India to sell 34 mn mobiles in 2005: Gartner

Gartner Inc, global IT research and analysis firm, has estimated that the number of mobile phones sold in India will touch 3.4 crore (34 million) in 2005 while the global mark will exceed one billion by 2009.

The total number of mobile phones sold in India in 2004 was around 21 million and was estimated to be 34 million in 2005, according to a global forecast by Gartner.

In comparison, the Chinese market clocked in 68 million units in 2004 and is estimated to grow to 85 million in 2005.

The study says China and India alone would account for nearly 200 million units in 2007, with the Indian market surpassing China in 2009 to reach 139 million units.

"A conducive regulatory environment, affordable services and increased geographic penetration of networks will drive mobile penetration in India. An important enabler will be the initiative in bringing down handset costs to lower the initial barrier to entry," principal analyst, Asia Pacific, for telecom, Obita Desai said.

Gartner has estimated that global mobile phone sales will reach 779 million units by 2005, a 16 per cent increase over last year.

The study shows that out of the total number of mobile phones sold this year, nearly 25 per cent were in the Asia-Pacific region and this figure was estimated to reach 33 per cent by 2009.