BPL MOBILE	9
CEO:FB Cardosso Address: BPL Telecom Center, 127 Manmala Tank Road, Taikalwadi, Mahim (West), Mumbai - 400 016 Tel : 022-24371777/24374977 Fax: 022-2437 5373 Website: www.bplmobile.com  V&D estimates CyberMedia Research

BPL Mobile, the cellular service provider for the metropolitan city of Mumbai, is one of the leading players in the metropolis. Its total base till 31 March 2003 stood at 621,172. Though it registered a 40 percent growth in its subscriber base over the year, its market share came down to 36.8 percent. In the previous fiscal, the company had enjoyed over 45.5 percent market share. One of the reasons for the decrease in the market share was the entry of Bharti into the market. Though it may not have retained the top service provider slot, it has accomplished several achievements on the technology front. Its approach of targeting the customer through superior technology and infrastructure has enabled it to consistently demonstrate its technological leadership by being among the first few to introduce newer technologies like QualNet, Intelligent Network, GPRS, and MMS. 

On the financial front, the company is estimated to have done a total business of Rs 522 crore, up by about 12 percent over the previous year. And the company is very aggressive on the marketing front. In line with the caller party pays regime, it came up with competitive tariff offerings. In February, it announced four new wirefree plans. Besides free incoming calls from mobile phones and Rs 0.49 per minute from other phones, the plans were offering free outgoing talktime, free SMS and 20 percent off on ISD calls, etc. Besides, new subscribers were offered free voicemail, CLIP and itemized billing for the first two months.

Other initiatives included ‘Club Mobile Security’. The idea behind such schemes was to offer products that suited subscribers’ lifestyle and business requirements. It also offered mobile commerce in association with HDFC and GTB, and co-branded credit cards in association with ICICI. Sure, BPL Mobile is on the pioneering path of innovation.