Customers will force Airtel, Vodafone, Jio into battle for market share

In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recently, Reliance Jio Infocomm accused Bharti Airtel of introducing discriminatory tariff plans in the marketplace and using misleading advertisements to promote its services. To many, it was nothing but round two of a bruising telecom battle that began when Reliance Jio entered the market nine months ago doing much the same that it now accuses competitors of doing: Undercutting rivals and offering freebies to consumers.

While Jio had a free run till March this year notching up over 100 million subscribers in the process, experts say that sanity in terms of pricing and promotions will eventually prevail. But for the moment, the price and discount focused Indian customer is forcing brands into one of the biggest battles for market share.

“There will likely be a spike in consumers switching across all mobile carriers. As a result, they (mobile carriers or telecom operators) will be making quick reactive decisions based on the competitive scenario,” Paul Moore, director, global, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, part of the WPP Group, said. “Mobile carriers will place more emphasis on products and services to add value and lock in users,” he says.

GraphKantar Worldpanel ComTech is the largest continuous consumer research mobile phone tracking panel in the world and India is the nineteenth addition to the list of markets tracked, indicating its importance, Moore says. Most telecom majors are already beginning to indulge in reactive decisions, offering tariff plans based on lifestyle, usage, occupation, gender and age. The spending pattern of subscribers has come sharply into focus, he says, as most players determine which plan will suit the consumer’s need.

There is a reason why telcos in India are doing this, he says. Average monthly spend on mobile services is lowest in India vis-a-vis the Comtech panel’s other markets, which includes the US, UK, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, China and Japan.

Moore says India’s average monthly spend stands at merely $2.5 or Rs 161 based on the current exchange rate ($1 = Rs 64.55). Compare this with China’s average monthly spend and it stands at $8.7 or Rs 562, Brazil’s $7.6 or Rs 491 and Mexico’s $10.7 or Rs 691.
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