Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin could not have asked for a better gift as he kicked off the integration of Hutchison Essar (HEL) on Friday. Coinciding with the new board’s first meeting, HEL crossed the 30 million subscriber mark, becoming the second GSM operator to do so.
HEL is present only in 16 out of 23 telecom circles unlike market leader Bharti Airtel, which has over 40.7 million subscribers across India.
“We are only the second operator to have done so despite our presence in just 16 circles,†Hutch marketing director Harit Nagpal told ET. Mr Sarin, also the company’s vice-chairman, has congratulated the team for achieving the feat in such a short span of time.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Mr Sarin said he was hopeful that the company would add over 1.5 million subscribers every month. In May, HEL, soon to be renamed Vodafone Essar, recorded a 5.4% growth in subscriber base with the addition of over 1.5 million users.
This took HEL’s total subscriber base to 29.2 million. In the next 15 days, it added over 0.8 million users and at this pace, it could well be on track to cross the 1.5 million addition mark this month again. At May-end, HEL had 22.36% share of the GSM market.
On the other hand, Reliance Communications added 1.4 million subscribers across its GSM as well as CDMA technology platforms in the 23 circles. RCOM now has a little over 30.5 million users. At the rate at which it is adding subscribers, HEL could be neck-to-neck with RCOM by the month-end.
According to market observers, the rapid increase in HEL’s subscriber base can be partly attributed to the change in ownership. “Vodafone is a globally respected brand with a special connect with the youth. Now, with clarity over HEL’s transition into Vodafone’s hands, more people are opting for the brand,†an analyst told ET.
Growing at a scorching pace post-acquisition, HEL replaced long-standing number two player Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) last month. BSNL had been occupying the No. 2 slot since 2003.
HEL also has the second highest ARPU (average revenue per user) in the industry. As per the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) figures, Bharti had an ARPU of Rs 343.17 per month for the quarter ended December 2006, while the figure for HEL was Rs 340.15 per month.