Can’t buy a PC? Tatas have plans for you

TELESERVICES TATA TARGETING THE MIDDLE CLASS — THE TYPE THAT MAY NEED NET BUT WOULDN’T LIKE TO SPEND ON A PC

SURE you need to browse the Net for information. But you’re not buying a PC for that? You’ll make do with the cyber cafe facilities close by, you say? That’s just the kind of talk Tata Teleservices would love to hear, and it’s you that they’re eyeing as their next customer. After having grown their subscriber base to 16 million with a yearon year growth rate of 100% in the last two years, thanks to a focus on first-time users, Tata Teleservices is now looking at the middle class at large — the type that may need internet facilities but wouldn’t like to spend money on a PC. “It would be great if we could double figures this year too, but we’re looking at 10 million more this year,” says Darryl Green, CEO, Tata Teleservices. Speaking about the company’s latest strategies to grow the market beyond first-time users, Mr Green said, “Think of a couple teaching in school with a child who goes to high school. They’re educated, but not rich — and they would certainly want Net access to help the child in his education.” The average age of these children would be 10 to 12 years. “It’s going to take internet computing mobile — they won’t have to worry about how to get online,” Mr Green. Tata Teleservices’ target user for this is both the users of mobile GSM handsets as well as those who will be buying a cell phone for the first time. Partnering with Tata Teleservices in this area, are various cell phone manufacturers, including Samsung, LG and Motorola which are slated to bring out handsets with bigger colour screens and in-built software to make web-browsing easier. There are also a host of Chinese manufacturers that have helped in promoting Tata Indicomm’s CDMAbased services with low-priced handsets — they are the ones who will help bring the prices of the internet handsets down to attractive levels. “We’ll have one more maverick strategy this time and you can be sure we will take the market by storm this time round too,” Mr Green says. Tata Indicomm’s last ‘maverick’ plan was to announce two-year validity for one’s phone even if one didn’t recharge — that meant one could keep receiving incoming calls. “That added 1 million to our customer base right away, round October-November 2005,” Mr Green recalls. So once again, Mr Green gives the feeling that there could be a price bloodbath, even if he won’t breathe a word about the pricing.

Courtesy: EconomicTiimes

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