Bangalore, October 1, 2007: Setting a new record in the telecom sector, Tata Indicom, India's youngest and fastest-growing pan-India wireless mobile telecom service provider, announced that it has crossed the 20-million-subscriber mark, making it the only service provider to achieve this record in the shortest period of time-just four years.
Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) continues to register the highest Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) at 112%, and this runaway growth seen the company achieve a year-on-year increase of 86% in its total subscriber base-a record in the Indian telecom industry. A recent TRAI report also recognized Tata Indicom as the fastest-growing service provider, with an increase in market share from 3.5% in March 2004 to 9.7% in March 2007. This is against a backdrop of declining market share registered by all other telecom service providers in the same period.
Commenting on the landmark achievement, Mr Ashok Sud, President-Corporate Affairs, said, "Tata Indicom began pan-India operations in an already established and fiercely competitive market only in 2004. Despite many initial constraints, Tata Indicom continued to surpass industry growth rates and has consistently introduced path-breaking offerings. Today, the brand symbolizes trust and transparency to the Indian consumer. This remarkable achievement bears testimony to the never-failing spirit of all TTSL employees, management, our channel partners and customers. This is a remarkable milestone, considering that it has taken many of the other telecom players over 10 years to reach the 20-million subscriber mark."
Among the many unique initiatives kicked off by Tata Indicom was to redefine the prepaid mobile market in India with the "Non-Stop Mobile" and 'Don't Stop' mobile schemes. TTSL was the first to introduce its own range of branded handsets and today offers the widest range of high-end and full-value handsets. The company also has to its credit the introduction of several attractive bundled offers and innovative tariff plans, well ahead of the rest of the industry. This is of significance, considering that GSM operators are now emulating the trend that was set by CDMA players.
Other key initiatives which contributed to this fast pace growth include the introduction of a wide range of handsets targeted at a variegated cross-section of customers, extensive expansion in touch points through an enhanced retail presence, and the launch of a new brand campaign highlighting the many strengths of TTSL's next-generation and robust network.