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Ramesh Sharma

Mr Manoj Kohli, Chief Executive Officer and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, flanked by Mr Sanjay Kapoor (right), Deputy CEO, and Mr B. Srikanth, Chief Financial Officer, at a press conference in the Capital on Friday. —

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 30 The mobile tariff war intensified further on Friday with the largest player in the Indian cellular market Bharti Airtel announcing seconds-based billing. Until now, Bharti was charging on a per-minute basis.

This move comes after Tata Teleservices reported highest number of monthly net addition of mobile users for two consecutive months. Tata Tele was the first operator to launch seconds-based billing in the country due to which it has added close to seven million new mobile users in two months.

Bharti Airtel has launched the ‘Freedom Plan’, wherein customers will be charged one paise per second for all local and STD calls to Airtel numbers and 1.20 paise per second for local and STD calls to other network.

Mr Atul Bindal, President, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd said, “In keeping with our ethos of providing the best to our customers, we are delighted to offer a one second pulse to those customers who find value in this pulse.”

Though Bharti has been consistently adding the highest number of new users every month, it had lost the top position to Tata Teleservices in August and September. The Freedom Plan will be available across the country in all the 4.25 lakhs towns and villages covered by Airtel. For those who want to remain on the per-minute tariff scheme the operator has launched the ‘Airtel Advantage’ plan that offers 50 paise per minute tariff for all calls within Airtel Network and 60 paise per minute off net.

Bharti Airtel also announced a 13 per cent increase in its net income at Rs 2,321 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 compared with Rs 2,046 crore in the same period last year.

Total revenue for the second quarter rose 9 per cent at Rs 9,846 crore (Rs 9,020 crore). In the first quarter of this fiscal, Bharti Airtel had posted a higher growth of 24 per cent in its net income and 17 per cent in its revenues.

The slip in the rate of growth is believed to be because of the entry of various new players in the market, offering stiff competition with cheaper call rates.

“In the near term, we are ready to face the challenges posed by heightened competition. We are confident of emerging winners through our superior offerings,” said Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, in a statement.

In the April-September half-year period, net income rose 19 per cent at Rs 4,838 crore, while the total revenue rose 13 per cent at Rs 19,787 crore.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) of its mobile services division fell to Rs 252 per month in the quarter, from Rs 278 in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

The company further said that it had 113.4 million customers at the end of September, up 42 per cent from the same period last year. However, its market share fell to 23.5 per cent, from 24.6 per cent a year earlier.

“There will be small blips in the market place, because of new players. The competition intensity is going up. We will make our business model the leanest in the world through more outsourcing and better operating efficiency,” said Mr Manoj Kohli, CEO and Joint Managing Director.

On the upcoming 3G auctions, he said that the company may launch 3G services before Diwali, if the auctions take place on time.

Mr Akhil Gupta, Director, Bharti Group, added that the auctions will require more investment from all players, adding that about 35 per cent of the EBITDA is coming from non-mobile business.

On the company’s acquisitions plans, Mr Gupta said, “The MTN issue is behind us. Our belief of taking the business to other parts of the world remains and we continue to pursue all opportunities.”

Bharti Airtel shares at the BSE were down 6.38 per cent at Rs 292.15 on Friday, from the previous close at Rs 312.05.

More Stories on : Financial Performance | Telecommunications | Financial Performance | Promotions & Offers | Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd

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