No lessons learned since the 2003 Monsoon Hungama debacle, RIL’s romance with Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) has ended with heart (& pocket) burns yet again!
With ~ 11 M users logging off the Jio network, CEO homes (Formerly Teleprudence) prides it self of being spot-on as markets play out exactly as it envisioned since *2016. Not only have the articles been denouncing Telcos’ Bottom-of-the-Pyramid’s (BoP’s) path to profitability as a pipe dream, our particular analysis in 2016 recognized fixed broadband and home entertainment as two black stallions which are now cash cows.
In a surprising turn of events, BSNL seems to be on mission mode reclaiming subscribers to become the only gainer (July ’24) at the cost of Jio, Airtel and Vi, courtesy tariff rationalization by Pvt. Telcos. And its not just the low tariffs, TCS’ Rs. 15000 Cr. recent bet on BSNL , makes it close ranks with pvt. Telcos in terms of Quality of Service (QoS). .. Or jut lets say this is Tata’s back door entry to come back in the Indian telecom arena – a masterstroke !
Be that as it may, its time pvt. Telcos tame down their appetite for destruction and let big daddy (read BSNL) do its bit to serve the country’s economy (if not for profit)
* Ref articles:
- Jio aur Jeene Do (Live and let live) – Sept. 2016
- Indian Telcos’ search for buoyancy in the abyss – July 2017
- War was stupid – Dec ’19
- 5G : Telcos get a $25B reality “check” – May 2024
About the author: Rittesh Seth Not known to take the path of least resistance, Rittesh is a telecom-turned-proptech entrepreneur and CEO of www.CEOhomes.in - A company that helps new age home seekers in their search , setup and management of tech-enabled homes with productivity spaces. He is rated among the top 10 most promising telecom consultants in India as per Consultants Review magazine. He started his Telecom career at a grass-root level with RCom -NIS in 2002 and earned his way to the elite Tata Communications – TIEBU (an erstwhile handpicked special focus group that represented all the Tata companies in the telecom arena to serve marquee corporates). He is also the architect and co-investor of a social enterprise - "Sakshm". He writes for the sheer love of Telecom and real estate. His *contrarian, deep-dive analyses over the past years have been spot-on and stand testimony to his cognitive understanding and vision of the sectors he steps into - a feat he owes to his bottom-up journey and dyslexic abilities. He can be reached at rittesh@teleprudence.com or linkedIn.com/ritteshseth