Airtel Freedom Plus – 20% to 44% Expensive than Simple Reliance Tariffs
Yesterday at the Analyst call, Bharti Airtel executives denied to cut call tariffs. However, shortly after they announced Airtel Freedom Plan which is the Biggest Marketing Gimmick by Bharti Airtel.
Airtel is clearly worried about two competitors – Reliance Communications and Tata DoCoMo and hence the new tariff plan. Airtel Freedom Plan is based on the core themes of DoCoMo’s Per Second Billing and RCom’s Simple Tariffs which the customers are demanding. Airtel’s marketing team designed this Read more
Bharti Airtel – Banking on Brand + Coverage + Won’t Match Lowest Tariffs
The management of Bharti Airtel hosted Analyst call this afternoon and continued to reaffirm their stand that Tariff cut is uncalled for by them. Mr. Akhil Gupta said,
As seen time and again, STRONGER Player do emerge winner even though they suffer in short term. Lost to new operators will be irreparable. We are Truly Integrated Telco with 35% of EBITDA from non-wireless business. We acknowledge that price is important but as market leader, we do not find any reason to match Lowest Common Denominator. We may suffer temporary setback in Revenue / profit Growth, but in the long run we have a great opportunity.
Mr. Manoj Kohli said, Read more
Bharti Airtel’s QoQ Growth Streak Ends + ARPU dips 10% + Prepaid Churn Rises
India’s leading integrated telco, Bharti Airtel’s winning streak of QoQ growth in Revenue / Net profit, Market share etc has come to an end – Courtesy: Disruptive Telecom Tariffs by New GSM Operators 
Quarterly Net profit is down 7.5% on a QoQ basis from Rs25,646 mn to Rs 23,716mn. Wireless ARPU is on a vertical fall as it dipped 10% QoQ from Rs 278 to Rs 252. Recall, Bharti Airtel management had downplayed the tariff war by new operators and we are seeing the results now Here is a quick peek into the results.
- Revenue down to Rs 97013 mn from Rs 98102 mainly due to fall in wireless segment from Rs 82285 mn to Rs 80994 mn
Google WiMax / BWA Spectrum bid in India + Strategy for NextGen services
Business Standard set fire the speculation that Google may bid for Wireless Broadband Access / WiMax Spectrum in India. The reason why Google is considering this bid is that it does not want to be an ISP for sure. Google is more concerned about delivering Data Services / Apps on Mobile / PC and other emerging convergence devices.
Going forward, VoIP Long Distance Calling would have been one of the most sought after app, however with 50 paise / minute this may not make much sense as I’ll definitely opt for a dedicated connection. But Google looks at it differently, they’ll offer bouquet of services using VoIP -[Google Voice] Read more
Rural Connectivity Courtesy – HCL Nettop Powered by Intel Atom + BSNL WiMax
To bridge the digital / wired life divide, BSNL is planning a massive WiMax rural network. Affordable computing device – Nettop will be provided by HCL Infosystems powered by Intel’s Atom processor [ as a consumer, they'll have no choice of Geode processor by AMD ]. This is not it, Intel has backed big on the WiMax technology and that is an additional bonus for selling their processors.
It is a fantastic initiative by the Government under controversial Telecom minister A.Raja. However, absence of choice for consumers and fair approach in the deal making raises more questions. Read more
Idea Cellular – For Change in M&A + Expects Early Consolidation + Spectrum Policy Unclear
Late this afternoon, I decided to be present in the Idea Cellular Analyst Call, this is my first time since I wanted to know their underlying tone on 3G and nothing else. Here is an exceprt from the call and my comments if any appear in [brackets].
- Mr. Sanjeev Aga MD of Idea Cellular took most of the Questions and I must admit so far he is the best in answering the questions from technical perspective. [ I have ignored to record questions relating to their CFO]
- Mr. Aga said that Sept quarter is a subdued quarter generally and adding to their woes was Delayed Monsoon. Idea Cellular now has 40% of its Topline from Rural India.
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