The last year of the decade has been an eventful one, to say the least. On the one hand, after two years of postponement and apprehensions, the 3G and BWA auctions proved to be a stunning success with the government raking in over Rs 677 billion. On the other, the closing two months of the year had the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report pointing to a large-scale scam involving billions of rupees, which plunged the sector into chaos and controversy.

Controversies are not new to the telecom sector. It has been pummelled by the winds of contentious policy execution for years. Kapil Sibal, the new minister for communications and IT, wants the industry to move ahead and is making a valiant attempt (though not always successfully) to resolve old issues.

The minister has called for inclusive growth with an emphasis on broadband and infrastructure. He has begun the year by announcing a 100-day agenda for the telecom sector, which includes framing the National Telecom Policy, 2011 to replace the old one.

Meanwhile, the sector has continued to show strong growth. During 2010, the mobile subscriber base grew by about 40 per cent, from 525 million to 745 million. The sector continued to add about 18 million subscribers a month, making India the fastest growing telecom market in the world.

With a dozen or so operators jostling for space, the tariffs are at their lowest and ARPUs are headed southwards. Since the current rollouts are focused on lower-income rural areas and the 2G/3G rollout capex is high, operators are likely to face cost pressures. This should increase the focus on scale and volume to keep overall costs under control.

Going forward, the launch of MNP and 3G in the first quarter of 2011 will lead to many changes in the types of services being offered. In this context, 2011 will see the sector’s dynamics become even more competitive. Leading operators are making huge investments and thinking of more creative ways to offer new services. For users, the going can only get better. Already wooed with multiple tariff plans and devices, they will also have an array of services and operators to choose from.