NINJAS

IIFT
GENMAN
 Airtel has strong presence in the Rural sector with 27% over all share. But in
comparison, the % of rural share of Airtel vis-a vis the Urban sector as compared
to other major two players, it is only 47.85%. Whereas for Vodafone it is 53.53%
and for Idea it is 55.64%. As the tele density for Rural market is still less, its clear
indication for Airtel to strengthen its network and penetration in the Rural market
For Airtel to concentrate in the rural market, it should target the Next wave in the
target age group of 18-30 years, where the internet penetration is 9% but is bound
to rise. (Exhibit 1). This target of rural areas to be carried out in phases where the
First phase to be comprised of states like Goa, Kerela, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim,
Punjab and Andhra Pradesh (these states show the lowest poverty). And then in the next stage,
the other states in the order of lowest poverty
Educating the rural people is very important. Even though it will be a time taking
process and the result will be shown only after few years, but it is important for Airtel
to educate the rural people about the importance of internet and how with the help
of internet the farmers can look out for weather forecast, or about a video on best
practices in farming or in conservation of water. Moreover, such activity can be clubbed with the
CSR activity of the company
Only 96,000 of the 736,000 telecom towers in India are 3G enabled. The major
Indian cities themselves have 150,000 towers between them, indicating the
sparseness of 3G coverage across the count. Presently about 30,000-35,000 towers
have a fiber optic backbone and the rest are connected by microwaves resulting in
inconsistent speeds. As a comparison, 90% of cell phone towers in China have a fiber
optic backhaul in place.
A chain reaction is needed where a family of four or friends of four or any colleagues
of 4 can start using the data in an unlimited way for a fixed price, payable by any
member and can be used by any member. Any consumer does not want any kind of
restrictions on data. Hence, this will allow increased number of users
The main point here is in India, mostly people are using mobile through their mobile
as it is much cheaper than PCs or Laptops (Report by Ericsson). Hence, this is boon
for any network operator. But then it becomes imperative to increase the number of
smart phones and other internet enabled mobiles. For this Airtel must tie up with
major Smart Phone players specially the Low end ones. Sensitization of the customers about the
importance of the internet is must.
Also because of slow speed of internet in particular areas of a city, people specially
the youth tend to be Specially the students who use maximum data flow compared
to another segment, tend to jump from one operator to another. (About 51 percent
of the overall Internet users are in 18 to 24 years of age group, followed by 30
percent users in 25 to 35 years of age group). Hence, Airtel should identify specific zones specially
the college campuses where the infrastructure should be ramped up and a better experience to
be provided
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