There is no doubt that a cellular service, which is successfully integrated with the voice communication strategy, would form a new revenue stream for the operators. Already, many organizations, which thought they could not do without such integration, have successfully done so, despite no support from the operators and also the high cost of such an operation. Even though this only means gain for the operators, it is blocking many others from going in for an integrated strategy. In the absence of especially designed schemes from the operators, standard airtime costs are proving to be a deterrent. A look at the existing corporate communications needs of the businesses brings out the fact that there exists enough pull among them to be exploited by the service providers. The cellular operators can position schemes directed at integrated voice communication, as a new class of service with enhanced features and distinct from the standard services. The service providers already have a slew of value-added services, which can be easily integrated into the communication needs of the businesses. Volumes on this front would certainly open up new revenue opportunities.

WiLL They Kill the Opportunity?

Will the possible rollout of CDMA based limited mobility services kill the opportunity that is being talked about here? What if the WLL operators started integrating their services into the fixed line PBX? Is that something worrying? No way, if the push comes from the GSM cellular operators’ side, it would not be difficult for them to position their services as far superior to the WLL- based plain voice services. In this age of voice and data convergence and the mobile Internet, the GSM service providers certainly have a competitive technological edge that WLL cannot match today.

A look at the slew of services offered by them easily reveals that many of the cellular service providers in India have been quite innovative in offering packages to the individual corporate users. However, what is expected from them is something that is more in harmony with the business objectives of the corporates, more and more of whom are looking at options that promote efficiency and enhance productivity—objectives that cannot be realized without a proper communication strategy.

Ravi Shekhar Pandey