A little over two years old in the telecom industry and Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) has already cornered 10.63 million users (as of April 2011). Shankar Bali, chief operating officer (COO) of the company?s Delhi NCR and Haryana circles, however, believes that the best is yet to come.
?I recently joined SSTL and have been engaged in a high-energy challenge to ensure that SSTL becomes the market leader in the broadband wireless space in Delhi and Haryana,? he says.
So, how does he intend to make SSTL stand apart from the clutter? ?The telecom market is so fractured that innovation becomes imperative, especially for a new operator,? he points out. ?We constantly strive to innovate our offerings with the objective of becoming the customers? preferred operator. The opportunity clearly exists to create a value proposition for data customers as well as to identify gaps in voice offerings.?
Bali brings to the table several years of experience in the telecom field. Before joining MTS, the SSTL brand, he worked in Colombo as CEO, Hutchison Telecom, Sri Lanka. He also spent several years with Vodafone Essar and MCI Worldcom.
A satisfying career graph gives him the confidence to tackle any surprises the sector may throw up. ?I have reached where I would have liked to at this stage of my career. However, my future plans keep changing with the environment,? he says.
Meanwhile, he has plenty of responsibilities to deal with. ?As COO of the Delhi and Haryana circles, I am driving operations in both circles. I am responsible for establishing SSTL as the preferred brand for both voice and data through effective implementation of our business strategies in all business functions.?
Commenting on telecom trends, he says, ?Accessing the internet on the go is the clear future trend in the metros, while wireless broadband access on widescreen devices holds potential in rural areas.? He adds that the social networking phenomenon is driving the demand for smartphones. ?This generation wants easy-to-use smartphones with rich communication and multimedia features that allow them to stay connected through social networking sites, instant messaging services and email. This is a data-led generation as compared to the older generation, which was voice led. This has opened up the market and increased penetration as well as awareness for data users. It will show growth on the same pattern as it did for voice.?
Bali is an avid reader. ?I have just completed William Dalrymple?s Nine Lives,? he says. ?I am also very fond of scuba diving and playing golf.?
