NIce to hear Tata is still an avid proponent of CDMA...though it always worries me when people talk about the lower radiation of CDMA handsets. That hasnt mattered in any other country and it wont matter in India. They should just emphasize lower prices and better services....
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Tata Tele banks on CDMA to garner 20% market share
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MARCH 04, 2007 02:04:07 AM]
Bangalore: Aiming at a subscriber base of 100 million by 2011 and garnering 20% marketshare, Tata Teleservices, the leading telecom operator is betting on the CDMA technology and higher brand visibility to reach this target.
Tata Teleservices, with presence in 20 circles and a subscriber base touching 18 million by the end of this fiscal, is looking at doubling it every year.
Darryl Green, the CEO of Tata Teleservices, said it has already doubled its marketshare from 5 to 10% in the last one year. Tata Teleservices has been one of the later entrants into the telecom sector and placed its bets on the upcoming CDMA technology, though the adoption has been a wee bit slower when compared to GSM.
Mr Green said that CDMA has matured as a technology and claimed that its numerous advantages will give it the edge over GSM in the future. This would be more applicable when India’s telecom scenario move into 3G regime and will see higher use of value added services through mobiles.
Tata Teleservices is also geared up for an image makeover. The company plans to move from scheme-based advertising, that it has focussed on the past to technology-based advertising.
“We plan to aggressively focus on our brand image. We want to tell consumers about the CDMA technology. Recently TRAI conducted a study on quality testing and Tata Teleservices emerged as a leader in 12 circles. Also, studies have shown that CDMA phones emit only 1/8th of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by GSM phones. Its these aspects that we plan to highlight through our new brand exercise,” added Mr Green.
The company has always adopted the celebrity route to enhance its brand image and it included personalities from the world of cricket and films. Irfan Pathan, Saurav Ganguly, Ajay Devgan and Kajol have been endorsing the brand. While continuing with these brand ambassadors, Tata Tele has no plans of adding any new celebrities.
The Tata Group has already lined up an investment of Rs 36,000 crore for the telecom sector. Tata Teleservices has invested Rs 3,000 crore in the current fiscal. Mr Green said it would continue to invest in setting up the infrastructure as well as making a very strong rural foray.
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