On revenue part, the company has grown by around 63% to net revenues of Rs 6,673 crore. In terms of coverage, the company provides services in 3,824 (4,500) towns and around 242,814 non-census towns and villages. Till FY 2005-06, the company has invested around Rs 14,799 crore in wireless and presently has built a network of 30 mn. It also has a wide distribution network over 1,500 owned and operated Reliance WebWorld, in and around 700 towns.

In terms of subscriber addition, the company has done well. It has been adding around one million subscribers each month from December 2005 to March 2006, thanks to lifetime free incoming scheme. In January, 2006, the company broke the circle barrier and launched India's flat rate plan for national long distance.

In terms of data subscribers, Reliance Communications has the largest base at around 6.4 mn customers whereas the strength of wireless Internet users is at around 320,440. And in future, one can expect an increase in data subscribers. Presently, the ARPU for Reliance customers is in the range of around Rs 379. And this is comparatively low with respect to GSM operators as non-voice revenue contributes around 6.1% only. On the other hand, minutes of usage come around Rs 532 per subscriber every month.

Recently, the company has also changed its logo and it is now Reliance Apex, depicted in blue and red. The logo conveys, the spirit of excellence, the urge for progress, the human desire to reach higher, and the resolve to shape a better future.

Thanks to subscribers' additions, BSNL has improved its position and is ranked number two with a base of 18.45 mn. The company has grown by 82% in terms of subscriber addition. BSNL has also done equally well on revenue and has netted Rs 6,574 crore. It is sitting comfortable at number four. Quite strong in B and C category circles, the company has done well, thanks to its wide reach. Its reach is incomparable to that of any other private operator in the country.

V&D Estimates               CyberMedia Research

Idea is placed at number five both in terms of subscriber and revenue. It has a cumulative base of 7.37 mn and has added 2.3 mn mobile subscribers in FY 2005-06. On revenue front, the company has grown by 31% to net revenues of Rs 2,966 crore.  

Being a mid size player, the company has provided a commendable service, thanks to its expansion and infrastructure sharing strategy. Idea is present in 1,944 towns and plans are afoot to rollout services in three new circles. Last year, the company invested around Rs 1,200 crore in capex whereas plans are to invest around Rs 2,800 crore in FY 2006-07. Plans are to launch services in UP (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh by September 2006.      

Recently, Idea's equity structure has been reconstituted. Presently Birla Group has a combined holding of around 98.3%.

Tata Teleservices made some aggressive moves that paid off well

It was an outstanding year for Tata Teleservices as the company made its presence in 20 circles by launching its services in 12 circles, and added 3.76 mn subscribers. The company has a presence in 2,500 towns and it plans to increase it to 4,000 by FY 2006-07. 

This year Tata Teleservices made some aggressive moves and those moves paid off well. In terms of revenue, Tata Teleservices Group netted Rs 1,878 crore, an increase of 259%.

Tata Indicom was the first operator in the country, which redefined the prepaid market by launching non-stop mobile whereby incoming calls are free for two years. And this scheme generated good returns, as the company added around one million subscribers in 45 days.

Till date, the company has invested around Rs 15,000 crore. It further plans to invest round Rs 4,000-5,000 crore in FY 2006-07. While other operators are still planning their rural strategy, Tata Teleservices has started implementing it. The company plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore to boost its rural reach by setting up 3,000 base stations in the country.   

In addition to existing circles of Chennai and Tamil Nadu, Aircel launched its services in five new circles-Jammu & Kashmir (August 2005), Assam and North East (November 2005), and West Bengal and Orissa (March 2006). The company expects to roll out services in five new circles of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East), and UP (West) by the year end.

The company performed well and netted revenue of Rs 880 crore in FY 2005-06. In terms of coverage, Aircel is present in 858 towns. The company plans to invest around Rs 2,140 crore for supporting its existing and additional circles.     

Operational in two circles, the company has grown by 21% to net revenue of Rs 855 crore. In terms of coverage, Spice Telecom provides service in around 205 towns and cities in Punjab, covering 95% of the state's area. In addition it also covers more than 3,250 km of roads and highways. Operational in Punjab and Karnataka, Spice Telecom has applied for licences in six circles-Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, UP (East), and UP (West). 

HFCL Infotel and Shyam Telelink have focused their attention more on fixed service and left mobile space for integrated and mobile players.

In terms of the number of mobile user, India has joined the 100 mn Mobile Club. India ranks fifth and is placed after China, the US, Japan and Russia. India's achievement in the mobile space can be attributed to its low tariff and low handset cost. The lowering of costs has made total cost of ownership more affordable for the masses. This is evident from the fact that India has been adding around 4-5 mn mobile connections every month. And it seems, India will move close to the magical figure of 250 mn mobile users by 2007 and around 500 mn by 2010, as targeted by the DoT.

On the technological side, things are moving as per the plan. It is expected that defense will vacate the spectrum by the year-end. So one can expect 3G services to be available in 2007. Service providers have already started the background work for 3G. But for some it is wait and watch approach, as the cost of handset as well as services is still not affordable to a large chunk of premium subscribers. Focus on content development should be the priority for making 3G a success in India.

Pravin Prashant
pravinp@cybermedia.co.in