The Hindu Business Line : BSNL biting into corporate cell-phone pie

Officials with the state-owned corporate said the Bihar circle had won a bulk order for its cellular service, CellOne, from State Bank of India in Patna.

In the pipeline were very large orders (nearly 1,000 connections) from Indian Oil Corporation and Konkan Railways, said a senior official at BSNL's central headquarters.

The Maharashtra unit had recently acquired a private sector customer in Nerolac and was close to acquiring a large order from a leading Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company, said a senior official with BSNL in the Maharashtra circle.

BSNL's strategy of goading its marketing executives to make presentations to corporates, authorising Chief General Managers of various circles to offer bulk discounts, as well as the appointment of account managers for various circles was initiated some time ago.

"But it is only in the last six months that sales in this category are really picking up," said the official.

Closed user groups (that is, subscribers who have taken the service in bulk under the name of a single company or entity) get discounts or even free calls within the group. Huge discounts are offered on rentals, which could occasionally be waived as well, he said.

Interestingly in the case of BSNL, the ratio of pre-paid to post-paid customers is much less than the industry average, said the official. He pointed out that even for the low-end student segment, BSNL has come out with a new post-paid offer rather than a pre-paid one.

A marketing official at the BSNL Maharashtra circle said part of the appeal of BSNL for corporates who would cover their subscriber-employees' mobile bills is the no-frills service.

"Our offers and permutations and combinations of packages are very clear to figure out, besides being the most cost-effective as well," he said.

The other trump card in BSNL's favour is its coverage in the hinterland, connectivity reaching small towns and villages, and along highways and railway routes, an area of operation where it is without compare. This works out very convenient for closed user groups such as salesmen, surveyors or even travelling executives of small and medium enterprises who would travel by rail more often than by air.

"We are making an aggressive pitch for companies who have large sales teams that spill beyond metros and large cities," said the official.

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