The revenues of the Indian telecom equipment industry plunged by 2.52 per cent to Rs 1,17,039 crore (Rs 1,170.39 billion) in 2010-11 from Rs 1,20,069 crore (Rs 1,200.69 billion) in the previous fiscal, according to an annual survey by a telecom industry journal.
The survey covered over 500 telecom equipment companies in India, including carrier equipment, enterprise communication equipment and user device manufacturers.
Close to half the telecom equipment revenue came from carrier equipment manufacturers, which saw a 12.12 per cent dip in earnings to Rs 58,294 crore (Rs 582.94 billion) during the year, according to the survey 'V&D 100' by Voice&Data journal.
In 2009-10, the segment registered a revenue of Rs 66,332 crore (663.32 billion), it said.
The enterprise equipment vertical grew by 0.87 per cent to report revenues of Rs 24,023 crore (240.23 billion) for the same period, compared to Rs 23,815 crore (238.15 billion) in 2009-10.
The user device segment, which includes mobile handsets, fixed phones, datacards and tablets, contributed more than one-third to the total telecom equipment industry's revenues at Rs 34,722 crore (347.22 billion), a growth of 16.04 per cent.
Mobile handset maker Nokia had the highest revenue during the year, followed by telecom network equipment majors Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and software firm Wipro.
The other players in the top 10 were Samsung, Huawei,
The study attributes the sharp fall in the carrier equipment segment's revenue to the security policy formulated by the government at the beginning of the year, which prohibited many telecom operators from releasing network expansion orders.
Within the carrier equipment business, most segments have shown negative growth.
The wireless infrastructure segment's revenues shrunk by 23.78 per cent to Rs 18,629 crore (Rs 186.29 billion) from Rs 24,440 crore (Rs 244.4 billion) a year back.
The broadband infrastructure segment's revenue fell to Rs 944 crore (Rs 9.44 billion) from Rs 2,190 crore (Rs 21.9 billion) in 2009-10.
In contrast, the telecom software segment saw revenue grow nearly 5 per cent to Rs 23,533 crore (Rs 235.33 billion), with Tech Mahindra, TCS, Wipro and Infosys occupying the top four slots with a combines market share of 72.5 per cent.
Network integration business accounted for revenue of Rs 7,479 crore (Rs 74.79 billion) in 2010-11, up from Rs 9,200 crore (Rs 92 billion) in 2009-10, showing a negative growth of 18.71 per cent.
The network storage business grew by 10 per cent to record revenue of Rs 1,587 crore (Rs 15.87 billion).
The survey also points out that to power over 3,50,000 telecom towers annually, the telecom industry consumes nearly three billion litres of diesel, generating nearly 5.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
Most operators are shying away from investing in creating pollution-free networks as it involves significant investment, it said.
