Master Blasters

Aircel

• It successfully moved from being a regional player to a pan-India player
  
  last year. Emerging as one of the most aggressive new players, it might change
  
  the rules of the game. Aircel launched operations in eight circles within
  
  thirty-forty days and is today present in eighteen circles in the country.
• The company recently raised Rs14,300 crore for expanding its operations.
  
  This has been the largest sum raised by any Indian mobile service provider in
  
  the last year. The money will be used for expansion.
• Aircel is trying to come up with innovative human resource practices and
  
  is planning an institute for training employees. Another first for a telco in
  
  the country.
• After the rollout, the next challenge for the company is to increase its
  
  market share. Is Aircel up to the challenge?

Bharti Airtel

• The world is waiting with abated breath to watch the birth of an Indian
  
  global telecom giant. Numero Uno in the Indian wireless market, the company is
  
  aggressively looking at increasing its global footprint. Currently, it is in
  
  exclusive talks with South Africa based MTN for a merger. Bharti Airtel has
  
  also recently started operations in Sri Lanka.
• Wants to dominate in all the three screens-mobile, PC and television. It
  
  will be an interesting transformation for the company to move from being a
  
  pure play wireless operator to a dominant player in other areas as well.
• Credited with pioneering the outsourcing model, Bharti Airtel is known for
  
  its innovative strategies. The company has changed the rules of the game in
  
  the past and is likely to do so in the coming years as well.
• It recently crossed the 100 mn subscriber mark in the country and is
  
  focusing on the rural segment. It would be interesting to watch what it does
  
  to not just add the next 100 mn subscribers but to also increase ARPU as well.
• Entry of new operators will further fuel the market and it remains to be
  
  seen what strategies the company is likely to follow to maintain its
  
  leadership position.

Cisco

• The market leader in router and switch, Cisco recorded a downward slide of
  
  7% in revenues in the last financial year. This was mainly the result of the
  
  recession and is likely to bounce back this year.
• The company has come up with a new go-to-market strategy and plans to
  
  focus more on the SMB market. Cisco has 17% market share in the small business
  
  segment in the Asia Pacific and this is likely to increase in the time to
  
  come. With Nortel facing rough weather, it is up to Cisco to increase its
  
  market share in the country.
• Telepresence along with unified communications is one of the focus areas
  
  for the company in the country. Cisco is also planning to focus on the
  
  services front. It remains to be seen whether it actually will.

Etisalat DB India

• With a number of players entering the Indian market it remains to be seen,
  
  which new player finally garners the maximum share of the market.
• The company is also aggressively planning to increase its global
  
  footprint.
• Etisalat was involved in a controversy recently, when it pushed an update
  
  to BlackBerry devices on their network, citing performance improvements, but
  
  it was actually a surveillance software, enabling Etisalat to monitor and
  
  forward communication on BlackBerry devices to their servers. Clearly, the
  
  company has to avoid such controversies to grow its global footprint.
• Though not as big as Telenor, Etisalat is the largest operator in the
  
  Middle East with operations in seventeen countries across Asia, Middle East,
  
  and Africa. Its experience in other Asian countries is surely going to help it
  
  in making a place for itself in the already overcrowded Indian market

Google

• A pure-play search engine, Google is all set to take the telecom world by
  
  storm. Integration of mobile devices and the mobile web in everyday life,
  
  particularly for people for whom mobile devices are 'first screen' devices
  
  ensured Google's entry into the space.
• Just like the company changed the dynamics of how people use the Internet,
  
  Google is all set to change the telecommunications landscape. The company's
  
  focus on telecommunications can be summarized in Google's founder Eric Schmidt
  
  own words, “Mobile, mobile, mobile-it's probably the most wide open space out
  
  there right now.”
• Google wants to give BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion a run for its
  
  money with Android being targeted at the business users. Not just BlackBerry,
  
  Google's arch-rival Microsoft is also one of its targets. Google is targeting
  
  MS with the much anticipated launch of Chrome. Get your popcorns and Pepsis as
  
  you get ready to watch the battle between the two titans.
• Google has major telecom ambitions and it remains to be seen whether it
  
  would be able to fulfill them or not. If the past record is anything to go by,
  
  operators and media content companies should start thinking of defense
  
  strategy.

