With Idea Cellular winning licences to commence operations in 11 new circles and the recent allocation of 4.4 MHz spectrum in four of these, Idea’s Managing Director Sanjeev Aga has a tough task ahead of him ?? to establish the company’s presence in these circles. In a recent interview with tele.net, Aga talks about how he intends to cope with this and other issues. Excerpts:
What is the biggest challenge faced by Idea Cellular today?
The challenge faced by any leading company in a fast changing environment is to continually reinvent itself to always stay a step ahead.
Idea has recently been granted spectrum in several circles. What is the timeline to commence operations in these areas?
We will roll out our services in the Mumbai and Bihar circles in the third quarter of 2008, and in Tamil Nadu, Chennai and Orissa in the fourth quarter of 2008.
What challenges do you foresee as you expand into the new circles?
We will be starting much later than the incumbents. However, we will rapidly make a mark with our quality of service.
How has Idea performed over the past one year in terms of market share? What has been the company’s strategy so far?
Idea Cellular has performed excellently in the past one year and has grown in terms of overall market share. Our strategy has always been to provide the best of services through a combination of network extension, introduction of value-added services, and innovative tariffs. Idea today is the number one operator in three circles ?? Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
Where does Idea Cellular stand vis-a-vis its competitors?
Idea is presently operating in 11 circles. Of these, commercial services were launched in three circles ?? Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh ?? in the past one year. As for the remaining eight circles, we enjoyed a healthy market share of 19 per cent, as of end-March 2008, in a six-player market. We hope to do even better in the coming year.
What is the company’s strategy for rural expansion?
We are committed to the rapid expansion of our network into the rural areas; in fact, half of our new subscribers in the past year have been from non-urban areas. We took active part in the recently concluded Universal Service Obligation Fund tender, whereby we will be hosted on nearly 3,000 additional towers.
What are Idea’s key thrust areas?
We have successfully obtained unified access service licences for the entire country and are awaiting allocation of spectrum to begin rollout. We intend to be a national player, providing connectivity and innovative services in every circle we operate in.
What are the company’s investment plans for the next one year? How much has been invested so far?
We expect to invest about Rs 60 billion in our existing circles, apart from the investments planned for the new licensed areas.
What is the road ahead for the company?
The company is solidly placed to fulfil its mission in one of the world’s most attractive sectors.
What are the company’s 3G plans? How do you expect the telecom landscape to shape up with the coming of 3G services?
International experience shows that 3G is most beneficial to consumers and societies when it is an overlay over a 2G network, thus providing seamless access to both voice and new data services. We hope 3G spectrum will be made available to a maximum number of operators to achieve true competition. As a leading player we are ready for 3G, but in view of the lack of full clarity, no operator can talk of plans. L “We intend to be a national player, providing connectivity and innovative services in every circle we operate in.”
