Top10 Vendors: 2 - BHARTI: Brimming with Excellence

Voice&Data Bureau

06 Jul 2007 09:43 IST

New Update

FY '06-07 was an year of dynamic growth and evolution for

Bharti Airtel. The company registered total revenue of Rs 17,888 crore, a growth

of 58.4% y-o-y. Total number of subscribers for FY '06-07 stood at 39.01 mn,

an 86% jump, reiterating its market leadership with a bang.

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The growth can be clearly attributed to the innovative schemes

and services launched by the operator to strengthen, and build its customer

base. The company has broadband and telephone operations in ninety-four cities

with 1,871,387 customers as on March 31, 2007, and total revenue Rs 2,497 crore

from the segment.

2 - Bharti

International reach remained one of the main agendas for the

company in FY '06-07. During the year, seven wholly owned subsidiaries were

incorporated. Through its recently floated US arm, it started a Call-Home

facility for the NRI population-Bharti Airtel (UK), and Bharti Airtel (Canada)

with their principal business of providing international calling services and

wholesale switching data products. The company also announced a tie-up with Hong

Kong-based PCCW Global to offer enhanced services in international connectivity.

It also tied up with GSMA to develop a pathbreaking international mobile money

transfer service.

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Another service that re-established Bharti Airtel as a pioneer

in innovation was the "songcatcher" which took the country by storm in

the last fiscal. The company also associated with Google and Microsoft for

providing new services to the individual consumer, and the SMB segment

respectively.

Area of operation:
Mobile

services, Fixed line/Broadband, Internet services, ILD and NLD

Address: Bharti Airtel Ltd. JIL Tower-II, 3rd Floor, Plot No 78,
Institutional Area, Sector-18, Gurgaon-122 001

Tel: 022 56615445

Fax: 022 5660594

Website: www.bhartiairtel.inÂ

Highlights

Restructured its

business, and created new management structure
$1 bn network expansion

contract with Ericsson
$400 mn contract with

Nokia to expand its managed GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
Launched 3G service in

Seychelles

It floated another subsidiary called Bharti Infratel with the

principal business of providing passive infrastructure for mobile services. The

company also forayed into DTH services with its recently floated subsidiary,

Bharti Telemedia, and announced plans to start IPTV services in Gurgaon, the

trials for which were undertaken in FY '06-07. Through another subsidiary, it

bagged a mobile operator license in Sri Lanka to provide 2G and 3G services, and

also launched 3G services in Seychelles.

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FY '06-07 was the year when Bharti Airtel took decisive steps

toward institutionalizing and building a conglomerate of the future. It

announced and took forward Bharti Enterprises' Apex strategic organization

structure and governance model to strengthen and enhance existing business

roles. The company entered into a $1 bn expansion contract with Ericsson, and

with IBM it tied up for the country's first service delivery platform.

Bharti restructured its business and announced the formation of different

business groups-telecom, retail and wholesale, communication and media

devices, insurance and financial services, agri business, BPO/software, and the

Bharti Foundation.

'Our

plan is to be one of the top 3 telcos of the world'
How was Bharti's performance in FY

'06-07?

We believe our performance has been highly satisfactory. We continue to
lead the industry; we have added market share to our kitty, and were far

ahead of competition. Our brand variant scores have also enhanced

substantially. The climax is that we are one of the top ten integrated

operators in the world, which was our dream for many years, because an

Indian telco deserves an apex position in the global telecom arena.

Manoj

Kohli

President

and CEO

This year has been a very

special year for us. We entered a new era of professionalization and

institutionalization. We are also coming up with new projects in retail,

agriculture, and insurance. As Sunil Bharti Mittal assumed the new role of

CII chief, my colleagues and I have taken charge of the company, which is

number 3 in BSE's market value. We termed this year as break free, and

our objective is to reach the numero uno position, and significantly

enhance the leadership position through winning hearts of customers and

gaining market share. Emergence of Infratel, a passive infrastructure to

manage the entire passive infrastructure for the company and industry, was

also the highlight of FY '06-07. We also launched global calling cards

in the US.

What are the key missions for FY '07-08?

The key missions for our company are: leading the network rollout, and
increasing coverage, so that we become popular among rural customers as

well; leading the geographical distribution of our products to bring a

situation where Airtel products should be available wherever even a match

box is available; being the most admired brand across all categories,

products, and services; enhancing our brand visibility to broadband and

enterprise; and providing excellent quality of customer service, as it is

a long-term differentiator. We are also excited about our foray into media

through IPTV, which would be available in select cities initially.

Regarding acquisition, viable options would be considered, and our most

cherished future plan is to be one of the top 3 telcos in the world.

How has been your performance in the

broadband space?

We believe we are at the threshold of the broadband revolution in India.
At present, we have a substantial market share in it, and we will lead

this revolution also. Our focus will be on providing services to

commercial buildings, schools, and colleges in the top 100 cities with a

2-5 Mbps speed range.

FY '07-08 will be a year of rural

growth. How is Bharti positioned for the rural market?

We are 100% committed to the rural market. We believe that the benefits of
telephony should reach every nook and corner of India. We have a

three-legged strategy for rural India-to have local partners to manage

our network services; to have availability and visibility of our products

and services; and to increase brand visibility through good quality wall

paintings.

What is your strategy for SMB?

SMBs have been traditionally neglected by the telecom sector, but they are
on our top priority. The growth of SMBs is 17%, which is double that of

the GDP, and they are hungry for sophisticated tools in IT and telecom. We

will give them the satisfaction that large companies give at an affordable

price. We have already tied up with Microsoft, Nortel, HCL, and Wipro.

Recently, we completed a project for the department of Income Tax, and the

government gave us a positive feedback on it.

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In line with organizational changes, it also announced

managerial changes. Sunil Bharti Mittal, in his role as the chairman and Group

CEO of Bharti Enterprises, will be assisted by four group lead directors. In

addition, there will be nine group/corporate directors.

Regarding 3G, the company is ready to roll out services as and

when they are allowed by the government. Also, preference should be given to

Indian operators for spectrum allocation. On the WiMax front, the company has

deployed WiMax for last mile needs of customers, and are waiting for the

government policy to carry it forward.

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