Bharti launches basic services in Delhi

Bharti Telenet has launched its basic services in the capital under the brand Touchtel. With a 24x7 customer-care service center, the service is available in many areas of South Delhi with immediate effect. The company has reportedly signed up 700-800 odd customers for its basic service, which can go live any day. The tariff will be the same as the existing rates of MTNL--Rs 1.20 per call with a monthly rental of Rs 250. There would be an initial installation charge of Rs 1000 to the customer and the billing cycle would be monthly.

The company would provide seven-digit numbers starting with 85 and 86. Customers signing up for Touchtel will be given 90 days free Internet access. The company plans to offer a host of value-added services but the different product packages has not been worked out in details yet. The company estimates that it would have a ratio of 40:60 percent of its lines going to the commercial versus the residential areas.

A second scenario is the experience of the company in places like Gurgaon where there has been a pent-up demand for basic service and where the growth of its customer acquisition has been much higher than the market growth. 

On an average, Touchtel estimates to add 100-150 customers each day and sometimes the number goes up to as high as 500-600 per day. By the end of fiscal, company expects to rope in as many as 10,000 customers in Gurgaon. Bharti has installed a GIS-based network which not only informs about the location of each and every customer but would also help pre-empt network fault by analyzing the complaint pattern.

Rohtash Mal, CEO, Delhi circle explained how he plans to wean existing MTNL customers. According to him, there is the possibility of initial reluctance of customers to move over to a new service provider. "What we shall sell them is a promise. And we are confident we can follow it up with superior service. We can provide them with a voice mail service-informing users about the change in number. We aim to make life easier for our customers by taking care of all their requirements, getting bill payments done at the doorstep and superior network quality." 

Touchtel has installed five exclusive showrooms to cater to the needs of customers. This number would be increased to 12 by the end of this year. In addition to this, the company would appoint franchisees to help the company in their customer acquisition drive. The Touchtel team would however handle the corporate clients directly.