subscriber to a government loan has got higher interest than savings. 公债认购者获得高于储蓄的利息。 来自辞典例句
• Who is the subscriber of that motto? 谁是那条座右铭的签字者？ 来自辞典例句

2 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

3 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。

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 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

7 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。

8 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

11 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》