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Idea Loses Customers Despite Growth In Revenues
Idea cellular of the Aditya Birla group has recently registered a loss in its customer base in Gujarat according to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) data. The telecom company was a result of a partnership between TATA, Aditya Birla Group and AT&T (popularly known as batata) first started operating in Gujarat and Maharashtra when TATA was handling and dominating the telecom sector in Andhra Pradesh, back in 2000. The customer count for Idea in Gujarat slid to 83,58,540 in July from 86,06,504 in June. This is the biggest that a state experienced in terms of cellular phone customers in the period of a month. The company lost customers earlier too in circles like UP East (82,800 customers), Orissa (43,400), MP (37,500) and Bihar (20,600).
Idea was the first to launch flexible rates and tariff packages for prepaid customers. Idea cellular, after a stellar growth since the time it became a major player, has been experiencing problems in its native areas of operation and government backlash on tax issues.
After Vodafone was given the clean chit on misusing the Mauritius tax treaty, Idea cellular came under the microscope and the decision of the court is still pending on the issue that will have investors and market experts be eyeing closely. The court can ask Idea to pay loss of taxes that it deems right. Indian and foreign companies are known to route their investments through Mauritius and utilizing the India-Mauritius tax treaty to cut their taxes payable.
Idea has not mentioned a reason for the dip in customer count but they have mentioned that despite recent reports, the company has registered growth in revenues and market share in Gujarat. The company recently launched its new 3G dongle with cloud computing. Claimed to be ultra-fast, it has the ‘cloud share’ option to link all the devices that need be attached for a diverse multimedia experience. The company also bagged the Global Telecom Business Innovation award in conjunction with Subex Ltd In the ‘Business Service Innovation’ category. Idea has been facing fire from all direction lately; business and operations.
It needs to set its foothold strong otherwise the native market will slip out of its hand (its already the second biggest cellular giant in Gujarat).
Image Courtesy | technologyking.in
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2012-09-05 05:45:02
Source: http://www.watblog.com/2012/09/05/idea-loses-customers-despite-growth-in-revenues/
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