“Moment of triumph for the Indian consumer”: Ratan Tata; Pay-for-what-you-use, Per-Second Paradigm Comes to India
- From today, subscribers can call anywhere in India for just 1 paisa per second
- Best coverage at time of launch—386 towns & 1,750 villages covered in Haryana
- Country-wide TATA DOCOMO service rollout to be completed this year itself
TATA DOCOMO, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Limited, today announced the commercial launch of its operations in the Haryana, hot on the heels of its launch in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Rest of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh. The company’s Next Gen GSM service started on a heady note, with TTSL Managing Director Anil Sardana making the first call on the TATA DOCOMO Haryana network to Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister of Haryana.
TATA DOCOMO also announced a novel “Pay-for-what-you-use” model, with a pulse of one second, and a pricing of just 1 paisa per second. The company’s pan-India service rollout, which was kicked off in late June when South India and Orissa went ‘live’, will be completed this year itself.
In a message at the launch press conference, Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “The value proposition offered by TATA-DOCOMO is a unique and revolutionary idea which symbolizes the spirit of innovation and inventive genius. This launch is truly a moment of triumph for the consumer. The launch of pay-per-use, per-second concept offered by TATA-DOCOMO will create a paradigm shift in the overall telecom experience for the customer and provide a service that is refreshingly different.”
Introducing the One-Second Pulse—Local. STD. ISD.
TATA DOCOMO also unleashed a wide array of products and services, riding on the back of path-breaking innovative products and services, & never-before tariff options. “We had made a promise that we would bring to the country products and services that would redefine the telecom experience,” Mr Anil Sardana said. “It is a privilege to be fulfilling that promise in the Haryana—where subscribers are discerning and seek transparency, innovation and differentiation. Our partnership with NTT DOCOMO will help us provide our subscribers with tremendous technological and service differentiation. Keeping in view the century of trust associated with the House of Tata, we are launching the concept of fare being fair. From today, TATA DOCOMO subscribers in Haryana will be able to enjoy the benefits of pay-as-you-use,” he added.
NTT DOCOMO is acknowledged as the global leader in 3G technology and respected worldwide for its futuristic product innovations.
Announcing some very aggressive pricing and customization options, Mr Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, said: “In a market that is cluttered with many operators and throws up confusing options, we will offer simplicity to consumers by being the country’s most transparent, innovative and liberating telecom brand. The first move on this front is to cut through the clutter and redefine the entire pricing paradigm—from Day One of our launch, we will work on a per-second pricing model for almost everything, be it voice calls, VAS services, IVR interactions. Above all, we promise to always listen to our subscribers.”
In a video-address, Mr Toshinari Kunieda, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Global Business Division, NTT DOCOMO, said: “NTT DOCOMO has provided technical inputs to make the TATA DOCOMO GSM network world-class. Progressively, NTT DOCOMO shall bring to India the various products and services that we offer in Japan and many other countries—such as i-modeTM, Location-based Services (LBS) and mobile payment—and give TATA DOCOMO customers a flavor of tomorrow. TTSL and NTT DOCOMO are closely engaged in integrating technology, value-added services, products and applications through the mechanism of Business and Technology Cooperation Committee (BTCC). This should see TATA DOCOMO change the way India communicates.”
“We are focusing strongly on network superiority, coverage and service offerings. Our network footprint is the largest among all telecom operators in Haryana, at the time of launch. We have already made large investments in the Circle, and further expansion in this financial year itself is on the anvil,” Mr Aditya Gupta, TATA DOCOMO’s Hub-head for Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, said. “TATA DOCOMO will unveil a portfolio of Value-Added Services that will reinvent mobile telephony in India, with products and services like diet-sms, Free Voicemail, Timed SMS Service, Free Missed Call Alerts, Call-me Tunes, etc—all of them customized to liberate and refresh our subscribers,” he added.
The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.
Superior Technology and Network
From the day of the launch, the reach and coverage of the TATA DOCOMO network is greater in Haryana than that of any other operator at the launch stage. The TATA DOCOMO GSM mobile service will have extensive coverage in 386 towns and cities and 1,750 villages in Haryana, along 1,800 km of the state’s highways, at airports, along 400 km of rail routes and at places of tourist interest. Coverage in the districts of Fatehabad and Sirsa will be provided soon after the receipt of spectrum from the Government of India.
NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at NTT DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks for 3G technology, as also products and services such as i-mode and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most global telecom players are only beginning to talk of 4G technology and its possible applications, NTT DOCOMO has already recorded a downlink transmission rate of 250 Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental system for Super 3G, also known as LTE, and is targeting to complete the commercial development by the end of 2009. This will hold TATA DOCOMO in good stead as it launches GSM services.
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO is the world’s leading mobile operator and provider of advanced mobile services. The company serves over 54 million customers in Japan, including 48 million using i-mode™, the world’s most popular mobile e-mail/Internet platform, and 49 million using FOMA™, the world’s original 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. As a leader in the development of cutting-edge mobile technologies, DOCOMO is continually expanding the role of mobile phones as versatile and highly personalized "lifestyle tools" for everyday life, including with a wide range of innovative services for mobile payments, GPS, mobile TV, multimedia content and much more. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com.
FOMA and i-mode are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in Japan and other countries.
About TATA DOCOMO
TATA DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limited’s telecom service on the GSM platform—arising out of the Tata Group’s strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices Limited has received a license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 telecom Circles and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 of these Circles. It has rolled out its GSM services in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orrisa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, while Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited has launched GSM services under the TATA DOCOMO brand in the Mumbai and Rest of Maharashtra Circles. TATA DOCOMO marks a significant milestone in the Indian telecom landscape, as it stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world’s leading mobile operators—in the Japanese market, the company is the clear market leader, used by over 50 per cent of the country’s mobile phone users. DOCOMO, the world’s leading mobile operator, will work closely with the Tata Teleservices Limited management and provide know-how to help the company develop its GSM business.
