INTRODUCTION

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in

India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third
largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate
of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the
world.
History of Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the
first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta
(seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India
in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal
system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923.
After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication
companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and
Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of
Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic
service and the government considered it best to bring under state's
control.
The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to
flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in
telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department
of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive
provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own
regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly
government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar
Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in
metropolitan areas.
In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general
opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in
many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and
lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process
finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the
private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first
attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian
telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to
facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom
Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched
in the same year.
Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two
segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services.
Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long
distance and international long distance services. The state operators
(BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from
basic services. Private sector services are presently available in
selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent
of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the
business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services, such
as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.
 Cellular services can be further divided into two categories:
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by
Airtel, Vodafone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is
dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international
and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth
drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue
from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on
airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The
reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international
long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.
About Bharti Airtel Limited:
 
Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is
India’s leading integrated telecom services provider with an aggregate
of 62 million customers. Bharti Airtel has been rated among the best
performing Companies in the world in the Business Week IT 100.
Bharti Airtel is Structured into three strategic business units – Mobile
services, Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services and Enterprise
services. The mobile business Provides mobile & fixed wireless
services using GSM technology across 23 Telecom circles. The B&T
business provides broadband & telephone Services in 94 cities. The
Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom Solutions to corporate
customers and national & international long distance Services to
carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
Airtel’s high-speed optic fiber network currently spans over 53,000
kms Covering all the major cities in the country. The company has
two International landing stations in Chennai that connects two
submarine cables Systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE-4 to
Europe.
Vision
By 2010 Airtel will be the most admirable brand in India.
 Loved by more customers
 Targeted by top talent
 Benchmarked by more businesses.

Bharti Airtel crosses the 62 million customer mark

Becomes the fastest private telecom company in the world to
achieve this milestone

Enters into the league of the world’s top telecom companies,

moves towards top 5 global mobile companies Adds last 25 Million
in just 14 months, accelerates towards the 100 million customer mark
Rapidly expands network, to roll out across all census towns and over
5, 00,000 villages – covering over 95% of the population.
Bharti Airtel has achieved the distinction of becoming the fastest
private telecom company in world to achieve this landmark in a single
country within 143 months of start of operations. The 50 million
customer base covers mobile as well as broadband & telephone
customers.
Commenting on this major global landmark, Mr. Akhil Gupta,
Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to
have achieved this major landmark, which puts Bharti Airtel amongst
the top telecom companies in the world. It underlines the strength of
our unique business model and our vision to provide affordable
services like lifetime prepaid to customers across the length and
breadth of the country.  I would like to thank our partners for having
shared our vision. This milestone highlights the emergence of India as
one of the top telecom markets in the world and we are proud to have
been at the forefront of this growth. Going forward, we believe this
growth momentum will remain intact and we are gearing towards the
100 million customers mark.” 
Bharti Airtel crossed the 10 million customer mark in November
2004. In July last year, it crossed the 25 million customer mark. The
company added the next 25 million customers in just 14 months. This
is amongst the fastest rate of customer additions by any telecom
company in the world.
Mr. Manoj Kohli, President & CEO, Bharti Airtel added, “This
is a very proud moment for us and I would like to thank our 50
million customers for believing in Airtel. It is a tribute to our
commitment to provide best-in-class services to our customers and
lead the market with exciting innovations. We are committed to create
a world-class organization and benchmark it with the best in the
world. As the market gets ready for the next wave of growth, we are
committed to expanding our telecom networks wider and deeper
across the country and partner India’s growth story.”
In the mobile business, Bharti Airtel plans to make considerable
investments in Network expansion to establish presence in all census
towns and over 500,000 villages across India by 2010, thereby
covering 95% of the country’s total population. The company’s
strategic focus will be on further strengthening the Airtel brand
through best-in-class customer service, which is backed by wide
national distribution. In the Enterprise business, Bharti Airtel will
invest substantially in the long distance business to achieve the scale
of a global carrier within next 2-3 years. It is also strengthening the
corporate business towards becoming a preferred managed services
partner for the top 2000 corporations. In Broadband & Telephone
SBU, Bharti Airtel will initiate large-scale deployments of broadband
network infrastructure in 94 towns, with a sharp focus on the home
and SME segments. It is readying to offer triple play to its customers
with the launch of its IPTV service. The company is also looking at
commencing national DTH operations by the end of the current fiscal.