Bharti Airtel - Business Model
Bharti Airtel: Business Model
About Bharti Airtel:
Bharti Airtel is the largest wireless service provider in the country, based on the number of customers as of March 31, 2010. After Zain acquisition, it has become one of the five largest mobile operators in the world. The combined entity has 180 million customers, $12.4 billion in combined revenues, and $4.7 billion in EBIDTA. Along with India, It has presence in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and 15 African countries now.
Bharti Airtel offers an integrated suite of telecom solutions to enterprise customers, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both nationally and internationally. It also offers DTH, IPTV Services and broadband services. All these services are rendered under a unified brand “Airtel”.
Innovative Business Model:
Bharti Airtel is globally well known as the telecom operator who radically changed the business model in Telecom sector. In 2003, it implemented the unique business model by outsourcing not only Information Technology services but also entire network operations to more capable players and made them strategic partners in own business.
Scenario and drivers for innovation:
Telecom is capital intensive, competitive and highly regulated industry. Players with deep pockets only can exist in this sector. On the other hand, the Indian market is very large in size but with very limited ability to spend. Indian consumers need to be serviced with very affordable prices which are considerably lower than global prices. It was very difficult for Bharti Airtel to realize viable business in such scenario with existing business models.
In the year 2002, the stormy entry of big player like Reliance Infocomm with newer technology CDMA (as against GSM used by Airtel) was threatening Bharti Airtel, who was yet to register quarterly profits.
Strategy:
In order to confront bigger players, and as a matter of survival, Bharti Airtel decided to go for the market share. It was very important to
About Bharti Airtel:
Bharti Airtel is the largest wireless service provider in the country, based on the number of customers as of March 31, 2010. After Zain acquisition, it has become one of the five largest mobile operators in the world. The combined entity has 180 million customers, $12.4 billion in combined revenues, and $4.7 billion in EBIDTA. Along with India, It has presence in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and 15 African countries now.
Bharti Airtel offers an integrated suite of telecom solutions to enterprise customers, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both nationally and internationally. It also offers DTH, IPTV Services and broadband services. All these services are rendered under a unified brand “Airtel”.
Innovative Business Model:
Bharti Airtel is globally well known as the telecom operator who radically changed the business model in Telecom sector. In 2003, it implemented the unique business model by outsourcing not only Information Technology services but also entire network operations to more capable players and made them strategic partners in own business.
Scenario and drivers for innovation:
Telecom is capital intensive, competitive and highly regulated industry. Players with deep pockets only can exist in this sector. On the other hand, the Indian market is very large in size but with very limited ability to spend. Indian consumers need to be serviced with very affordable prices which are considerably lower than global prices. It was very difficult for Bharti Airtel to realize viable business in such scenario with existing business models.
In the year 2002, the stormy entry of big player like Reliance Infocomm with newer technology CDMA (as against GSM used by Airtel) was threatening Bharti Airtel, who was yet to register quarterly profits.
Strategy:
In order to confront bigger players, and as a matter of survival, Bharti Airtel decided to go for the market share. It was very important to