Honest 836 Report post Posted September 12, 2008 Tatas to start GSM service in Mumbai 12 Sep, 2008, 0304 hrs IST, ET MUMBAI: Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and three new operators—Videocon’s Datacom Solutions, Unitech Wireless and Swan Telecom—have received GSM spectrum for offering services in Mumbai. This will heat up competition in the circle, which has the highest average revenue per user per month (ARPU) in the country. Already seven operators are present in the heavily-penetrated market, with Idea Cellular launching operations just last month. The four operators have been allotted 4.4Mhz spectrum each in the 1800 Mhz band. It is currently termed as “trial spectrum” and operators are expected to complete trials within a given timeframe. Of them, TTML is expected to take the least time in rolling out services because it will utilise existing CDMA infrastructure. It’s capex will also be incremental because GSM antennae can be mounted on towers being used for offering CDMA services. TTML provides CDMA mobile and fixedline services under the Indicom brand. “TTML has been allocated trial GSM spectrum and we are required to complete the trials within the next three months. This spectrum allocation, if confirmed, after the trials, will significantly enhance TTML’s bouquet of wireless offerings and further strengthen TTML’s competitive position in the market,” a company spokesperson told. Mumbai, with nearly 15 million subscribers, is the highest-revenue generating market. According to telecom regulator Trai, the blended average revenue per month per user (pre-paid & post-paid) is the highest in Mumbai at Rs 274. The post-paid ARPU is as high as Rs 630. However, wireless penetration in the financial capital is as high as 70%, signalling tough competition for new players. Vodafone Essar is the market leader in Mumbai, with other players being Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom (CDMA) and MTNL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
