Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sistema Shyam open to merger call in India : ET

MUMBAI: A strategic merger with one of India's top seven telecom operators could be on the cards for Sistema Shyam Teleservices provided it gets a say at the management level, the company's chief executive told ET.

However, to take a step in that direction the company is awaiting clear merger and acquisition regulations from the government, Vsevolod Rozanov said in an interview. "We have business model tuned to organic growth. But if there is anything that can improve the business model by merger, I completely don't rule this out. I am ready if the rules get relaxed. We have the detailed information on all players. The situation is very different for every circle. We know what assets are there."

The company is a joint venture between Russian conglomerate Sistema and Shyam Teleservices of India. It is the only company in India that operates on only code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices also started with CDMA operations, but have now diversified into competing technology GSM and offer services in both the technology platform.

Sistema Shyam offers services under the brand MTS. So far, 85% of the company's revenue comes from voice, but its "game changer" has been data services, Rozanov said. The company has an average monthly revenue per user of 80, which is lower than what it spends per customer.


Yet, data customer revenue is typically several times that value. "We are adding 60,000 to 70,000 data customers every month, and I see trends of improving Arpu in the coming months," he said.

CDMA is traditionally known as a better technology for communication offering better speeds for web browsing, but its global uptake for voice calling has been slow because it locks users into specific handsets, and has emerged as less glamourous.

Like peers in his industry, Rozanov says the Indian telecom sector is begging for more spectrum, or air waves, that are not very efficiently utilized by public enterprise. "At this stage if I get all the spectrum I am entitled to, I will be happy for a couple of years."

As a CDMA operator Sistema Shyam is allowed 5 MHz of spectrum but has been allotted only 2.5, which would be increased given a threshold of minimum subscribers. In many of its service areas the company has crossed the requirement, he said.

Some chatter emanating out of the Department of Telecommunications suggests the government may impose a charge for additional spectrum to make up for allotting it too cheap initially. The talk comes in the wake of the alleged 2G scam which a government report says cost the exchequer up to 1.76 lakh crore.

Rozanov said any additional cost will take a toll on Sistema Shyam's business objectives. "The target is to be Ebitda (a measure of operating profit) positive by 2013 but that is already extremely stretched. If something (fees) else is imposed, the payback will be extended for many years. I don't think it will even be relevant for my generation of CEOs."

The company is also looking forward to stable, open telecom policies, that won't be changed as they have been in the past, he said. "We want to see stable regulations, to feel comfortable our investments in India are safe."

Given the amount of competition, Rozanov feels there is little need for defensive regulations. He cites the example of a limit set under existing norms on market share an operator can control.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

MTS india adds 6.57 Lac voice customers in Dec 2010

As per AUSPI data, MTS has continued to add customers at virtually the same pace for the month of Dec also. We expect that from next month onwards the pace will pick up dramatically due to the launch in UP circles.

Sistema loses out in MNP round I



Trends indicate strong preference for incumbent GSM players.

Thomas K Thomas
New Delhi, Jan. 24
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Reliance Communications have emerged the biggest losers as a result of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), introduced a month ago in Haryana. According to initial numbers, BSNL has lost a net of over 20,000 subscribers, while RCom has lost nearly 13,500 subscribers as on January 16.
Idea Cellular, which was the first to start an advertising campaign on MNP, has a net loss of 1,863 subscribers with 15,604 subscribers leaving its network and 13,741 coming in.
Even new players, including Sistema Shyam, Loop Telecom and Datacom (Videocon), have ended up with a net loss in numbers as a result of MNP.
Though these are initial numbers, the trends indicate a strong preference for incumbent GSM players.
Vodafone gained the most with 30,015 subscribers joining its network and only 9,267 leaving. Although Bharti Airtel lost 10,837 of its subscribers, it ended up in the positive as it managed to lure 18,271 subscribers from other operators' networks.
While these numbers are for Haryana, initial trends coming in from other parts of India are on similar lines.
While MNP was introduced in Haryana in November, the system was launched across the country on January 20.
Teething issues
Sources in the Department of Telecom said that there were teething problems in implementing the system, with complaints coming in from various quarters that porting was not being completed in some cases.
The DoT has written to all the operators to implement the scheme according to the rules set out by the TRAI and the Government.
“If a subscriber sends porting request to number 1900, operators have to respond back with the unique porting code. There should not be any exceptions or excuses for this. We have received some complaints of operators who are not processing porting requests. We are investigating these complaints,” said a top DoT official.
A Reliance Communications spokesperson said, “We believe that the customers who may have ported from one service provider to another are likely to port again on completion of the set time frame of three months. Our focus has been to provide a superior customer experience through better network quality, a wide array of applications at affordable tariffs to attract the high ARPU customers to the Reliance Network. We are satisfied with the initial experience and expect a significant shift in the trend on in the next 2-3 months.”
tkt@thehindu.co.in