Huawei

• Ericsson recently acknowledged Huawei as one of its strongest competitor.
  
  Huawei recorded 100% growth in the year gone by. Definitely a company to watch
  
  out for because of high growth potential and aggressive marketing strategy.
• However, price differential has been the basic point on which the company
  
  has grown: around 60% between Ericsson and Huawei, according to industry
  
  sources. While cost competitiveness has helped the company in establishing
  
  itself in the Indian market, the challenge ahead is to establish itself as a
  
  long term player as well. We, as well as the industry is watching whether it
  
  will be able to transcend to the next level.
• The company has to fight security issues associated with Chinese vendors
  
  in the Indian as well as global markets. It also has to come up with
  
  innovative products for continuous appeal in the market.
• Because of cost advantage a probable partner for new operators.

Intel

• The company is heavily backing WiMax technology and is in talks with
  
  Indian telecom players for making a strategic investment for rolling out WiMax
  
  services. This is in line with Intel's global strategy to push WiMax for
  
  high-speed wireless broadband services. Whether this strategy pays in the long
  
  run or not makes it a company to watch out for in the telecommunications
  
  space.
• Intel is also enabling the introduction of mobile Internet devices that
  
  will be compatible with WiMax technology. For instance, devices based on its
  
  Atom processor were launched last year.
• Recently, Intel added Nokia to its partner list to create Intel
  
  architecture based mobile computing devices and chipset architectures. The
  
  partnership is a big win for Intel which has been trying to penetrate the
  
  competitive wireless market for some time now.
• Intel has been trying to make a space for itself in the telecom segment
  
  and if the recent developments are anything to go by, it seems to have finally
  
  got its finger on the pulse of the industry.
  
  

Nokia

• According to channel partners, Nokia's market share is decreasing in the
  
  Indian market. The company is also facing a stiff opponent in BlackBerry,
  which is eating into its smartphone market share. The entry of small Indian
  
  brands like MicroMax is further denting its sales. Whether Nokia is able to
  
  come up with a marketing strategy to stop this downward slide remains to be
  
  seen.
  
• Handset market leader, Nokia is now moving from being a pure-play handset
  
  manufacturer to a solutions and services provider. In a dramatic shift in its
  
  strategy, the company launched 'Ovi', its services brand last year. It is
  
  still early days but this has the potential to be a game changer not just for
  
  Nokia but for the industry as well.
• The company has also tied up with Intel to look at the emerging
  
  opportunity in the netbook segment, which is likely to eat into the smartphone
  
  category. It remains to be seen how the company revamps itself to address the
  
  new areas.

Qualcomm

• Leading cellphone chip maker, Qualcomm plans to launch smartbooks built on
  
  the company's Snapdragon chipset. Smartbooks aim to bridge the gap between
  
  smartphones and laptops or netbooks by offering popular smartphone features in
  
  a larger form. The company is looking at tapping the rural market for this
  
  segment. It definitely has the potential to be a game changer.
• Qualcomm is one of the front-runners in R&D spend and is likely to come up
  
  with innovative products to increase its market share.
• Mobile broadband is one of the focus areas of the company and with 3G
  
  coming in, it is likely to be on an upswing. It would be interesting to watch
  
  how the company translates this opportunity to its advantage.
• Qualcomm has been backing FLO TV mobile video service as a standard for
  
  mobile TV.

Tata Communications

• One of the most happening companies of the Tata Group, Tata Communications
  
  has successfully transformed itself from an old economy government player into
  
  a global giant.
• The journey ahead is going to be tough. Tata Communications is making
  
  major investments to expand its global footprint. It is going through a $2 bn
  
  expansion plan to enhance its global infrastructure.
• The company is also a prominent player in the ILD market. Whether it is
  
  able to dominate the segment or not remains to be seen.
• Tata Communications is one of the few service providers in the country
  
  which is putting its eggs in the WiMax basket. The company sees WiMax as a
  
  major growth area and has launched WiMax based retail broadband in four major
  
  cities. The industry, is waiting to see whether this strategy will work or
  
  not. Going by past record, Tata Communications might just surprise us!

