Tenth Anniversary Special
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Corporate
Bharti Tele-Ventures: Wireless strength
Krishnan Thiagarajan
TO Bharti Tele-Ventures goes the distinction of making the right call on potential of the cellular segment even as early as 1995. Notwithstanding a plethora of regulatory and legal hurdles stalling telecom liberalisation for years, the Bharti management showed the resilience and the fortitude to persevere. And the wait may pay-off with a sharp boost in its cellular customer base.
Most structural factors such as a highly fragmented market, intense competition and high regulatory burden, which had hindered the growth of the cellular market, have been settled. The destabilising influence of the bitter three-year-long battle over the launch of the limited mobility services by the likes of Reliance and Tatas has also been resolved. For the first time, it appears that the battle for the cellular share will be fought in the marketplace, away from the distractions of changes in the regulatory framework.
Given Bharti's first-mover advantage, strong brand equity and scale economies in operations, it appears well positioned to capitalise on the growth prospects.
Reliance Infocomm has surged ahead of Bharti in subscriber base in less than a year since the launch and the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam is breathing down Bharti's neck However, Bharti has all the necessary attributes to remain a player to reckon with in the cellular sweepstakes.
Operating in 15 out of the 22 circles in the country (acquired in two phases in 1995 and 2001), Bharti is among the three operators to have a nationwide cellular footprint. Though focussed on the cellular segment, Bharti is also the only listed private sector player operating in the fixed line, long distance and broadband arena. Strategic foreign partners such as Singapore Telecom and other financial partners such as International Finance Corporation and Warburg Pincus, have invested upwards of $1 billion. Such financial support will help Bharti participate in a big way in the consolidation process.
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