BPL, the cellular provider in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu (except Chennai) and Kerala, which has the JV partnership with MediaOne for its operations in these circles, has been the largest operator in the country with 3.86 lakh subscribers and the fifth largest in revenue size. It is estimated to have done a total business of Rs 301 crore from operations in these three circles. While the company was the clear-cut leader in Maharashtra, it was closely behind Aircel in Tamil Nadu and Escotel in Kerala. While in Maharashtra it had a total subscriber base of 1.4 lakh, up by 214 percent, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the base grew by 238 percent and 208 percent, respectively, to touch 1.4 lakh and 1.1 lakh, respectively. It was one of those few companies during the year, which had a stable performance, both in terms of number and revenue. The key differentiation that it brought into the market place were introduction of national and international roaming and its aggressiveness on the product and service offerings. Plus, it also placed an $3 million order on Nortel for network expansion.

This year could see a real consolidation of BPL, as it has recently announced to merge into BATATA (the Birla AT&T and Tata JV). While BPL will own 49.32 percent of the new entity, AT&T, Birlas, and Tatas will each hold 16.9 percent stakes. Now the strengths of the three large groups, in the country, will enable the JV to bid for the fourth license, and provide quality services.