The Hindu : Business : Airtel pips BSNL in Jammu and Kashmir

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Friday, Dec 28, 2007
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Airtel pips BSNL in Jammu and Kashmir

Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR: Registering a customer base of eight lakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharti Airtel is the lead player in the State, ahead of BSNL. Aircel is third in the line but is improving with its new schemes and BSNL believes that it is a temporary setback.

Celebrating the achievement, Airtel has introduced Super Life Time Validity (SLTV) recharge at Rs. 499, less than half the standard price of Rs. 999. “The milestone of eight-lakh customers in a short span of three years clearly reflects the conviction of people of the State in the services being provided by Airtel,” said Bharti’s Chief Operating Officer, Vishal Sehgal.

Mr. Sehgal said the network was operating with 1,100 cell sites and hoped to scale it up to 1,300 cell sites by the end of the current financial year.

With the huge customer base, Airtel accounted for 44.34 per cent of the State’s 1.8 million telecom market. BSNL enjoys 43.32 per cent while Aircel has 10.77 per cent share.

Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as the third best market for Airtel after Delhi and Mumbai and Kashmir valley contributes a major share to this.

Though the BSNL authorities are worried about the emerging growth of its main competitor, they maintain that it is a temporary phase. “We have stopped sales for sometime but we are reviving and will be back in our position” said a senior BSNL official.

Likewise, Aircel is confident of having its pie in the market. “We are not that old but our share is also rapidly improving,” Vaibhav Kohli, head of marketing, Aircel, Jammu & Kashmir, told The Hindu. The coming months are likely to witness intense competition between telecom players with Kashmiris becoming more tech savvy.

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