 Airtel's expansion plan for TN
Airtel, India’s leading mobile service provider, has announced mega plans to further expand its fast growing mobile network in Tamil Nadu. Regarding network expansion, it is further increasing the pace this year thereby reinforcing its commitment to provide world-class mobile services to its customers, and is increasing the number of cell sites and coverage of both urban and rural Tamil Nadu, said P Swaminathan, chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Mobility, Tamil
Nadu.
"Our expansion plans reinforce our commitment to provide our customers with the best geographical spread as well as a congestion-free network. As the market grows exponentially, we are pro-actively increasing our coverage to offer an unmatched network performance. We are also continuously innovating and offering more value to our customers. The Tamil voice portal/ Tamil SMS services are significant innovations which are building a strong local connect with Tamil Nadu. Now roaming customers also have a lot to cheer about with the benefit of roaming in the three southern states. Our strong network and value for money offerings make Airtel the ideal choice for customers to go mobile," Swaminathan said.
Leading the market with network growth:
From a level of 1,000 cell sites in March 2005, Airtel has moved upto 2,400, which is the highest amongst all operators in Tamil Nadu. The number of urban towns covered has doubled from 260 to 550 and the rural coverage has gone up from 4,000 to 10,000 villages. The switch handling capacity has been enhanced from 0.8 million to 2 million customers. SMS capacity has been increased five times in this period, from 700 to 3,500 messages per second.
This aggressive geographic expansion has been backed up by a systematic roll-out of capacity enhancement in existing markets to ensure that the network consistently stays congestion-free and Airtel customers get to enjoy their mobile experience.
Network explosion continues in 2006-07:
Airtel is embarking on an aggressive expansion plan this fiscal. Tamil Nadu is a key market and Airtel’s plan is to ensure that its customers continue to enjoy an unmatched network experience.
The cell site count will go up from 2,400 to over 4,500 by March 2007. In terms of towns, Airtel will cover the entire urban universe of approximately 800 towns by August 2006. The rural coverage, currently at approximately 10,000 villages, will also go up substantially with this network expansion. The switch handling capacity will be enhanced from two million to over three million customers.
The fastest growing segment in the market is the youth, for whom SMS is a way of life. With SMSing becoming the preferred mode of communication at all times, especially during festive occasions, special attention is required for this service. After the five-time growth in capacity last year, Airtel is further increasing its SMS capacity to 4,800 messages per second this year to ensure that its customers continue to enjoy congestion-free SMSing as well.
This expansion plan means that Airtel will continue to be the service provider with the highest number of cell sites in Tamil Nadu. The mobile infrastructure and growth make Airtel the leading and fastest growing network in the state. Its management of traffic growth has ensured that its network remains congestion-free, which in turn has delivered a delightful mobile experience to its customers.
The geographical spread and quality of network have been clearly seen and appreciated by the market, Swamianthan said, adding that various surveys have thrown up the strength of network as the customers’ main reason for going mobile with Airtel. In the last few months, over one lakh customers of Tamil Nadu have opted for Airtel every month and Airtel’s customer base has reached the 2 million mark. Even at the national level, it has been the preferred brand of choice with over one million additions every month for the last few months and the overall customer base at 22 million.
Airtel’s growth in network infrastructure:
Airtel, to offer better rates while 'roaming' in the southern states, has slashed roaming rates by 40 - 50 per cent. All outgoing and incoming calls will henceforth cost just Rs 2/min (against the current rate of Rs 2.89 - 3.99/min) when roaming within Airtel networks in these states. Existing and new Airtel customers, both Postpaid and Prepaid, automatically get the benefit of these new rates.
Airtel customers can now happily roam in south India and make/ receive calls across India without any inhibitions on the congestion-free networks. This benefit is another significant reason for mobile entrants and existing mobile users to join the fast-growing community of Airtel customers in Tamil
Nadu.
Airtel - Leading the mobile innovation, with Tamil:
The expansion into smaller towns and villages generates the need to have Tamil-specific content which is important to customers in these markets. To satisfy this need, Airtel had recently launched Tamil voice portal and Tamil SMS. The voice portal includes a number of attractive features like ringtones, greetings, Thirukkural, Kavithai Arangam, women’s tips, jokes & dialogues, Business Talk, Youth Zone, Recipes.
Tamil SMS enables Airtel customers to send SMS messages in Tamil to their Airtel friends in Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Once customers download the application from ‘Airtel Live’ (download free of cost) onto their handsets, they can type Tamil SMS as fast as English SMS, thanks to the unique key-entry and rendering mechanism. The service also has a one-touch help function, which provides a guide on how to use the standard English and numeric keyboard to type Tamil letters.
Both the voice portal and Tamil SMS are very user-friendly and gaining immense popularity in the market. They are empowering millions of people across Tamil Nadu, especially in the smaller towns and villages, to express themselves in their mother tongue.
R Rangaraj
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