Bharti 3G: Second to None?

Even as Indian operators struggle to increase the 3G uptake, a senior executive with the largest operator in the country has tried hard to convince everyone that his company has one of the best 3G services in the world.

"3G experience offered by us is second to none in the world. It is one of the best 3G networks," Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Bharti Airtel Ltd. said at a press conference.

The operators need to defend their networks because of an agonizingly slow uptake. However, it is not just Bharti but other 3G operators like Aircel Ltd., Idea Cellular Ltd. and Vodafone India who are facing slow uptake of 3G services.

"You need to give it some time. The ecosystem for 3G is still developing. We launched 3G less than a year back in April 2011. There is a steady increase of subscribers, and data usage is increasing every month," says Kapoor.

More than a year after the launch of 3G in the country, experts say there are only 7-8 million active 3G subscribers. This is less than the number of new subscribers that sign up to Indian mobile networks each month.

"Telcos have not done anything to spur the market for 3G services. It is an experience issue, and not an ecosystem issue since even people with 3G handsets are not adopting 3G services," says a telecom expert with a prominent firm who requested anonymity.

It's clear from this and from general user experience that it's not just Bharti that's failing to deliver on the promise of 3G. Poor 3G network quality from all of the service providers appears to be one of the chief reasons for the slow uptake of 3G services in India. That's one of the clear messages to be drawn from Ericsson AB recent study in India. Also, promoting 'speed' as a differentiating factor for 3G is ineffective in India. Operators claim 'speed,' but what subscribers get is patchy coverage. (See Poor Network Hampering 3G Growth: Study.)

"Operators need to go back to the drawing board and work from the beginning. They need to work on the handsets and tariffs, among other things. Just putting a network in some pockets and waiting for the market to pick up will not help," says a telecom expert.

That is why, Mr Kapoor, it is hard to believe that we have the best 3G network here in India today. We would be happy to be proven wrong though.

Gagandeep Kaur, Editor, Light Reading India