17. Hutchison Max Telecom

Hutchison Max provides cellular services in Mumbai under the brand Orange.
The subscriber base grew by 72 percent, from 1,46,292 to 2,52,053 in the last
fiscal. It has managed to narrow the gap with its rival, BPL Mobile, in terms of
subscriptions through aggressive brand building measures. According to our
estimates, the company has posted a turnover of Rs 466.84 crore as compared to
Rs 172 core in the FY 1999-2000, exhibiting a growth of 171 percent. Hutchison
Max has the highest average line per users among the cellular operators in the
country.

Following the footsteps of its competitor, Hutchison has slashed its airtime
rates by 31 percent and minimum monthly billing by 40 percent. It has slashed
its pre-paid card Just Talk rates to Rs 2.25 per minute apart from announcing
flat airtime rates. The company has also launched a number of value tariff plans
with features like Talkathon and NightSpeak. During the last year, it tied up
with Cellmania for WAP directory to its mobile Internet subscribers. Hutchison
has recently acquired a 49 percent stake in Fascel, the mobile operator in
Gujarat, from Shinawatra group and HFCL.