JohnG,
This is great fun! I have been waiting for a CDMA SP to stick it to the TDMA/GSM operators for a long time. Let's hope 1X brings more of the same with double capacity.
Damn, who turned the apple cart upside down? "Industry analysts say though the competition to private players from the MTNL would be immense."
A few more articles to enjoy:
It's MTNL versus all others!
Pioneer News Service/New Delhi
The bugle has already been sounded. But it's war with a difference where none of the participant is going to emerge a winner.
The war was initiated by the MTNL by announcing that its cellular services are going to charge quarter less than that charged by the private players. This may lead private players try desperately to counter the attack by enticing more customers through price cuts, user-friendly packages, customer-care and so on. And, this may serve as a boon for the cellular users in Delhi and Mumbai.
MTNL, a fixed-line telephone and internet access service provider in Delhi and Mumbai, said on Friday that it would charge Rs 2.70 per minute on outgoing calls and and Rs 1.50 a minute for incoming calls.This compares to Rs 4 per minute charged by private operators in Delhi, and about Rs 3 per minute by those in Mumbai.
AirTel, a Bharati Venture, has already said that it would match its tariffs with MTNL's rates. "We will adopt a strategy to match our tariffs"' said Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer of AirTel.Industry analysts say though the competition to private players from the MTNL would be immense, billing and quality of services will be the major determining factors for new customers.
Sources in Sterling Cellular, the joint venture between Essar and Hutchison in Delhi, said the company will respond to the MTNL move soon. Mr Das, chief executive officer, Hutchison Max, cellular service provider in Mumbai and the joint venture partner in Sterling, said: "The company is assessing the situation. We have enough time to take a decision."
At the end of November, Delhi had more than 433,000 cellphone subscribers divided between the two cellular firms -- Bharati Cellular and Sterling Cellular. Mumbai had about 462,500 cellphone users split between BPL Mobile and Hutchison Max."The proposed tariff should give MTNL an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin of 40 per cent," an analyst said.
Private mobile service providers in Delhi and Mumbai seem to have no option but to bring down their tariffs. AirTel will announce the tariff this week only.
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Hutch to cut Delhi cell rates, align to Mumbai
Pragati Verma
NEW DELHI
ANOTHER good news for cellular subscribers of Delhi. Hutchison Essar Telecom is aligning its cellular prices in Delhi in line with those in Mumbai by the end of the month.
It will reduce the monthly rental by 15 to 20 per cent and the average call rate will also come down to around Rs 3 per minute.
Even after the price cuts, Hutchison Essar's tariff can't match those of the soon-to-be-lauched MTNL's services, but will be fairly lower than the private competitor, Airtel.
MTNL has recently announced sharply lower tariff of Rs 1.50 for incoming and Rs 2.0 for outgoing calls for its soon be launched cellular service. The monthly rental charges for the service to be lauched in Delhi on January 26 in Delhi will be Rs 400.
This is about 20 per cent lower than the rates charged by private sector competitors. Airtel has also recently announced its intentions to slash airtime rates, but has not given any details.
The price cut is not in response to MTNL's soon-to-be-launched cellular service said Sudershan Banerjee, CEO, Hutchison Essar Telecom. "We were only waiting to beef up the network to take on an expanded subscriber base," he added.
The company has invested Rs 300 crore to beef up its network in last six months, so that it can take on more subscribers. Its network can now take up to 4 lakh customers, which is more than double of its current capacity. The company claims to have improved its cell site coverage by 40 per cent and subscriber handling capacity by 70 per cent.
Hutchison is also planning to bring in its 3G international brand this year, simultaneously with its global launch.
The cellular operators has also submitted its new tariff plans to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Hutchison is also planning to have more segmentations and a wider variety of tariff plans, once again in line with Mumbai office.
"There are three main impediments to explosive growth of cellular industry -- acceptance, affordability and availability," says Sudershan Banerjee. The cellular handset prices should also come down with lower tariff and rentals to increase mobile penetration in the country.
MTNL kicks off cell price war
Our Corporate Bureau in Mumbai
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) will charge Rs 1.50 per minute for incoming telephone calls and Rs 2.70 per minute for outgoing calls on its cellular service.
The monthly rental charge will be Rs 400. Other details of the service, such as the security deposit, were being worked out, communication minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced today.
The state-run company will offer a free voice mail service through a secret number which will be given to each customer.
However, unlike private players such as BPL Mobile, it will not offer free mobile services during the night. One-third of the connections will be reserved for women in Delhi, where the service will be launched on January 31.
The company is planning to offer one lakh connections in the first phase of the operations. The capacity would be enhanced to three lakh in the next phase, MTNL officials said.
Industry analysts say though the competition to private players from MTNL would be immense, billing and quality of services will be the major determining factors for new customers.
When contacted, Sandeep Das, chief executive officer of Hutchison Max Telecom, the mobile licensee in Mumbai, said: The company is planning to assess the situation. We have enough time to take any decision on this.
The major offerings from MTNL include 2.5G services, local broadcast, short messages and voice mail. MTNL is also planning to set up 50,000 wireless in local loop lines using CDMA technology in Mumbai.
For this purpose, the company will source equipment and other technology from Fujitsu of Japan. Subject to approval by the government, MTNL will also offer limited mobility using the WiLL technology in Mumbai.
AirTel to respond next week
Private mobile service providers in Delhi and Mumbai seem to have no option but to bring down their tariffs.
AirTel, the mobile service provider in Delhi, said it will announce a cut in its tariffs next week.
Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer, AirTel said, We will announce a competitive price cut next week for our three lakh customers. However we do not intend to match the MTNL tariff penny for penny. We will be offering more user friendly package for our customers.
Kapoor added that price was only one of the factors when it came to choosing a particular mobile service. AirTel’s quality of service in terms of its content partners, customer care centres, WAP and SMS services is way ahead of what MTNL is offering. Kapoor said.
Sources in Sterling Cellular, the joint venture between Essar and Hutchison in Delhi, said that the company will respond to the MTNL move soon.
Sandeep Das, chief executive officer, Hutchison Max, cellular service provider in Mumbai and the joint venture partner in Sterling said , "The company is assessing the situation. We have enough time to take a decision."
Highlighting the impact of the low MTNL tariff on private cellular operators T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that the low tariff announced by MTNL will push down the break even point of private cellular operators.
"While reduced tariffs will widen the market base it will be difficult for private operators to match the tariffs as private operators had to invest heavily on areas like revenue share fees and entry fee which MTNL will not have to " said Ramachandran.
Kent |
