Tata Teleservices has been pleasantly surprised by the success of its wi-fi business, which was launched last year. Over the past 12 months, the company has made wi-fi services available in about 1,200 hotspots, and is adding hotspots across airports, hotels, malls, retail chains, fast-food chains and cafes.
According to Sunil Tandon, Tata DoCoMo’s Head of Non-Voice Services, the availability of wi-fi at public places has become an integral part of the consumers’ overall mobile experience, particularly among millennial and post millennial users.
“Wi-fi zones are becoming an increasingly important feature of our public and office spaces. We are at the heart of this evolution,” Tandon told
With its 3G networks in nine circles out of 22, wi-fi complements Tata Teleservices Ltd’s (TTSL) cellular strategy. The company is focusing on the top eight cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad, which account for almost 70 per cent of data consumption. The company is also anticipating exponential growth of Internet usage on the back of year-on-year doubling of smartphone penetration in India.
TTSL had created the largest indoor wi-fi hotspot in India at the Auto Expo 2014, and the largest outdoor hotspot at one of the stadiums for the Indian Premier League matches. The feat was recognised by the Limca Book of Records and Tata Docomo bagged two national records.
As Tandon pointed out: “For the millennial generation, an experience is not fully consummated unless it can be shared, and this means shared in real time. Millennials are constantly looking to validate and personalise their experiences by sharing, exchanging and commenting, and for large-scale events such as the IPL, wi-fi represents their medium of choice.”
Currently, TTSL offers wi-fi services in five of the top six airports in India, and the target is 12 airports in the near future. TTSL had also partnered the New Delhi Municipal Corporation to provide wi-fi services at Connaught Place in Delhi.