Though TRAI accepted / acknowledged most of our Regulations on NetNeutrality one of them is highly debatable and can create lot of controversy. In TRAI’s Consultation Paper [CP] the fourth question posed was – Is there any other issue that needs to be considered. We at DSLIndia have been tracking the Indian Telecom Sector for over 15 years and we know the pulse of each of the service provider. Our goal is to Maximize revenue to the Government and bat for high quality consumer experience. In this backdrop, we went into Out of the Box Thinking Mode and it is we who brought this idea to light to the officials of the TRAI to keep the entire Telecom Network Neutral and made the following suggestion, [Source PDF]
Airtel 3G
Airtel to Increase ARPU amidst Reliance Jio Launch
Bharti Airtel expects modest annual increases in blended ARPU in coming years led by data (assuming rationality on the part of Reliance Jio). Airtel admits voice ARPUs will continue to dip but does not think cannibalization of voice by high-speed data is a risk, likely underestimating this voice ARPU reduction risk. Airtel thinks that higher ARPU subs (post-paid or high-end pre-paid who would be early 4G adopters) hardly churn and that pricing per se is not a factor in churn at the high-end. Additionally, it is rapidly rolling out 4G on a large scale not giving its high-end 3G/4G subs reason to shift to competition. Data traffic will continue to grow at a robust pace driven by increases in penetration and per sub consumption growth. Better data network and newer technologies (such as 4G) itself allows higher consumption on a like-for-like basis.
Plain Vanilla 2G Voice
On the contrary, incrementally new subs are coming from low-ARPU rural areas, total voice ARPU will likely continue to trend down. Urban wireless penetration
Airtel Unveils – “Win Customers for Life” Strategy
At Analysts Conference, Bharti Airtel Management shared Color on its new Strategy – Win Customers for Life. This is developed on its underlying five-pronged strategy: 1) better go-to-market excellence; 2) voice pricing – no need to undercut; 3) data pricing in such a way that data ARPU grows; 4) focus on data and digital services (m-commerce); and 5) war on waste, i.e manage costs better. Subscriber growth has accelerated in the past one year, which is ahead of competition vs. previous years. However, ARPU increase will be led by subs taking 3G and 4G.
Airtel believes networks will be a key differentiator, especially on data. The
Airtel Mobile Data Growth on Strong Footing
Airtel Mobile Data continues to grow vigorously (67% revenue growth Y/Y) and now contributes over half of the overall Y/Y India wireless revenue growth rate of 10% (5.4% of this 10%). Therefore, data is helping to offset the tepid voice minutes growth pattern. Notably, data ARPU at Rs25 (averaged across the entire customer base) now contributes 13% of the overall ARPU (of Rs202). This percentage is rising, thus helping overall ARPU.
One should note that Airtel India has not
Airtel Pre-Paid Night Unlimited Voice / Data Pack
India’s Leading Wireless Operator, Airtel has decided to make the right use of Unused Spectrum and Network at Night.
Airtel launched Night Unlimited Calling pack at just Rs 7 / Month where in you can make Local Calls to any Airtel Mobile and talk for unlimited time between Midnight 00:00 to 06:00 Hours every day.
In order to develop taste for Indians towards Data Services, you can surf and browse as much as you want on Airtel 2G GPRS Data network with the
How Airtel Pre-Paid Tariffs Changed in Jan-Feb 2014 ?
Our recent channel checks suggest that operators across circles continue to withdraw / reduce discounted / free minutes; however, the pace appears to have slowed. While we also picked up increasing instances of rising discounts (i.e., a reduction in RPM), the overall trajectory still remains with an upward bias on realisations. Our discussions with retailers also indicated that commission levels have remained stable over the past 6-8 months (possibly indicating this cost may not be squeezed any more).
Airtel India Increased tariffs across 16 Circles in Pre-Paid Segment leading to higher RPM while it had to offer Discounts to Competition to maintain the Average MoU Traction in 6 Circles where it reduced tariffs
Why Airtel Acquired Loop Mobile in Mumbai ? 3G in 900MHz
Airtel has announced acquisition of Loop Mobile, an incumbent in Mumbai circle, for Rs7bn. Airtel will pay Rs3bn and acquire Rs4bn of Loop’s debt.
Loop Mobile is one of the 2 incumbent operators in Mumbai (Vodafone is the other) with ~3m subscribers, ~Rs150 ARPU and 5.5% revenue market
Airtel’s First 100 Mn Subscribers in 15 Years Next 100 Mn in 5 Years
India’s leading Integrated Telecommunications company has reached 200 Mn Mobile Subscribers and continues to be the Numero Uno in India. Airtel which started operations in 1994 took 15 years to get 100 Mn subscribers [2009] to its platform and just 5 years for the next 100 Mn subscribers [2014].
Gopal Vittal, Joint MD& CEO (India), Bharti Airtel told us
We are delighted to have reached this major milestone. It is gratifying to see the trust our customers have reposed in our brand and it will be our endeavor to continue
Escalate Complaint against Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone, Idea by Dialing 1037
Despite best efforts from the Government to regulate the Telecommunication industry with prudent billing norms, Operators like Airtel, Reliance, Idea Cellular have resorted to malpractices with their very own customers such as unauthorized mobile balance deductions by activating Value Added Services the customer has not subscribed to. The TRAI and the DoT established Internet / Web Based Complaint Cells but didn’t take off due to poor reach of broadband & the internet.
A High level committee looking into this problem just a while ago has told us that they have circulated a notification to all
Airtel Hikes Mobile Charges for 3% to 100% RPM Impact
India’s Largest Cellular Service Provider, Bharti Airtel hiked voice call tariffs across the board so as to have a net gain RPM impact between 3% to 100%. The following chart shows how tariffs have increased in August / September represented by circle name, old tariff followed by new tariff, the change and the impact
- Chennai Tariff Voucher of Rs69, tariff validity 28 days, local calls to mobile no. @ Rs0.30/min Tariff Voucher of Rs85, tariff validity 28 days, local calls to mobile no. @ Rs0.30/min The pack was discontinued, and now reintroduced at a higher fixed monthly cost RPM impact of 14%
- Chennai Tariff Voucher of Rs97, tariff validity 28 days, local calls to own network@ Rs0.10/min – Tariff Voucher of Rs115, tariff validity 28 days, local calls to own network@ Rs0.10/min – The earlier pack was discontinued, and now reintroduced at a higher fixed monthly cost RPM impact of 18%, impact will reduce with increasing usage
- Delhi Combo pack of Rs46, validity 28 days