Friday, January 21, 2011

Sistema issue likely in 2011, mkt outlook a concern

Sistema issue likely in 2011, mkt outlook a concern

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) is likely to come up with at an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2011. However, a not-so positive industry outlook in the current environment is a cause of concern for the IPO, the company said. “We are looking into this sooner. The market though is not very receptive to the telecom sector. If things go according to the plan we do this by year-end,” said Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer, SSTL. Russia had picked up 17% in SSTL for $600 million.
SSTL is joint venture between Russia’s Sistema and India’s Shyam Group. It offers mobile voice and data services in the country under the MTS brand.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

MTS doles out exciting offers for MNP customers

MTS doles out exciting offers for MNP customers

MTS logo
Ads by Google

Free SMS to India Unlimited Free SMS to India
Join Now and start texting now
www.bharatsms.com

Post Your Resume Here Professionals With 2+ Yrs Exp. Get
Top Paying Jobs on Shine.com. Apply
www.Shine.com

Telecom Jobs The largest network of telecoms job
boards
www.telcoprofessionals.com
Vote this article
Up (0)
Down (0)
Ads by Google
3g BlackBerry®  IN.BlackBerry.com/Bold
Get the 3g BlackBerry® bold™ 9000. Now available in stores
Mumbai, Jan 20: Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) which operates its telecom services under the brand MTS announced a range of innovative offerings for GSM and CDMA customers wanting to come on board the MTS’ congestion free network. These offerings have been specially designed to offer convenience and benefits to customers switching to MTS’ network.

“The roll out of Mobile Number Portability marks yet another milestone for the highly competitive telecom market in the country. It represents a very good opportunity for customers to experience MTS’s high speed network. Given our congestion free network and world class customer care set up, MTS is excited to launch a slew of innovations for the benefit of migrating customers across India. I am confident that mobile customers will find all our offerings extremely appealing,” said Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd.


Customers will gain from the exciting plans on offer which amounts to benefits as high as 250% on the total cost of the Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs). These STVs are available in a range of denominations starting from Rs 298 till Rs 1499, all with a validity of 30 days.

The migrating customers will enjoy the ½ paisa per second tariff for all local calls valid for 3 months with an FRC of Rs. 13.

Sistema to offer freebies in MNP

MNP effect: Service providers alter gameplans
BS Reporters / New Delhi January 20, 2011, 1:28 IST

With over 600 million mobile subscribers set to get a choice to change their operators while retaining their numbers from tomorrow by availing mobile mumber portability (MNP), service providers are using every trick in the marketing trade to retain their customers and woo new ones. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be launching the service tomorrow.
However, operators are not expecting the churn due to MNP to be more than 1 per cent, from a current industry average churn rate of 4-5 per cent per month. This is also based on their experience in the circle of Haryana, where MNP was launched in December last year and about 100,000 customers decided to change their operators on a customer base of 19 million.

The operators focus is to retain their high-Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) postpaid customers, who contribute about 15-20 per cent to their revenue. They are also going out in a big way to retain their prepaid high-ARPU users. Vodafone Essar, for instance, is already studying the records of their high-paying postpaid customers to see whether there has been a sudden drop in their ARPUs, as that is a clear reflection that he is using another alternate service.
“Our approach is to go to the consumer even before he registers to understand the reason — whether is it network problem, service or something else. Giving freebies or discounts is only a small part of the game,” said a Vodafone official.
Going by its record in Haryana (where the service was launched on an experimental basis last December), the company says it has been able to retain 60 per cent of the customers who might have shifted services.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which provide services in Delhi and Mumbai, also echoed similar views. “We have asked our marketing and customer care people to address the issues of our subscribers, who are likely to shift. MTNL also offers BlackBerry services, which has picked up very well. So, there will be a focus on high-end customers.”
New players like Sistema Shyam, which offer CDMA services are looking at wooing customers to their fold. The company is planning to offer subsidised mobile phones under a two way scheme — one you pay for the phone upfront but get reimbursed for the money you have spend through free talk time, downloads and even SMSes. The second offer is to buy it under a long term EMI scheme.
Sistema that runs under the MTS brand name is also planning to offer packages which have a lot of free talk time and data rolled in. The company is also cashing on the fact that with MNP, the differentiation in the numbering plan between CDMA and GSM would go away.
Other new players like Loop Mobile are trying to attract customers with a service guarantee — they have decided to compensate their subscribers for every call drop. “This does not mean that we have not stopped bringing a superior network. In case of any call drop, a subscriber has to send an SMS NC to 50800 (postpaid) / 50505 (prepaid) and get their money back.”
Loop is also bringing its customer care service under scrutiny. It will answer all calls to the customer care centres within 10 seconds or reverse the money spent on the call.
Operators however say state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) might be the one which would be impacted the most from MNP as it has not been able to make fresh investments to modernise and expand its network capacity-based on the trend in Haryana.
Incumbents also believe the churn would not benefit new operators, as customers are looking for established player with a tested pan-India network to churn.
Others like Uninor go further to say MNP will not be a game changer. “Our research suggests that MNP will not be a game changer. However, it could still result in some interesting new strategies. MNP will definitely have higher relevance in the postpaid segment since these number loyal subscribers haven’t yet had free choice on worries of losing their number identity. MNP may also force operators to think segmentation in the prepaid market,” says its Corporate Affairs executive Vice President Rajiv Bawa.
For availing the MNP service, mobile subscribers have to pay Rs19. To port his number, the subscribers have to request the new operator for acceptance of his connection and the process would have to be completed in four days.
Syniverse and MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions (MITS) have been given licence by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to implement MNP across the country.
MNP was initially scheduled to be implemented from December 31, 2009 in the metros and category-A circles, while the rest of the country was slated to have this platform by April 1, 2010

