Bharti Televentures is the fixed line operator business of Airtel. In the recent branding exercise, all the services have been offered under the Airtel brand. Data is the next driver for growth. This is clear to the operators who have belatedly realized the implications for having a pie in all the segments of telecommunications. Hence Bharti ventured in the broadband market.
However, the main contention in the broadband market is the price offering which includes the bandwidth costs as well as the cost of laying down the copper wire. Typically, in the mentality of the profit making exercise, Airtel has so far focused only in those areas where it perceives that a huge market is present. However, I still hold that their thrust should be in smaller towns and cities where BSNL would ultimately usurp their potential customer base. It seems that their fancily paid MBAs haven’t really understood the success of BSNL who focused on the B and C cl@$$ cities where it has drawn unparalleled support despite the lousy customer experiences. This is because of the absence of any other operator.
The current offerings by Airtel does not really enthuse a potential customer who is looking at sustained data transfer. It is the cl@$$ic case of having something better than nothing. I fail to understand the voice pulses being bundled with the internet access. What if one doesn’t want that? Why is that we have to pay for the same? Its one thing to have multiple tariffs to offer people with different usage patterns. However, these tariffs on the website seek to confuse more than a guide for signing up. Do the big bosses think that people use broadband to check emails?
More: Some thoughts about Airtel Broadband
However, the main contention in the broadband market is the price offering which includes the bandwidth costs as well as the cost of laying down the copper wire. Typically, in the mentality of the profit making exercise, Airtel has so far focused only in those areas where it perceives that a huge market is present. However, I still hold that their thrust should be in smaller towns and cities where BSNL would ultimately usurp their potential customer base. It seems that their fancily paid MBAs haven’t really understood the success of BSNL who focused on the B and C cl@$$ cities where it has drawn unparalleled support despite the lousy customer experiences. This is because of the absence of any other operator.
The current offerings by Airtel does not really enthuse a potential customer who is looking at sustained data transfer. It is the cl@$$ic case of having something better than nothing. I fail to understand the voice pulses being bundled with the internet access. What if one doesn’t want that? Why is that we have to pay for the same? Its one thing to have multiple tariffs to offer people with different usage patterns. However, these tariffs on the website seek to confuse more than a guide for signing up. Do the big bosses think that people use broadband to check emails?
More: Some thoughts about Airtel Broadband