BSNL, Airtel most searched online for 3G

With private operators gearing up to launch 3G services, online searches for ‘wireless broadband’ have doubled over the past three months; whereas and BSNL and Airtel 3G are the most searched service providers for 3G services searched by people browsing the net, according to Experian Hitwise.
Navin Chandani, managing director, Experian Marketing, said, “Over 5,300 different variations of the word 3G (example 3G services, 3G handsets, 3G mobiles etc) are being searched by Indians on the internet, which translates to the fact that 3G is on the minds of a lot of people.”
He further stated, “BSNL is the most sought after 3G service provider, followed by Airtel, MTNL and Tata Docomo.”
Experian Hitwise is a keyword research tool for analysing the long tail of search data. It provides insights on how people have successfully searched for products and services online across all major search engines. The data that Experian Hitwise studies does not include mobile internet searches.
The company tracks 25 million internet users globally. However, in India it is dependent on panel data for reporting internet activity. Although Chandani refused to divulge the exact panel size he assures, “statistically and analytically the panel size and composition is a fair representation of the entire Indian consumer population on the internet.”
A recent report by the company revealed that Nokia is the most searched mobile handset manufacturer in India, followed by Samsung. Eight of the ten most searched mobile phone models in India are manufactured by Nokia, with the company’s 5233 model claiming the top spot. Samsung, with its Corby and Champ, was the only other manufacturer to have made it to the list.
Interestingly, Micromax took over Apple iPhone to become the third most searched mobile handset manufacturer in India.
Chandani opines, “There may be several factors working in the favour of Micromax. However, I believe that the offline marketing and branding campaigns undertaken by Micromax appear to be working in its favour. Its positioning as an economic and feature rich mobile brand is helping it overtake the iPhone, which is yet an expensive proposition for a majority of the population.”
He believes that it may be difficult for iPhone to recover considering that the Indian mobile market is price sensitive.