Telecom market has seen a flurry of competitive tactics being played out by telcos to derive the maximum value out of their subscriber base. The recent tie-up announced by Tata Communications with Tomizone to increase its Wi-Fi presence in country is a step in the same direction.
Tomizone is a renowned international player in servicing Wi-Fi hotspot and metro Wi-Fi zones. The tie-up with Tomizone will help Tata Communications to increase its no. of Wi-Fi hotspots in the country. India currently has just few thousands Wi-Fi hotspots and the Wi-Fi revolution is buried under the pricing structure adopted by Indian Telecom players.
The tie-up looks further interesting in details as it will allow all Tata Indicom broadband subscribers to convert their internet into Wi-Fi hotspots and earn service credits from it. Currently Tata Communications charges subscribers using its Wi-Fi hotspots on the basis of per minutes of usages. The charges varies from Rs.1-5 per min depending on location of Wi-Fi hotspots.
This strategy will allow Tata Communications to lay down thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots in the country without shelling out large amounts on Capex. This will even help it to avoid sharing revenue with partakers which it currently does with Wi-Fi hotspot owners.
Will it usher a Wi-Fi revolution?
Wi-fi in India can find takers but only with correct pricing structures. If you analyze carefully an individual Wi-Fi hotspot has very limited range let’s say limited to a restaurant or hotel. So even if you are a subscriber to a Wi-Fi hotspot service you cannot remain connected all the time.
It’s anyone’s guess why would a subscriber go for the service which charges him on the basis of minutes of usages. He would simply go with a Wireless data card which provides service across the country at cheaper rates.
Tata Communications on its site claims widely that its Wi-fi service could be used effectively with Smartphones like blackberry, iPhone But with lowering of data and BES service charges even mobile users seems less interested in such service. The allocation of Wi-Max license will also play spoilsport for players opting for rapid Wi-Fi hotspots expansion.
