India's telecom sector has been one of the greatest success stories of recent times. India is now among the fastest growing telecom markets in the world. Supportive government policies, coupled with private participation, have fuelled the unprecedented expansion of this industry.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), formed in 1997 to regulate both the government and the private players in the telecom sector and the New Telecom Policy introduced in 1999, were turning points in the history of telecommunications in India. The opening of the long-distance market in 2002, the termination of VSNL's monopoly over international traffic in the same year, and the resolution of the wireless in local loop issue contributed in further growing the market.

The huge market potential for telecom products and services in India and the favorable policy initiatives attracted several small and large players such as Nokia, Ericsson, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications, Bharti Teleservices, Sify, and Huawei. The healthy competition among mobile service providers has brought down telecom tariffs, which were among the highest in the world less than four years ago, to more affordable levels. The falling tariffs have led to the wireless subscriber base growing at a compounded annual growth of 90% over the last three years. In the first nine months of 2006-07, the mobile service providers added 47 million customers. Total phone connections in the country are expected to cross 250 million by December 2007.

Despite the runaway success, the Indian telecom industry faces many challenges. These include technology upgradation, spectrum availability, network management, customer retention, rural connectivity, and falling Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Spectrum availability and efficiency of utilization of spectrum are issues that would have to be resolved for the unhindered growth of the telecom industry in India. Though urban connectivity has improved drastically, rural and remote areas in the country continue to be deprived of telecom connectivity. Another challenge for service providers is retaining customers. Also, the ARPU in India dropping to single digits, compared to around $ 57 in the US, could affect profitability of Indian service providers.

Managers in the telecom sector will have to handle the fast-changing technological and business environment. They would have to quickly respond to policy changes. They would be required to develop effective customer retention strategies and devise, manage and evolve new consumer services so as to attract new customers, increasingly from rural areas, and increase the average revenues per customer. They would have to be adept at planning, pricing, promotion, and financial management.

The Master's in Telecom Management introduces students to the opportunities and challenges in this dynamic and growing sector.