12 SUPERBRANDS

Market The unprecedented growth in the mobilemarket is now widely accepted as the cutting

edge benchmark of India’s transition into a world mega-economy.This

phenomenal transformation,starting in the early 1990s,

vir tually coincided with the

advent of mobile technology in India. In thechanging hierarchy of needs, yesterday’s luxuryitem is today’s everyday necessity. And so it waswith the ‘cell’ phone of yesteryear when it wasseen as a fashion statement and status symbolfor the rich.Today, it is a basic communicationmedium for all socio-economic segments andalmost as ubiquitous as the post card.There can be little or no debate as to who pioneeredmobile telephony and ushered in India’s mobile revolution.

India’s emergence as one of the fastestgrowing telecom markets in the world amplyvindicates Airtel’s market belief that supplycreates its own demand.The sector attracted a record high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)of US$ 2.5 billion (Rs. 11,250 crore) in 2005.The mobile industry grew from 52 millionsubscribers, with a mobile penetration ofapproximately 5% in March 2005, to 90 millionin March 2006, reaching a mobile penetration of 8%. A growth of 73% on an unusually largebase is an outstanding achievement.

With over 20 million subscribers as on 31stMarch 2006, Airtel controls nearly one-quarterof the entire market – making it the numberone brand in the country. Airtel’s world-classservice and innovativeproducts have enabled it to establish this position of leadership.

Bharti Airtel’s mobilecustomers base accounts fora 21.8% share of the overallwireless (GSM and CDMA)market as on 31st March2006.The company has apresence in 3,778 censustowns and in 80,687 non-census towns and villages,covering an addressable 40%of the total population.

Bharti Airtel providesbroadband (DSL) andtelephone services (B&TS) in90 cities across India. As onMarch 31, 2006, Airtel hadover one million B&TS

customers of whom 300,000 are alsosubscribing to DSL services.

AchievementsAirtel’s journey to leadership began in Delhi in 1995. Since then, Airtel has established itself across India in all 23 circles.Airtel today supports the largest networkcapacity in the country.

The concept of ‘One Airtel’, with one brandidentity, integrated with a single call centrenumber, single billing etc, was an innovative andfar-sighted introduction. In a single stroke theconcept integrated India. It inculcated greatersynergies and efficiencies and created a brandwith a truly national character designed toharness maximum customer satisfaction.

As evidence of its fine record, Airtel has beenconferred with numerous awards. AsiaMoneyjudged it the Best Managed Company (2005) inthe Large Cap category.The brand was alsorecognised as the Most Preferred MobileService by CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards; itwas picked as the Best GSM carrier in Asia inthe Telecom Asia Awards 2005; it was chosen asthe Wireless Service Provider of the Year (2006)by Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific; it was featuredamong the top 100 global informationtechnology companies in Business Week andwas included in the Forbes Global 2000 LeadingCompanies in the World for the Year 2005.

HistoryThe company’s journey has been an eventfulone. Each year of its existence has been markedby a number of major events that have helpedmake it what it is today. When Airtel waslaunched in the mid 1990s as a mobile servicebrand it covered only Delhi and HimachalPradesh. In those early days British Telecomacquired a stake in the company. By 1998 it hadbecome the first private telecom operator toobtain a license to provide basic telephoneservices in the state of Madhya Pradesh. BhartiBT VSAT Limited focused on providing VSATsolutions across India; Bharti BT Internet Limitedwas formed during this same period to offerinternet solutions.

Before the end of year 2000, the companyacquired JT mobiles – a cellular service operatorin Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Withthis acquisition Bharti became the largest privatesector telecom operator in India. It soonexpanded its South Indian footprint by acquiringSkycell in Chennai.

Within the next two years it had expandedinto the largest cellular operator in the countryby entering India’s Eastern market throughacquisitions and obtaining licenses for eight new circles.The company marked its steadygrowth by introducing the new Airtel brandcampaign, featuring the signature A R Rehmanmelody. Unknown to many, the tune has set a record with over four million single ring tone downloads.

Between 2003 and 2004 the companyintroduced the Blackberry wireless solution in India, as result of an exclusive tie-up withResearch in Motion (RIM). By 2006 Airtelacquired an all-India footprint with the launch of mobile services in Assam. In 2005/06,

Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile serviceprovider, acquired a 10% economic interest in the company.

