Telecom newbies taste success

Telecom newbies taste success

JAYATI GHOSE

New Delhi, Sept. 22: New telecom operators have witnessed an average growth of 23 per cent in subscriber base in August even as the government is considering a “bailout” for them. STel, Videocon Telecom, Uninor, Loop Mobile, Etisalat DB and Sistema-Shyam are the new players who got licences in 2008. According to the Cellular Operators Association of India that represents GSM companies, Uninor added 22 lakh subscribers in August, Videocon got 8.8 lakh, while STel, Loop and Etisalat together got 1.2 lakh new subscribers in the last one month. Most of these players started operations in the last two to nine months. The new players have lined up huge investments. Uninor has planned a capex of Rs 12,000 crore over three years for pan-India operations; Videocon will spend Rs 14,000 crore in three years. “We want to emerge as a third category of companies who are serious players with a long-term vision and staying capacity,” said a senior executive of one of the new entities. Telecom minister A. Raja had recently said the department of telecom was discussing a “bailout” for new operators that received the 2G licences in 2008 as some of them wanted to return the start-up spectrum. “At the last operators’ meeting, bailout provisions were highlighted. It will be discussed in the Telecom Commission,” Raja had said. Companies such as Uninor and Sistema-Shyam, however, say they are long-term participants who are “committed to India”. Uninor is 67 per cent owned by Norway’s Telenor, while Russia’s Sistema owns 74 per cent in Sistema-Shyam. Bid to retain share The operators are introducing innovative plans to retain their foothold in the highly competitive market. Uninor is betting big on its pricing plan — it gives up to 60 per cent discount on calls. “Uninor’s target is to secure an 8 per cent market share by 2018,” said Glenn Mandelid, communications director with Telenor Group. CDMA player Sistema-Shyam, which has launched the MTS brand, is keen on the mobile data segment to generate higher revenues.