 "F1 deal helped us re-position in global market: Mehul Kapadia")
Tata Communications, or erstwhile Videsh Sanchaar Nigam Limited (VSNL), signed a deal with Formula 1 management last year to provide real-time race connectivity to around seven million people simultaneously accessing the sports website.
The company is providing a plethora of IT services to the management. The Indian chapter of the race will be held at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida on Sunday.
Tata Communications, where government has around 26% state, claims that the deal with Formula 1 management has helped them to project company better in the global market and improve its overall business.
How much was the deal for and how much profit you have managed to earn from it?
We can’t share the numbers in terms of commercials but this has been an extremely successful partnership for us to be able to provide services to F1. And also to be able to showcase to our other customers, the capability Tata Communications has.
Are you suggesting you have made money from the deal?
This is not about individual deal making profit. This is about how we can demonstrate our capability globally. This is a capability showcase for the Tata Communications in a way which is commercially beneficial. I think, we have managed both the aspects and created a value out of it.
The deal with F1 is seen as an attempt by the company to re-brand itself in the market. Is it true?
It has definitely helped us raise the profile of Tata Communications in certain key markets. In India we have been the market leaders and this deal has helped create us higher profile for other markets such as Europe and America, where we have been growing extremely well.
Was re-positioning the company, led you to go after F1 deal?
Definitely. It was to enhance the position and brand consideration in the market. We are on a right path and are achieving the milestones we have set for ourselves.
The union government has considerable stakes in Tata Communications. Do you seek prior approvals for such big ticket projects?
What needed to be done at board level is being done. It is not the specific deal for which we have to go the government. We have a board of directors and government has commensurate representation on it. The Tata Communications takes care of its responsibilities.
How are you helping Mercedes AMG PETRONAS improve their race performance?
We are helping them to enhance their connectivity three times as compared to what they had earlier. A typical race car has 150 sensors and they generate thousands of inputs. All these generated data have to be available with the technical teams at the race track.
Also the bigger technical teams are at the factories. What we do is to make the data available in real time to the teams at the car factory. This data is analyzed; stimulation models are run and based on that informed decisions are taken. It helps drivers during the practice sessions, qualifiers and races.
Last year you streamed Singapore Grand Prix live to F1 headquarters at the UK, so how is your technology better than the traditional broadcasting?
With satellite you connect from any part of the world. But optical fiber technology provides faster and better services from one particular point to another. On commercial stand point, fiber technology works out better in terms of scalability.
Are you suggesting it is cheaper?
It depends on delivery in terms of number of multiple screens and speed.
Number of screens is limited so why would F1 choose optical technology?
F1 doesn’t go directly to consumer. It creates production package and then it is up to the individual broadcasters as to what they want to do with different markets.
If you look it in India, the race is probably only on Television, it doesn’t get shown on I-Pad or a tablet. But in the countries such as the UK, we can see race on a tablet. Such things are present in some market and absent in others. So it is ensuring different markets have different needs and how can one possibly scale up to individual needs.
Does F1 have a similar plan of selling race content on tablets and smart phones in India?
I don’t think that is the current roadmap. It is up to the Fox sports, which has the rights for India, how they want to look at the Indian audience.
The company is providing a plethora of IT services to the management. The Indian chapter of the race will be held at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida on Sunday.
Tata Communications, where government has around 26% state, claims that the deal with Formula 1 management has helped them to project company better in the global market and improve its overall business.
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The Tata group acquired 45% stake in VSNL in 2002 and the company was renamed as Tata Communications in 2008. Mehul Kapadia, Managing Director, F1 Business, Tata Communications, explains more about their F1 business in a telephonic interview to Sahil Makkar from London. Edited excerpts:
How much was the deal for and how much profit you have managed to earn from it?
We can’t share the numbers in terms of commercials but this has been an extremely successful partnership for us to be able to provide services to F1. And also to be able to showcase to our other customers, the capability Tata Communications has.
Are you suggesting you have made money from the deal?
This is not about individual deal making profit. This is about how we can demonstrate our capability globally. This is a capability showcase for the Tata Communications in a way which is commercially beneficial. I think, we have managed both the aspects and created a value out of it.
The deal with F1 is seen as an attempt by the company to re-brand itself in the market. Is it true?
It has definitely helped us raise the profile of Tata Communications in certain key markets. In India we have been the market leaders and this deal has helped create us higher profile for other markets such as Europe and America, where we have been growing extremely well.
Was re-positioning the company, led you to go after F1 deal?
Definitely. It was to enhance the position and brand consideration in the market. We are on a right path and are achieving the milestones we have set for ourselves.
The union government has considerable stakes in Tata Communications. Do you seek prior approvals for such big ticket projects?
What needed to be done at board level is being done. It is not the specific deal for which we have to go the government. We have a board of directors and government has commensurate representation on it. The Tata Communications takes care of its responsibilities.
How are you helping Mercedes AMG PETRONAS improve their race performance?
We are helping them to enhance their connectivity three times as compared to what they had earlier. A typical race car has 150 sensors and they generate thousands of inputs. All these generated data have to be available with the technical teams at the race track.
Also the bigger technical teams are at the factories. What we do is to make the data available in real time to the teams at the car factory. This data is analyzed; stimulation models are run and based on that informed decisions are taken. It helps drivers during the practice sessions, qualifiers and races.
Last year you streamed Singapore Grand Prix live to F1 headquarters at the UK, so how is your technology better than the traditional broadcasting?
With satellite you connect from any part of the world. But optical fiber technology provides faster and better services from one particular point to another. On commercial stand point, fiber technology works out better in terms of scalability.
Are you suggesting it is cheaper?
It depends on delivery in terms of number of multiple screens and speed.
Number of screens is limited so why would F1 choose optical technology?
F1 doesn’t go directly to consumer. It creates production package and then it is up to the individual broadcasters as to what they want to do with different markets.
If you look it in India, the race is probably only on Television, it doesn’t get shown on I-Pad or a tablet. But in the countries such as the UK, we can see race on a tablet. Such things are present in some market and absent in others. So it is ensuring different markets have different needs and how can one possibly scale up to individual needs.
Does F1 have a similar plan of selling race content on tablets and smart phones in India?
I don’t think that is the current roadmap. It is up to the Fox sports, which has the rights for India, how they want to look at the Indian audience.