India: The Awakening of M-Commerce

Abstract

This chapter presents our perspective on the evolution of m-commerce in India, where the telecommunications sector was privatized in 1992 and further deregulated in 1999. The chapter introduces the leading mobile telecom players and relates them to the emerging trends. Intertwined with this narrative are descriptions of specific m-commerce cases which deploy SMS in just about every application. These cases are further analyzed using the CLIP framework, illustrating the Indian markets’ adaptive capacity to employ low-end technology to deliver high-end solutions. The chapter concludes with lessons drawn from the Indian experience, and outlines some directions for future research.