Tata’s are looking agressive now. With the change of guard, Ratan Tata has arrived at the scene. It may be noted that he was at the helm of the affairs when they launched Tata Indica. In my personal opinion, it was a generational shift towards car manufacturing- Tata’s have long been associated with those gas guzzling polluting trucks on Indian roads. In retrospect, they were not known for refinements in the engine or the product.
Restricting ourselves to Tata’s telecom venture,Tata’s have recently gone on an advertisng binge. It is advertising it’s Walky as a landline- ask BSNL and it insists that it is a mobile- thus attracting a hgher ADC component. The matter is subjudice and in the Supreme Court. Tata’a had appealed the TDSAT order- taking the matter to the Supreme Court.
The matter doesn’t end here. Tata’s are facing a huge congestion in their networks. This was recently borne out by the recent TRAI surveys. In addition to that, since the Walky matter is subjudice, I fail to understand the recent efforts to ramp up numbers. In case, the company loses the case in the Supreme Court, that would lead to increase in the prices for the customers on account of increased out go of the Access Deficit Charge payable to BSNL. In any case, they are holding up the customers with the lolly of free internetwork calls. Plus of course, advertising full talk time after deduction of the taxes.
There was another controversy about Tata’s and the Cellular Association. Their representative claimed that the recent offer of free incoming for the next two years would distort the number of subscribers and affect the final computation of the figures. This, he claimed, was in direct violation of the Department of Telecom regualtions.
Well, the fact is that the exact number is a BIG mystery. These cellular operators have theur own inhouse measures to calculate the subscribers. There is no independent valuation of the subscribers. On what basis can the repesentative claim the violation of the accepted norms? I believe that these companies routinely inflate the numbers to ensure the adequate stock market valuation- or in case of those companies who haven’t entered with their IPO’s, to brighten their prospects. It also helps to increase their value to those who wish to have a controlling stake and if they want to sell out on a later date. Obviously, it is very confusing to keep a track of the absolute numbers.
If the media reports are believed to be true, Tata may be willing to offer a stake in their telecom venture to a Russian company. It is too premature to assume as to how much they would offload. However, the recent notification of 74% FDI has to be seen in that light. Tata’s would surely want to be a suitable bride to be able to court eligible suitors.
This content is published under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Related posts:
- Tata’s woes Tata was in the news for two reasons. First was ost likely a “paid media exposure” where the higher ups...
- Advertising Trends in Indian Telecom Advertising Trends in Indian Telecom The way telecom firms advertise, gives an approximate idea about the telecom trends. I would...
- Airtel and Sunil Bharti Mittal – Untold Story Airtel and Sunil Bharti Mittal – Untold Story Sunil Bharti Mittal must be a happy man by now. Hailing from...
- Latest Updates on Indian Telecom Happenings Latest Updates on Indian Telecom Happenings A lot has happened in the past few days and deserves its updates. With...
- Talking about idiocies in the Indian Telecom scene Talking about idiocies in the Indian Telecom scene There have been idiocies enough in the Indian Telecom scene. I came...
- TRAI wakes up to pass rules on Broadband and Telephony TRAI wakes up to pass rules on Broadband and Telephony TRAI seems to have discovered its powers all of a...
- RIL, Tatas caused Rs 184 cr loss: CAG In what is seen as a damning indictment by Comptroller and Auditor General India( CAG), there have been reports about...
- Indian Telecom is a Farce Indian Telecom is a Farce The old adage of the business rule is that it takes ten times more cost...
- Smaller Telecom Operators in India Smaller Telecom Operators in India In the complex telecom muddle, there are a few independent operators that have stood the...
- More Mess in Indian Telecom More Mess in Indian Telecom The recent cabinet decision for the hike in the FDI needs to be put in...
