HUTCH ESSAR	10
CEO:Rajiv Sawhney Address: C-48,Okhla Industrial Area Phase II, New Delhi - 110 020 Tel : 011-9811000002 Fax: 011-9811000009 Website: www.hutch.co.in  V&D estimates CyberMedia Research

Even as the GSM subscriber base in Delhi grew by around 70 percent, Hutch in Delhi grew only by 55 percent. This growth looks quite decent when one considers the fact that the Delhi market leader AirTel also grew by around the same percentage. However, the 55 percent growth could not help in the fall in the market share of Hutch in the national capital region. There was a decline of 3 percent in its market share, from 37 percent in FY 2001–02 to 34 percent in FY 2002–03.

Like all other cellular operators, Hutchison Essar, which operates the Hutch brand in Delhi, was also engaged in the cellular tariff war that was perhaps the most significant feature of the Indian cellular industry last year. The first aggressive tariff

initiative was launched by the operator in June last year when it came out with the tariff plan called Talk Flexi while unveiling the Hutch brand in Delhi (prior to that it was Essar in Delhi). For the first time, Hutch introduced a tariff plan that charged all postpaid customers of Hutchison Essar a single tariff based on the airtime used in a month. 

Another significant step that Hutch took in Delhi last year was that of making incoming cellular calls free for all its subscribers in Delhi as long as the calls were from its sister networks. These sister networks included Command in Kolkata, Orange in Mumbai, Cellforce in Gujarat, and Hutch in Karnataka, Chennai, and Andhra Pradesh. This was a significant step considering the fact that the industry was still debating the idea of making incoming calls free. Hutch Delhi customers were also allowed to roam in the Hutchison India network at the lowest flat rate in the country, at Rs 1.49 per 60 seconds. SMS roaming charges were also reduced to Rs 1.49 per SMS. However, roaming rates on networks other than partner networks were on a higher side.