LTE data cards became mainstream with 26% jump in shipments sequentially.
Gurugram/New Delhi: The India Data Cards Market declined sequentially by 12% to 5.6 lakhs in 2Q CY2016 in terms of unit shipments, according to CMR’s India Data Cards Market Review 2Q CY2016, August 2016.
LTE/4G data card shipments witnessed 26% sequential growth in 2Q CY2016. LTE replaced 3G as favored technology in the data cards market. As a result, 3G data cards shipments declined sequentially by 35% in 2Q CY2016 when compared to previous quarter.
“CDMA data cards recorded sharp sequential decline of 78%, which was the main reason for the decline of 3G data cards in 2Q CY2016. Mi-Fi devices drove the growth of LTE technology in 2Q CY2016. LTE based Mi-Fi devices grew sequentially by 80% in 2Q CY2016,” stated Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst, Industry Intelligence and Channels Research Practices, CyberMedia Research.
Huawei strengthened its market leadership in 2Q CY2016 in terms of market share (Unit shipments). The vendor recorded 10% sequential growth in terms of absolute unit shipments in 2Q CY2016. Huawei shipped 63% of overall LTE/4G data cards in 2Q CY 2016. Micromax and Intex witnessed sequential growth of 14% and 18% in their respective shipments.
Huawei LTE based Mi-Fi model E5573S-606 was fast moving model followed by ZTE MF90 and Micromax MMX 444L. Intex DC21.6SWM and Huawei EC315 were other major models shipped in 2Q CY2016. Data card with data rate of 150 Mbps contributed around one third of overall shipments in 2Q CY2016.
“Mi-Fi devices show stupendous potential to grow in the future. In-built battery in Mi-Fi devices provides anywhere-anytime data connectivity, price correction of LTE/4G services along with push by telecom service providers are making Mi-Fi cards a popular choice in India. Mi-Fi devices are also finding growing traction among corporate houses,” Narinder concluded.
Notes for Editors
- CyberMedia Research (CMR) is pioneering market intelligence and consulting firm that runs a comprehensive monthly market update on the India Data Cards market. The report accounts for ‘legal’ shipments, but does not include bundled or ‘grey’ market shipments or units brought from abroad by individuals as part of personal baggage.
- CMR uses the term ‘shipments’ to describe the number of data cards leaving the factory premises for OEM sales or stocking by distributors and retailers. For the convenience of media, the term ‘shipment’ is sometimes replaced by ‘sales’ in press releases, but this reflects the market size in terms of units of data cards and not their absolute value.
