Archana Venkat

Chennai, Sept 27

With new mobile subscription schemes being launched every month, telecom operators demonstrate their keenness to get more subscribers. However, there is a marked difference in the schemes launched a few years ago and now. From launching schemes focused on pre-paid subscribers, operators are now launching schemes common to both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.

Reliance Communications recently launched Blackberry, money transfer and ‘mandi’ services that can be accessed by both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. When the company slashed its roaming rates earlier this year, it was applicable to both segments. “We are consciously coming out with schemes involving both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. We do not want to deny any segment any of our offerings,” said a Reliance Communications official. This is so because it is becoming difficult to categorise services based on one’s lifestyle or the handset one owns. Most subscribers owning high-end phones are pre-paid users, said the official.

It is, therefore, difficult to offer bundled services involving games and music to such users. Reliance’s current focus is on turning pre-paid consumers into post-paid ones and to do this it is offering differential rental plans starting at Rs 199 upwards. Even operators who prefer to launch exclusive pre-paid schemes are now launching equal number of post-paid schemes.

Tata Teleservices (TTSL) launched 6-7 schemes each for post-paid and prepaid subscribers over the last year. “We have positioned post-paid services for users who want anything more than voice connectivity,” says Mr Vinayak Deshpande, President, Enterprise and Post-Paid Connections, TTSL. Industry sources say about 80 per cent of Indian mobile subscriber base is pre-paid. At TTSL, the figure is about 70 per cent and the company aims at reducing this to 60 per cent in the next 2-3 years and increasing share of the post-paid segment.

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