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Slowly, trying to build a telecom empire, the Tata Group has started its
telecom journey at a good pace. The group is present in all the segments and has
an edge over others in ILD, network integration, telecom software and enterprise
voice solutions, where it is way ahead of its competitors.
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The combined turnover of Tata group companies touched Rs 7,961 crore during
FY 2002—03, thus making it the largest private sector telecom group in India.
The group’s negative 5 percent growth is mainly due to the erosion in VSNL’s
revenues. The incumbency factor and the lowering of settlement rates made impact
on the top line as well as bottom line of the company. With market share
reducing on the voice front, the focus is more on value-added services. The
company plans to use Tata Power’s bandwidth for its Mumbai operations and
offer MPLS services to corporate customers and carriers. Other new services
being planned are voice-over-IP and e-learning.
VSNL also took the international expansion route during the last fiscal,
obtaining a gateway operator license to operate international long distance
voice and data services in Sri Lanka. Another important development was its
entry into the NLD business. Here, VSNL is lagging behind Bharti Group by a
year.
On the basic services front, the Tata Group acquired Hughes Tele.com and has
consolidated operations in basic services by becoming the number one private
operator. With the lucrative Maharashtra circle under its belt, the company now
has an advantage over Bharti and BSNL. During the last fiscal, the company also
launched services in Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, and also
increased its service area from one circle to six circles.
On the cellular services front, group company Idea Cellular is third in terms
of revenue and fourth in terms of subscriber base.
Another group company, TCS was the clear leader in telecom software,
providing services to many telecom service providers and equipment manufacturers
worldover. Tata Telecom exclusively represents Avaya, world’s No. 1 enterprise
voice equipment company, and is the top provider of enterprise voice solutions
and structured cabling in India. CMC and Tata Infotech are among the best
network integrators in the country, with the former’s services being now
exported through TCS’ international contacts.
| An Account of Accomplishments |
|
| Company | Performance/Achievements |
| VSNL | No. 1 ILD and ISP in the country. On the ISP front, the company has around 700,000 subscribers. Recently launched NLD operations and is planning to expand |
| Idea Cellular |
Fourth largest operator in cellular services. Operational in five circles and occupies leadership position in three circles–Mahrashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Has a total base of 1.28 million subscribers |
| Tata Telecom |
No. 1 in enterprise voice solutions. Currently has 33 percent market share |
| TCS | India’s first billion-dollar software company. Occupies No. 1 position in telecom software |
| CMC | Fourth largest player in network integration. Very strong base in the government sector |
| Tata Teleservices   |
Leading private group in basic telephony for revenues as well as subscriber base |
| Tata Power |
Excellent MAN network in Mumbai for offering high-speed connectivity to corporates |
The group began finally tapping the synergies between its various telecom
service providers through its Tata Indicom Enterprise Business Unit (TEBU)
initiative. Earlier, group companies were targeting the corporates on an
individual basis. Now, TEBU will provide total telecom solution by outsourcing
services from different Tata Group. This will also help Tata Group to keep
intact its top corporate customers and also optimizing its various operations.
This is a good initiative, but it can be further broadened in the future by
also obtaining the contributions of the rest of the Tata group companies, which
are into telecom equipment, software services and network integration
businesses.Â