For Usha Martin Telekom, which operates cellular services in the eastern metropolis of Kolkata under the Command brand name, the fiscal 2000-01 was an eventful year as Hutchison Whampoa purchased a 95 percent of stake in the company. Hutschison operates the Orange brand in Mumbai and also has a majority stake in the Essar brand of Delhi.

The service provider ended the year 2000-01 with a revenue of Rs 91 crore and a subscriber base of 71,591. There was a 45.35 percent growth in its subscriber base over the 1999-2000 figure of 41,558. This was far lower than the 89 percent industry average as also the over 100 percent growth that the company had registered in 1999-2000 over the previous year. Command’s stilted growth was also witnessed in its declining Revenue Per User (RPU). While RPU in the first quarter of 2000-01 was Rs 682 per month, it came down to Rs 565 per month in the second quarter and Rs 503 per month in the third quarter, before recovering slightly to Rs 551 per month in the last quarter.

Hutschison is expected to add both financial and marketing muscle to Command. This will not only help Command to take on Spice, the other operator in Kolkata that currently dominates the cellular marker in the city, but also put it in a better position in the event of the third and the fourth service providers getting operational.