Market Information
FY 2001-02 was a boon for basic service operators in the country as the
government allowed mobility to its subscribers with wireless access systems
within the local area i.e. short distance charging area (SDCA). Companies have
taken 25 new licenses in basic telephony taking the overall tally to 33 which
includes the incumbent operator, MTNL and BSNL. Big corporate Groups like Tata
and Reliance have increased their coverage area in basic telephony. Reliance is
operational in all the telecom circles except Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman &
Nicobar and North East. The company has launched its service but is planning to
go commercial by April. Tata, the service provider in Andhra Pradesh has gone
for additional licenses in Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The
company has already commenced its operations in all the circles. In the newly
acquired Maharashtra circle the company is planning to operate WLL (M) service
by May-June.
In terms of number of subscribers, the basic telephony market in India is
estimated at around 38.5 million in FY 2001-02. In terms of subscriber base
there has been a growth of around 18 percent. The incumbents still dominate with
a market share of 98.55 whereas the private operators contribute a meagre 1.45.
In terms of revenues, the basic telephony market in India is estimated at Rs
30,247.49 crore an increase of 3.8 percent. The incumbent operators together
contribute around 98 percent of the total revenue. The total cumulative of
private operators is still small and is Rs 600 crore.
The coming of new operators has changed the basic telephony scenario in the
country and the service providers are now focussing more on providing a good
quality service backed up with an excellent quality of service. There has been a
considerable improvement in fault rates, correct billing, and prompt service. On
the feature side, the service provider has been providing dial-up Internet,
parallel ringing, and multiple subscriber numbers.
All the three major players in basic telephony are basing their business
model differently. Bharti is focussing more on corporate customers through their
wireline route whereas Tata and Reliance has a mix of both wireline and wireless
with wireline focussing on home users and in wireless the focus is mainly on
corporate users.
The WLL—Poised for Fast-track Growth
The WLL (M) service in India is being offered through the basic service
license. By default, service providers have been using the CDMA technology to
offer limited mobility services. According to Voice&Data estimates, the
number of CDMA lines in the country is around 1.15 million of which around
440,000 are WLL (M) and rest are fixed wireless terminals (FWT). On the CDMA
front, things are moving at a fast pace.
|
Cumulative CDMA
Subscribers in the Country |
|
Players |
2001-02 |
2002-03* |
2003-04* |
|
BSNL |
196,699 |
1,196,699 |
2,396,699 |
|
|
MTNL |
49,042 |
87,000 |
267,000 |
|
|
Reliance Infocomm |
Nil |
750,000 |
4,250,000 |
|
|
Tata Teleservices |
75,000 |
292,000 |
1,275,000 |
|
|
Hughes Tele.com |
Nil |
Nil |
250,000 |
|
|
Bharti Telenet |
25,000 |
25,000 |
25,000 |
|
|
Shyam Telelink |
8,000 |
38,000 |
88,000 |
|
|
HFCL Infotel |
23,000 |
73,000 |
153,000 |
|
|
Total |
376,741 |
2,461,699 |
8,704,699 |
|
|
|
|
Taking the overall performance of all the service providers in the country,
Voice&Data estimates that India will have around 2.4 million subscribers by
March 2003 and 8.7 million subscribers by March 2004. In volume terms, CDMA is
forecasted to achieve a growth of 552 percent in 2003-03. In 2003-04, the growth
is forecasted at around 253 percent. This sudden surge in growth as well as
volume is due to the launch of new circles by Tata Teleservices and all-India
launch of Reliance IndiaMobile by Reliance Infocomm. This, coupled with the
aggressive approach of the incumbent operator will help in achieving those
numbers.
|
|
| Rajiv
Kataria, COO (Delhi), Tata Teleservices |
|
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