Gujaratis Thrifty no more when Spending on Calls

From The Times of India

AHMEDABAD: Gujaratis, who were called thrifty by the telecom industry when they made the most missed calls in the country in 2006, now actively spend more on mobile phones.

However, Gujarat's telecom story has undergone a sea change in the last five years with telecom companies in the state posting 77% growth in gross revenues in the past five years.

As per data available with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the gross revenue of six telecom players as on 31st December 2007 was Rs 4727.53 crore. As on 31st December 2012, the gross revenue of nine telecom companies in Gujarat stood at Rs 8413.15 crore, which means telecom companies in Gujarat have registered a growth of 77% in gross revenue in the past five years.

The subscriber base has increased by 320.41% in the last five years in the state. As on 31st December 2007, Gujarat had 11959678 mobile subscribers, which rose to 50280123 as on December 2012.

Brajesh Bajpai, business head (Gujarat) at Vodafone, said, "Gujarat is the largest circle for us after Mumbai and Delhi. There are several initiatives that we have taken in Gujarat and implemented nationally. There is also a renewed interest in postpaid connections in the state." Gujarat contributes almost 10% to Vodafone India's revenues.

Overall, India's western region is considered economically advanced as compared to other regions of the country, thus offering major opportunities for telecom operators. Companies are churning out customized offers for their subscribers in Gujarat, which also saw the most activity when mobile number portability was introduced.

In Gujarat, for the past five calendar years, telecom companies have paid a total of Rs 2831.81 crore as license fee, which is 10% of adjusted gross revenue.

Telecom players also attribute the growth in revenue to tremendous competition. "The success of telecom in Gujarat is in fact proof of the fact that the people of Gujarat demand value. What has changed in the past few years is that for the first time, there is a value being offered in the market. Competition has ensured affordable tariffs, increased retail spread as operators go deeper and wider into the territory and also more active communication of competing products and services," said Jinesh Hegde, circle business head (Gujarat) for Uninor.

Telcos Woo Rural Gujarat with Exclusive Business Models

From the Times of India

AHMEDABAD:
Telecom companies are aggressively tapping Gujarat's rural market-which has 35.6 lakh houses using cellphones as compared to 35.7 lakh urban houses.

The erstwhile price-sensitive rural customer is now looking at convenience over anything else. In a survey by Vodafone in rural Gujarat, findings suggest that recharge availability tops the priority followed by good network. Price only comes later. "In Gujarat, over 55 per cent of Vodafone's subscriber base comes from rural areas so we have allotted 70 per cent of our budget for rural areas in the state unlike other states where urban areas are given higher budget," said Brajesh Bajpai, chief operating officer, Vodafone West.

Vodafone has seen 12 per cent 12% year-on-year growth with gross revenues of Rs 3,100 crore in Gujarat. The company's market share in the state is 37.1 per cent. The company has a business model unique to Gujarat-Vistaar-which has been taken from the state and implemented nationally. The model has ensured that the sales force is different for rural and urban customers. Vodafone has set up over 800 'laal dukaan' or red shops in villages in Gujarat to help villagers spot recharge outlets.

"The rural sales force is trained in simple communication and to provide basic education of services whereas the urban sales force is taught to be more competitive and get market share," said Bajpai. Among other things, rural Gujaratis mostly use services like downloading music, checking weather, for emails and using social networking sites on their 2G handsets.