India is one of the fastest growing telecommunication markets in the world. It is the youth which is the real growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the present paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. The findings show that there is a significant difference in the usage pattern of mobile phones because of these three variables. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.

The Indian telecom industry has been growing at a very fast pace. Several initiatives have been taken by the government to accelerate the growth. In 1996, the Indian government announced several favorable policies to attract wireless service providers (Kumar and Thomas, 2006). Since then, mobile phones have become ubiquitous. It is quite interesting to note that the number of mobile phone subscribers has surpassed the land line subscribers, in a country where getting a land line connection was a dream to many people few years ago.It is stated that young consumers are the real drivers of growth in a wireless industry. To a great extent it appears to be true because youngsters below 25 years of age hold 32% of the total market in the whole telecom industry.¹ In addition, the future also holds bright for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers because this age group comprises of almost 50% of the total population with a high purchasing power (Goswami, 2007).

Today, mobile phones are used for several functions by young people. It is important for telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to understand how frequently they use their mobile phones for these functions. The paper throws light on mobile phone consumption pattern among college-goers. Understanding youngsters as one of the largest market provides a competitive advantage to them. The study reveals how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to design a mix of product and promotion, for different market segments. Also, research undertaken in this area helps researchers and scholars understand the individual usage pattern of a new media.

Mobile Phone Usage, Indian Telecom Industry, Marketing strategy, Market segments, Handset manufacturers, Mobile telephone services, Hightech computer corporation, HCC, Mobile banking, Telecom service comapanies, Mobile Communication.