Airtel - Positioning (And Repositioning)

Bharti's massive media expenditure plans were no surprise, considering the fact that it was the largest cellular telecom company in the country - reaching over 600 million people in 16 (out of 29) states of India.

The company posted revenues of Rs 8.48 billion and a net loss of Rs 1 billion in the financial year 2000-01. The Airtel brand (and the pre-paid card service brand, Magic) had top-of-the-mind recall amongst cellular phone users and enjoyed a leadership position in most markets.

Industry observers primarily attributed it to Bharti's strong brand building and positioning strategies.

In the same year, BTL entered into technical collaboration with Siemens AG (Germany) for manufacturing electronic push button telephones. BTL also signed an agreement with Takacom Corporation (Japan) for manufacturing telephone answering machines. Over the years, BTL tied up with leading telephone equipment manufacturers from countries such as South Korea and US.

The group entered the telecommunication (telecom) industry during the early-1990s (Refer Exhibit I and II for a note on the Indian cellular telephony industry). Bharti Tele-Ventures, a part of Bharti group, offered various telecom services such as fixed line, cellular, V-SAT and Internet services.