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At a time when telecom companies are looking to milk high net worth users in metros and top tier cities with 4G mobile broadband services, Idea Cellular is adopting a different strategy: to take the first-mover advantage into non-urban areas.
Of the 75 towns it has launched 4G services so far, there are no other operators offering wireless broadband in 45 of them. “We strongly believe that there is much potential in the small towns and hinterlands of the country if they are scientifically selected,” Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director of Idea Cellular, told BusinessLine .
“We have about 175 million subscribers overall (including 2G and 3G), of which 60-62 per cent are from rural and small-time markets. Our brand positioning is far more mass- than premium-oriented. So, we have the first-mover advantage,” Kapania added.
The telecom honcho believes there is a misconception that going rural means lower revenue. “The next 300 million mobile internet users are coming in from the bottom end of the pyramid. The experience of e-commerce companies also points to the fact that growth is coming in from the small towns and cities,” he said.
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