Published on Sun, Mar 02, 2008 at 22:33 | Source : CNBC-TV18
Updated at Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 15:52
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Virgin group enters India's telecom sector
Sir Richard Branson knows how to steal the show. He safely jumped off a building in Mumbai today. As CNBC-TV18’s Payal Bhattar and Krupali Pandit Yadav report, it's Branson's way of saying - he's making a dive for India's telecom market.
Sir Richard Branson knows how to steal the show. He safely jumped off a building in Mumbai today. As CNBC-TV18's Payal Bhattar and Krupali Pandit Yadav report, it's Branson's way of saying - he's making a dive for India's telecom market.
Instead of launching as a Mobile Virtual Operator, or MVNO that buys bulk airtime off opertaors and resells it under its own brand, all Virgin has been able to do - is to franchise its brand to Tata Teleservices.
Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, said, "It's a toe in the water - an important toe in the water - I am also a man who learns to compromise in life; believe it or not we'll still lobby and one day maybe, we'll still get a breakthrough"- a breakthrough for which Virgin has invested close to USD million.
And what's in store for the customer? Virgin handsets, which cost between Rs 2500-5000 for a prepaid CDMA service; a 10-paise credit for every incoming call and mobile calls to local networks for 50 paise after the first two minutes of calls everyday. All that with Virgin's exclusive tie up Tata Teleservices
Anil Sardana, MD, Tata Teleservices, "We service the customer, we service under the Virgin mobile for the youth category, the youth pays us the bill and there is no such transaction that goes out of our system."
A service through which Tata hopes it will gain five million new customers over the next three years.
