Having witnessed its mobile web traffic to cross the one billion mark in the Indian market in March, 2010 at a growth rate of 100% taking its launch date nine months back, mobile web advertising firm Admob is upbeat on the Indian market and expects the traffic to result in actual revenue generation soon. Company Country Manager, Mahesh Narayanan talks to TelecomTiger.

Q1) What are the factors resulting in increasing penetration of mobile web in India?

Ans:  The increasing use of smartphones is greatly complimenting the mobile web ecosystem in India as our own observations show that over 64% of mobile web traffic originates from smartphone users.

Service providers too are offering mobile data services at competitive rates resulting in rise in uptake for such services within the end-user community.

Mobile handsets too have become affordable and it is just not the popular brands used by consumers. Even consumers who use domestic brands such as Micromax or Spice are increasingly accessing the web over the mobile medium.

Q2) Do you think you will be able to sustain this rapid growth rate in the Indian market?

Ans: We are confident of recording 100% growth rate in terms of traffic from the Indian market. As mentioned earlier, with handsets as well as mobile data increasingly becoming affordable, this will compliment well the uptake of mobile web traffic in India. 

Q3)  While the traffic maybe increasing rapidly, mobile advertising in general and mobile web advertising in particular is yet to take off in India. By when do you se the situation changing?

Ans: With mobile web traffic crossing the one billion mark on a monthly basis, it shows the growing popularity of the medium within the consumer community. Advertisers will obviously be attracted to such a medium which has high consumer traffic.

Brands will therefore like to include this avenue in their overall media campaign.

We see it happening soon in India. This is just the beginning of something really big to happen in the Indian advertising space.