One of the major highlights during the year 2010 was the successful completion of auction for 3G and BWA spectrum. We believe that 3G auction would be a game changer for the Indian telecom market. It would help enhance mobile penetration in the hinterlands which is very essential for bringing the real Bharat into the mainstream. Various initiatives undertaken by the government to enhance financial inclusion will also receive a major boost with enhanced penetration of wireless broadband.

The telecom industry seems to be in a consolidation mode and the price war among the operators has also stabilized. We expect similar trends to continue and do not see a steep falls in ARPUs in times to come. These developments clubbed with plans of other operators to expand their operations nationally as well as plans to meet the roll-out obligation augur well for the telecom infrastructure industry which will benefit with these plans taking shape.

These developments will pose a key challenge to support the subscriber growth momentum by matching the growth in telecom infrastructure across the country. It also offers a great business opportunity to the existing telecom infrastructure companies. It is estimated that the Indian market will require a total of around 350,000 – 400,000 towers by end of the current financial year and around 500,000 towers in the next 3-5 years.

While the telecom infrastructure industry has witnessed consolidation in 2010, including Viom acquiring the tower arm of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), we expect some consolidation in the sector in the next 6-12 months post the launch of 3G/ WiMax services.

Rural penetration shall be another key driver for wireless growth in the country. Current rural penetration is much below the urban penetration level. All operators realize this fact and have started focusing on expanding their operators in rural India. A pioneer in the telecom infra industry, Viom has started partnering with some of the operators to offer innovative and cost effective rural solutions which are again expected to be the first in the industry.

Another important factor that will dominate the sector will be the various ‘Green’ initiatives undertaken in the infrastructure sector. As a responsible corporate, we have already undertaken various initiatives to conserve energy and the environment. We have made sizeable investments in R&D activities to tap alternate energy sources such as solar, wind energy, fuel saver catalysts, fuel cells, CNG and Energy Storage Platforms, to conserve energy, at the same time offer energy related cost benefits to our operator partners. Looking at the increasing energy prices, we believe that such initiatives will play a pivotal role not only by offering various cost effective solutions to the operators but also by making a positive impact on the environment.