New brand, T24, to tap the loyal customer base of the Kishore Biyani firm.
Telecom service provider Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) today entered into a franchisee agreement with retail giant Future Group to offer GSM mobile telephony services under a new brand T24.
TTSL will launch GSM operations under the new brand shortly, starting with South India, and would have a pan-India presence this year itself. However, the details of the tariff plan are yet to be worked out.
“This is a franchise model. Under the partnership, Future Group will sell TTSL GSM connections under the brand name T24 to customers in its retail outlets,” TTSL Managing Director Anil Sardana said.
For TTSL, this is the second franchisee deal, as it has a similar agreement with Virgin Group, wherein it offers mobile services under Virgin brand targeting the youth.
TTSL, which offers GSM services in 15 telecom circles in the country under the brand DoCoMo, is exploring the concept of retailer-telco partnership with T24 launch. By partnering with Future Group, TTSL hopes to grow its customer base.
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“This is a unique marketing alliance between retailer and telecom operator. The service is only available to Future Group consumers. The starter-kit for T24 will be available from Future Group stores,” Sardana said.
With a tagline of ‘Shop more, talk more and Talk more Shop More’, the mobile GSM service will work like a loyalty programme, wherein a customer of Future Group will get some talk time when he shops at Future Group and vice versa.
“Customers will get shopping benefits for talking, and talk-time benefits each time they shop,” Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said.
TTSL has added about three million customers last month, taking its total subscriber base to 60 million by January-end. This would push the company to the fifth from its current sixth position in the mobile market.
Supporting Trai’s move to kickstart the process for 4G mobile telephony, Sardana said it would help India to come out with high-end services in line with the advanced countries.
“About 23 operators will be launching 4G by 2010. The 3G was launched in 2001 and we are already nine years behind. It should not happen in 4G,” he said. Sardana supported the auctioning of 3G spectrum at an appropriate time.