In January 2010, Tata Teleservices added the largest number of subscribers to its network. According to the data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority India (TRAI) in January, the mobile phone operators signed up 19.9 million new subscribers. Out of them, TTSL added 2.98 million subscribers putting it ahead of other players including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and BSNL. TTSL accounts for 14.97% of the overall new subscribers. Bharti Airtel accounts for 14.31% and Reliance 14.08% respectively.
In January, the total number of wireless subscribers stood at 545 million which translates into a tele-density of 49.50. The total number of telephone connections touched 581.81 million including both wireless subscribers and fixed line.
In terms of market share, Bharti Airtel is the market leader accounting for 22.33% followed by Reliance with 17.72%, BSNL 11.95% and MTNL 0.90%.
Bihar came up as the fastest growing circle with 2.2 million new subscribers followed by UP East with 1.8 million new subscribers and about one million new subscribers in UP West.
On January 21, 2009, Virgin Mobile announced its GSM service in partnership with Tata Teleservices Ltd. The service will initially cover five cities of Southern India including- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Pan-India GSM will be completed within the current fiscal year.
Voice calls on Virgin GSM network will cost Rs. 0.20 per minute for local and STD calls made to Virgin Mobile numbers and Rs.0.40 per minute for local calls and Rs.0.50 per minute for STD calls made to other networks.
At the launch event, M. A. Madhusudan, CEO, Virgin Mobile India, said that though subscriber base of mobile phone operators in India is going up, the profit bottomline is under huge pressure. However, the GSM is a big market with lots of opportunities. Every month, GSM operators are adding up around 15 million subscribers half of whom are young people. Virgin Mobile is now looking forward to become the preferred brand for making outgoing calls. Dubbed as “Doston Ka Network” (Network of friends) Virgin Mobile aims to provide services to help its customers get the most out of its friend circle.
Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices told reporters that their GSM foray with DoCoMo had been well received by subscribers. This prompted the company to launch a new GSM service with Virgin. Tata also invested in additional networks to further reinforce its GSM network. Here are some of the services offered by Virgin Mobile’s GSM network:
vMingle: This service will offer users to stay connected with various social networking sites 24/7. It will be an integrated social networking service and under this service, users will keep in touch with friends at all social networking websites with one single login.
vGenie Service: This service offers birthday reminders, wake-up calls, and social networking updates.
vBelong Service:offers users to make and design their own WAP sites.
Sir Richard Branson, Chairman and Founder, Virgin Group, said that India is the only market where Virgin is present in both GSM and CDMA segment. It is a good decision on Virgin’s part because GSM is more popular in India than CDMA. According to TRAI, at the end of September 2009, there were 371 million subscribers under GSM compared to 101 million subscribers under CDMA networks.
Virgin mobile company, is a subsidy of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin communications. The company entered the Indian market in March 2008. A youth oriented mobile company, Virgin targeted young people between 14 and 25 years. It offers a wide range of services including music, news, Bollywood movies, sports etc. Virgin Mobile already gained popularity for its Value Added Services like “get talktime for incoming calls.” The company’s “Think Hatke” ad campaign also became very popular.
To promote its new network, Virgin Mobile hired famous Bollywood couple, Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D’souza. Last week, Shahid Kapoor and Genelia starrer Chance Pe Dance was released in theatres and the movie became immensely popular. Shahid Kapoor and Genelia looked very beautiful on the screen. Prasad Narasimhan, Chief Marketing Officer, told reporters that the couple beautifully represents their brand. They not only show what Virgin stands for but also what Virgin wants to become in the GSM segment- becoming the ultimate network for friends. Shahid Kapoor is one of the most sought after Bollywood actors today. Genelia D’Souza also has a “next-door fun loving girl” image. The two are a great fit for Virgin brand.
Tata Group will venture into GSM telephone industry. Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), the telecommunications arm of Tata Group is going to start new GSM service. Currently, TTSL is one of the major CDMA network operators in India but limited allocation of CDMA spectrum forced the company to start GSM service. Tata Teleservices will remain committed to its CDMA network but for the future of its business, the company is foraying into the GSM sector. In 2007, TTSL and Reliance mobile applied for “dual technology licenses.” While TTSL focused on CDMA, Reliance already established its GSM network around the country.
Tata Teleservices Managing director, Anil Sardana said that the company would operate on double network for its survival. TTSL is going to launch its GSM service next month and by the end of 2009, the company will also start its MNP service. TTSL pioneered the CDMA network in India. It introduced CDMA 3G1x technology and built its first CDMA network with Motorola, Ericsson and Lucent. In early 2009, the company received license from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to launch its GSM service. Currently, TTSL has 12,500 towers around the country.
