Broadband
India among top three data consuming countries in APAC
NEW DELHI: Around 77 per cent of internet users in India can access the web via a mobile device. In fact, smartphone use in the Asia Pacific region continues to grow at a pace on par with the rest of the world, with page-view volume on mobile websites and apps approaching global averages.
According to the APAC State of Mobile Advertising report from Opera Mediaworks in partnership with the Mobile Marketing Association, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, countries which Opera refers to as the “P4” (Power 4) sub-region has seen a dramatic 545 per cent increase in smartphone adoption since 2013, making it one of the fastest growing sub-regions in the world.
The findings in the report are based on Q2 2015 data from 400 million unique users on the Opera Mediaworks platform.
The P4 countries represent less than half (43 per cent) of the population of Asia, account for less than 30 per cent of regional internet users – and yet over 76 per cent of these users access the internet via mobile.
Mobile growth can largely be attributed to the rapid adoption of Android devices. In the second quarter, the Android operating system took the no. 1 position in market share of impressions served to mobile devices, accounting for more than 60 per cent of traffic in APAC and over 55 per cent in India.
There is high demand for and rapid adoption of mobile video-ad units across the region. The ratio of video-ad impressions served in India is 0.68:1, which is higher than the average across Asia.
“India remains one of the most exciting markets in Asia when it comes to smartphone adoption and rapid shift of consumers to make mobile as primary screen. Mobile advertising, on the other hand, is highly underrepresented in India and there is massive opportunity for advertisers to connect with the prime prospects, deliver rich and meaningful experiences at a time and place when it matters the most,” said Opera Mediaworks MD Asia Vikas Gulati.
Key highlights from the State of Mobile Advertising report:
Demographics and behavior of the average mobile users in India:
. Male users dominate across the region; in India, 9 out of 10 mobile users are male.
. Indian users are overwhelmingly young; the average user age is under 23. Also, 50 per cent are between 18-23 years old.
. The most visited mobile sites and apps by users in P4 region are in the Social Networking category. However, Indian users are more drawn to sites and apps that serve music, video, media & entertainment content followed by technology content.
. The top three countries in the P4 region in terms of data consumption are Vietnam, Indonesia and India. The average data consumption in these countries respectively is around 90, 65 and 60 MB per month.
Revenue winners and emerging mobile ad formats:
. Business, Finance & Investing publishers fared well, accounting for a whopping 42 per cent of revenue paid to mobile publishers across the P4 region.
. In India, Social Networking sites and apps provided the highest number of impressions for advertisers, followed by News & Information and Sports category. However, the highest eCPMs were earned by News & Information publishers.
. The impressions of advertising on Communication Services is much higher than global average by and as much as 15x higher for revenue.
“Opera Mediaworks represents almost 50 per cent of audience share of the market in India. We are making significant investments to grow the ecosystem, share insights on consumer behaviour and trends in mobile content consumption to help marketers better leverage the mobile opportunity,” Gulati added.
“Collaborating with members of the mobile marketing ecosystem has always been the key to building knowledge and capabilities amongst this the region’s marketers, and the MMA is very excited to partner with Opera Mediaworks on their State of the Mobile Advertising Report. We believe marketers in Asia are best positioned to be leaders in global mobile innovation, building campaigns that harness the potential of the medium and the mobile audience. Opera’s stunning data proves that the future of mobile lies in Asia,” said Mobile Marketing Association APAC managing director Rohit Dadwal.
Broadband
Excitel Broadband names Varun Pasricha as chief executive officer
Former COO steps up to lead broadband firm’s next growth chapter
MUMBAI: Excitel Broadband has elevated its chief operating officer, Varun Pasricha, to the role of chief executive officer, handing the reins to a leader who has already spent nearly eight years shaping the company’s rise.
Pasricha joined Excitel in August 2018 and has since been instrumental in building what he describes as “the most loved broadband brand in the country”. Now, as chief executive officer, he is expected to steer the internet service provider through its next phase of expansion in an increasingly competitive home broadband market.
Before his tenure at Excitel, Pasricha held senior leadership roles at Zomato, where he led sales transformation and served as business head for partner growth across India and the UAE. He oversaw the shift in the company’s advertising model from fixed ad slots to performance driven engagement, migrating more than 7,000 paying clients globally while delivering a 20 per cent upsell on the portfolio.
Earlier, at G4S India, he was senior vice president for strategic business, managing a profit and loss portfolio exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Over two years, he grew the business by around 50 per cent while improving margins through contract renegotiations and cross selling. He also worked closely with the leadership team as vice president for strategic projects, focusing on corporate strategy, restructuring, and new business launches, including entry into last mile logistics.
His career spans strategy and operations across sectors. At Max Healthcare, he was senior manager for business strategy, working on planning and joint venture rollouts in tier II cities. He co-founded Edventure Online, an education advisory venture aimed at helping students make informed career choices. At Indus Towers, he served as senior business manager in the central strategy team, helping convert the energy vertical from a cost centre into a profit engine.
Pasricha began his career at McKinsey & Company as an analyst, building the consulting toolkit that would underpin his later operating roles.
With a résumé that blends boardroom strategy and frontline execution, Pasricha’s appointment signals continuity with ambition. For Excitel, the message is clear: the company is betting on a leader who already knows where the cables run and where the next connections must be made.