Unitech Telenor

• Of the new players in the Indian market, it is most likely to succeed in
  
  the Indian market. Infrastructure sharing is a major part of Telenor's
  
  strategy. Telenor, a player with deep pockets and experience in Pakistan and
  
  other Asian countries is likely to help the company. The 3G experience is
  
  further likely to give sleepless nights to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.
• Telenor will invest $1,070 mn in its Indian operations. India is the
  
  fourteenth country, where Telenor is commencing operations with its strong
  
  expertise and experience. At the same time, India might surprise Telenor with
  
  its scale and high number of operators. It is surely a must watch company.
• Though it is rather late in entering the Indian market, Telenor has the
  
  potential to set the market ablaze. With 168 mn mobile subscriptions
  
  worldwide, Telenor is ranked as one of the world's largest mobile operators.
  
  The company recorded revenue of NOK 110 bn in 2008, and operates in thirteen
  
  countries. The entire industry wants to know what Telenor has up its sleeve.

ZTE

• Cost competitiveness is an integral part of the company's strategy. It
  
  gained good traction with new players like Loop Telecom and Sistema Shyam.
  
  Interesting to note that both Huawei and ZTE were able to increase their
  
  market share in a recession year.
• ZTE controls around 85% of the CDMA market and is one of the prominent
  
  vendors with the government segment.
• ZTE is a market leader in 3G in its home country, China. With India also
  
  getting ready for 3G launch, it would be interesting to watch how much market
  
  share it is able to garner in this segment. Dominance in 3G might help the
  
  company in dramatically increasing its market share in India. Clearly a year
  
  of reckoning for ZTE.

Ericsson

• Being the market leader in the wireless segment, Ericsson is currently
  
  facing stiff competition from Chinese players like Huawei and ZTE. It will be
  
  interesting to watch the market strategy being employed by the company to
  
  fight the Chinese competition.
• Ericsson continues to launch new products, especially in the environment
  
  friendly domain.
• The company also started `Gram Jyoti' project some time back to
  
  demonstrate the advantages of broadband in the rural segment. One hopes
  
  Ericsson would continue to come up with such innovative projects in the times
  
  to come.
• Ericsson recently acquired Nortel's North American wireless business for
  
  $1.13 bn, which would enable it to acquire the latter's CDMA business as well
  
  as enable future migration to LTE. This is further likely to help in its
  
  growth.
• The company along with Bharti Airtel has pioneered the outsourcing model.
  
  It has also decided to focus more on 2G rather than 3G in the coming
  
  two-to-three years.Definitely, a must watch company which goes by its own
  
  beliefs rather than the current fad of the industry.

Apple

• With the success of iPhone, Apple has tasted blood, and will be vying for
  
  more. Smartphone category is clearly emerging as a battleground for Nokia,
  
  BlackBerry, and RIM. The battle will be intensified in the time to come, and
  
  Apple will have to come out with innovative products to continue to increase
  
  its market share in this segment.
• The company is known to surprise the market with innovative products like
  
  iPhone, iPod, and Mac, which completely changed the dynamics of the market.
  
  This definitely makes it a company to watch out for.
• A must watch company, because it has Steve Jobs. And we can't even begin
  
  to anticipate what to expect from it in the future.

Microsoft

• The king of IT wants to be the king of telecommunications as well, but of
  
  course has had many false starts in the past. Whether it is operating systems
  
  for smartphones, VoIP, or IPTV, Microsoft is present in most of the segments
  
  of the telecommunications industry. It remains to be seen, which are the
  
  segments it is finally able to dominate.
• Recently, Microsoft partnered with Nokia to offer its applications on the
  
  latter's handsets. The company is also targeting Google through its mobile
  
  operating system, and would like to come up with a good fight to protect its
  
  turf. It is definitely going to be a clash of the titans.
• Deal with BT, focus on unified communications; Microsoft is going all out
  
  to garner the maximum share of telecommunications market. Definitely a must
  
  watch to see which are the areas they manage to dominate.

Gagandeep Kaur



gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in