ProductThe company has threestrategic business units:mobile services, broadbandand telephone services andenterprise services. MobileServices constitute the largestportion of Airtel’s business,both in terms of totalcustomers and net revenues.Today, Bharti Airtel offersmobile services in all 23telecom circles of India andis, therefore, the first privatemobile services operator to

have an all-India presence.Bharti Airtel provides

broadband (DSL) andtelephone services in 90 citiesacross India. As on 31st March2006 the company had1,346,740 Broadband andTelephone Services (B&TS)customers of whom 315,729were also subscribers to DSL.

The Enterprise Servicesbusiness unit has two sub-units:carriers and corporates. In theformer, Airtel complements its mobile, broadband andtelephone services with national andinternational long distance services.

The corporate business unit provides secure,scalable, seamless, reliable and customisedintegrated voice and data solutions to corporatecustomers and to small and medium enterprisesthrough a single window and dedicatedrelationship management.

Recent DevelopmentsThe Indian market is poised to grow at an accelerated pace with the mobilepopulation expected to touch 210 million by 2010. With its constant focus on providingcustomers with a range of never-beforeinnovative products and services, Airtel is in an enviable position to take advantage of this fast growth. With a consolidatedcustomer base of nearly 21 million subscribers and varied product offerings,Airtel is all set to unify the brand andconsolidate its image in customers’ minds.It will strike a powerful emotional connect with them as all three business units, Mobility,B&TS and Enterprise Services will have anidentical look, feel and tone of voice.

PromotionAirtel is now a truly nationalplayer, adding more than onemillion customers every month.In the last couple of years anarray of innovations like lowerdenomination recharge couponsand lifetime validity schemeshave been pioneered. Each haspaved the way for a rapid drop in barriers to using moderntelecommunication services.

The 999 Lifetime Validityprepaid card service has trulyrevolutionised the Indian

telecom space. For just Rs. 999 (US$ 22.2) amobile customer can continue to receive callsfor a lifetime without having to recharge orworry about the validity period of the card orcoupon.This has mademobile communicationaffordable to millions ofpeople who wouldotherwise not havebeen able to benefitfrom the convenienceof mobilecommunication.

The RC 200 prepaid businesscontributes almost 25% of Airtel’s customerbase. With the launch of Airtel Easy Music thecompany has become the world’s largest retailerof music.

The company’s vision is to make it the mostadmired brand in India by 2010 – not just intelecommunications, but across all categoriesand segments.

The market mantra is to make Airtel loved bymore customers, targeted by top talent andbenchmarked by more businesses.Thecompany’s new motto is: ‘Think Fresh. Deliver

More’. Its messaging is aimed athighlighting the commitment tocustomer delight. ‘Think Fresh’ implies a fresh focus on customer satisfactionto which internal perspectives will playsecond fiddle. ‘Deliver More’ is the key driver to customers’ delight andensures that the company, at their cost, takes no shortcuts.

Brand ValuesInnovation is what separates leadersfrom followers.This is where BhartiAirtel leads from the front in anintensely competitive market.Thecompany prides itself on innovationsthat set industry standards, raise theservice bar, create new paradigms,

simplify customers’ lives and set people free toexpress themselves.

From the very beginning the brand has beenthe leader of change in India’s dynamictelecommunications space.This would not havebeen possible without a passion for innovation.Products, services, processes are all guided by adesire to do things differently and better.This isevident in the company’s self care and singlebilling platform.These novel steps and ideas aredesigned to enrich customers’ lives – toeducate, entertain, inform, update and stimulate.

In this never-ending quest for customerdelight, Airtel continuously seeks opportunitiesto think ahead, to consider alternatives to theold ways of working and, above all, attempts toanticipate what will make a genuine differenceto its customers.

Airtel impacts the lives of millions acrossIndia. It gives people the unlimited freedom tocommunicate.The company’s brand values areall centred on leadership, performance, trust,care, innovation and sensitivity.These arereflected not just through advertising, but in fact, through each interface Airtel has with its customer.

www.airtel.in

13SUPERBRANDS

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

Airtel was amongst the first operators tolaunch the recharge coupon that brought aparadigm shift in the market. It wasaccompanied by a huge mass media campaignthat was extensively aired on all TV channels. Inthe rural areas special Airtel mobile vans wentout from place to place promoting the RC 200.

Easy Music is a pioneering service that enablesAirtel’s mobile customers to buy any one of18,000 songs in twenty languages from over100,000 Bharti Airtel retail outlets acrossthe country.

The company has over 32,900 route kilometresof fibre on its national long distance network.

Airtel was the first private operator to launchmobile services in Jammu & Kashmir.

In the last eleven years Airtel has achievedmany first: the first to launch nationwideroaming operations; the first to cross the onemillion and the five million customer marks; thefirst to launch services overseas.

Airtel