Huge growth in US-India traffic revenues

The international switched traffic market may be in a steady double-digit annual decline – but not where India is concerned. New figures from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) show that US billed revenues for international traffic to India increased by an almost incredible 28 per cent in 2005 – even as the value of the total US international traffic market fell by 13.2 per cent.~ ~ What’s more, it seems that one company in particular –Reliance Communications – was by far the greatest beneficiary of the increase. It billed US$338 million in the US for India traffic in 2005, compared to just $160 million in 2004. Overall, 2005 India traffic billings came in at $649 million, and the inference that can be drawn from that figure is that Reliance has a 52 per cent share of the route. The 2005 statistics are the most recently available. It is thought that the figures for 2006 will be even more dramatic.~ ~ India now accounts for an astonishing US$552 million in net settlement payments from US-based carriers. To put things into perspective this is more than half the entire $1.018 billion total for the whole of Asia.