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

AMSOST welcomes Mr Shankar Bali as COO for Delhi NCR

Sistema Shyam names new COO
Shankar Bali will be responsible for further stimulating the business growth for the company in the region
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
GURGAON, INDIA: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) today announced the appointment of Shankar Bali as the chief operating officer of Delhi NCR and Haryana circle.
Reporting directly to Vsevolod Rozanov, president and CEO of the company, Shankar will be responsible for further stimulating the business growth for the company in the region, said a press release.
As the COO for Delhi NCR and Haryana Circle at Sistema Shyam TeleServices, Shankar would be responsible for business development, daily operations, planning and execution of efficient marketing strategies, infrastructure management, capacity enhancement and governance, the release added.
An industry veteran of over 21 years including more than 17 years in the telecom sector, Shankar was also Hutch's chief executive officer for Sri Lanka.
Vsevolod Rozanov, president and CEO, SSTL said, “It gives me immense pleasure to welcome Shankar Bali as the chief operating officer of SSTL’s Delhi NCR and Haryana circle. I am confident that with his rich experience, Shankar will play a key role in driving growth for the company in one of the most important telecom circles in India.”
Shankar Bali, said, “I am extremely delighted to be a part of the MTS family. The rapidity at which MTS has been expanding their business across India is motivating. I am looking forward to a long and successful relationship with SSTL to create a strong niche for itself in Delhi NCR & Haryana circle.”

Monday, January 3, 2011

Telecom valuations to go up post new Telecom policy ?

NTP 2011 soon; Sibal sets 100-day agenda

Posted: Sun Jan 02 2011, 01:57 hrs New Delhi:
Front Page
After initiating the process to fix the immediate problem in the sector, the 2G spectrum scam, telecom minister Kapil Sibal has set sights on other important issues plaguing the sector. On Saturday, Sibal set out a 100-day timeframe to begin the process of charting a new telecom policy, to be called National Telecom Policy 2011 (NTP11). Considering the changes in the telecom sector in the last 11 years since the New Telecom Policy 1999 was framed, a new look at the policy was now required, said Sibal. The cornerstone of the new policy would be the “aam aadmi,” the minister said. The revenue considerations of the government and the needs of a robust industry and reasonable tariff rates would be adequately balanced. In the next 100 days, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would begin consultations with the stakeholders on issues like resolving outstanding security issues, a robust policy on spectrum allocation and management and implementation of the national wireless broadband project.

NTP 2011 will cover issues pertaining to licensing, spectrum allocation, tariffs/pricing, linkage with rollout obligations, flexibility within licences, spectrum sharing, spectrum trading, mobile virtual network operators, unlicensed bands as well as mergers and acquisitions.
The minister said he would try to maintain as much consensus as possible while charting out NTP 2011. The changes will be done in a technology-agnostic environment after due consideration to the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
As part of the new policy, telecom would get infrastructure sector status, heralding tax breaks for companies and helping the domestic telecom equipment manufacturing industry. “We need to encourage the growth of this very important segment in new ways since our attempts in the past haven’t yielded desired results,” He explained.
Declaring that service providers in India had the least amount of spectrum, Sibal said discussions with the ministry of defence, department of Space, department of information and broadcasting and public sector undertakings would be expedited in order increase spectrum availability for the telecom sector. Sibal also announced the National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011, under which data about spectrum will be published on the DoT website.
The telecom minister said that DoT had so far received penalties of Rs 73.73 crore from Aircel, Uninor, Dishnet, Etisalat DB and Sistema Shyam for failure to meet their network rollout obligations. Out of the total penalty of Rs 219.85 crore, DoT has so far issued notices for Rs 78 crore.
Appointments to the vacancies on the boards of BSNL and MTNL would be made taking into consideration the suggestions of the Sam Pitroda committee constituted by the Prime Minister early last year.
The minister also announced a series of projects for the department of posts (DoP) and the department of information and technology. Under the IT modernisation project of the DoP, remaining 9,600 post offices of the total 24,200 post offices would be computerised by March 2011. Secondly, within the next 100 days, the government would introduce ‘white label pre-paid cards’ or credit cards for rural India, railway reservation systems at post offices and establishing of logistics post centres.
For the Department of IT, Sibal announced e-governance and electronic hardware management including setting up of National Electronic Mission, human resources development through schemes to set up IT academies across states on public-private partnership mode, strengthening cyber security and the standardisation, testing and calibration infrastructure.

Disclaimer

A BLOG FOR ALL THE SHAREHOLDERS OF SSTL (FORMERLY SHYAMTELELINK LTD) TO COME TOGETHER AND DISCUSS ISSUES OF COMMON INTEREST. YOU CAN REACH US AT AMSOST@GMAIL.COM