MTS is the global telecom brand of Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) OJSC (NYSE: MBT) of Russia. In December 2008, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd, a joint venture between Sistema (LSE-SSA) of Russia and Shyam Group of India, brought the MTS brand into India under a brand license agreement with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) OJSC.
The MTS brand is one of the most recognized in the world. The latest rankings from Millward Brown Optimor features the MTS brand as the 72nd most powerful brand globally with a value of $9.7 billion. In 2008, MTS became the first and only Russian brand to enter BRANDZ™ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands, a ranking published by the Financial Times and Millward Brown.
Currently the MTS brand operates in India offering voice & data services to over 4 million subscribers in the circles of Rajasthan, Bihar/Jharkhand, Kolkata, West Bengal & Sikkim, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Maharashtra/Goa, Haryana/Delhi & NCR. With the launch of the Andhra Pradesh circle, MTS will be in 12 circles.
MTS launched the high-speed mobile broadband service, MBlaze, in November 2009 and has seen tremendous market acceptance with over 70,000 satisfied customers in a short span of time. In April 2010, MTS launched MTS TV for MBlaze customers. AudienceMatters.com caught up with Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, MTS to find out more about his plans and future of MTS in India. The excerpts...
Q1. How has been the journey of MTS so far in India?
So far the journey of MTS has been very exiting and challenging. It has been more than an year in India and these have been the most dynamic years in my life especially my career and it has been one of the best time for our company.
Q2. How many customers does MTS have in the country?
We have around six million voice subscribers and nearly quarter million data subscribers in India. The numbers are continuously increasing and in the coming time we see the MTS market flourishing in India.
Q3. What are the unique features and services you offer to your customers that help you build a relationship with the customer?
A lot of our services as I said are data centric for example in data we offer free browsing on your favourite websites. We offer Fastest uploads at a speed to upto 1.8 Mbps, Micro SD card slot for data storage and Stylish swivel modem for flexible usage. We are also working towards building a relationship with our customers and so we are opening up stores and I think we are on the right path in doing so.
Q4. MTS also has smart phones in its kitty, tell us something about that?
MTS Smart Phones are among the most competitive and fully loaded devices which will set a benchmark in the industry with the 3G capabilities. I am confident that MTS smart phones will take smart phone services in India to a new level ensuring further expansion of our subscribers in India. The MTS Smart Phones will change the way life style mobile devices are being used by the young and upwardly mobile professionals in India. Some people cannot even think of leaving their homes without their mobile phones, they organise, communicate and we are the first company in the market to launch smart phones and data together in the market. However, Instant Messengers, social networking and MTS TV applications in these smart phones will take the subscribers to a new era of mobile broadband experience. I am positive that MTS customers will enjoy these affordable smart phones and appreciate the new bundled voice and data tariff plans.
Q5. How will the growth of 3G enable the growth of smart phones in India?
For 3G applications one would require a smart phone, we have a variety of smart phones in the market and there are more to come up in the lowest price and so I think as the 3G technology grows in India, the demand of smart phones will also go up and the industry would see a boom.
Q6. How difficult it was for MTS to gain momentum in a fiercely fought telecom market in India?
It was not actually that difficult but if you take us as late comers then the cost effectiveness came to us as a great challenge but our focus on data and internet in particular from day one is paying off well because we are a kind of data centric but voice enabled company so the basis is technology and we are focused on the same.
Q7. What is the greatest challenge MTS has faced in the Indian market.
Well! The greatest challenge right now is voice penetration and teledensity. As far as the data is concerned India is a very young market and people are gradually growing and talking a lot. Within one year the market will explore and open up. It hasn’t happened yet but I think I can foresee early signs of that and so we are pushing the market in the right direction
Q8. India is a price sensitive market, so how do you plan to cater the needs of the Indian market?
MTS will be offering all its smart phone consumers, limited and unlimited tariff plans ranging from Rs.192/- to Rs.1099/- keeping in the mind the usage patterns of subscribers from low, medium to heavy. MTS-Buzz offers free usage for both voice and data services worth Rs.1795/- with life time validity, whereas Alive and Ivory also offer the free usage of voice and data worth Rs.2295/- with life time validity. Standard tariff of 1p/second is applicable to all smart phones for all local & STD calls and Rs 2/MB base tariff for data usage. We will always keep our prices the best in market and they would remain reasonable.
Q9. MTS recently came out with its TV commercials as well. What is your take on it?
We have come up with a lot of products and so we thought it is the right time to come up with TV commercial, however presently the commercials are focused on the calling cards. The data operators focus would remain on OOH and digital for marketing as of now. Also, our branded stores will act as demonstration centre.
Q10. MTS blaze is available in 84 cities which include the tier II cities as well. So where do you want to focus your market, urban metros or the semi urban mini metros?
We have the best data coverage in the entire India specially northern and central India. We are going deeper into the tier II and smaller towns and we would continue to expand our network and growth rate clearly indicates that there is a lot of demand in the market for these services.
Q11. Tell us about the market of MTS in Russia?
MTS is the largest operator in Russia. it is the number one there. MTS is the 72nd in the top 100 brands in the world and we completely dominate the Russian market. We are also present in the Soviet Union countries. Pretty much everywhere we are the leader, it only in India that we are in a strange kind of situation but again just give us time and we will be there.
Q12. Now that the festive season is coming up, is MTS planning for some specials offers and plans to increase its market share?
Well yes, we are looking forward towards the festive season in India. We will be coming up with a lot of special offers to lure the customers and we are also looking forward to launch some new phones during that time.
Q13. You have both Sameera Reddy and Yuvraj Singh as a brand ambassador. Do you think this would benefit MTS?
India loves Bollywood and Cricket. We have both with MTS. I am sure both of them will add enough face value to the brand.
Q14. Who do you think is your greatest competitor in the telecom and data industry?
Every single company is our competitor. We can’t simply judge anyone by the company size and the scale. But we are catching up and growing at an incredible pace. Last year we had three million subscribers, now we have more than six million subscribers, we have doubled the business and by next year we plan to double the figures again, so though we are growing quickly, we respect each and every competitor of ours in the market. .
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