Reliance Jio, we all have been hearing a lot about this company for the past few years. Reliance Jio is a well-structured company whose business model is considered ‘the sweetest data bait.’
Jio has proven itself the icon of international tech and private capital investors. According to estimated data, Jio has raised Rs. 67,194.75 crore from the forthcoming technology investors including Silver Lake, General Atlantic, Facebook, and Vista Equity.
With the vibrant interest of the foreign investors in the Indian market have signed several deals for Reliance Jio. When it comes to the business model of Jio, the company has opted for very cleverish strategies which have resulted in remarkable profits for the company.
Reliance Jio holds a very strong position in the market with an immense customer base. Through this article, we will be discussing the business model of Reliance Jio briefly along with its tremendous marketing strategies. Let’s begin!
Jio is officially termed as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited which functions as the Indian telecommunications company. Jio was founded by Mukesh Ambani in 2007 as the subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
Reliance Jio, which functions as a subsidiary of Jio platforms and telecommunications services providers has its well-established headquarter in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Alongside the company operates all 22 telecom circles through the National LTE network. Through this, Jio provides the voice service on its 4G network, that too only from the LTE network.
Today, Jio is known as the largest mobile network operator across India and the third-largest in the world. The company has over 42.62 crore subscribers. Recently in 2019, Jio launched its service of fiber to the home, where it offers television, telephone, and home broadband services. As of 2020, Reliance Jio raised its funds by selling around 33% equity stake in Jio Partner, worth Rs. 1.65 lakh crore that is, US$23 billion.
Jio Business Model and the success story
Key Product and Services of Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio Services
Reliance Jio offers tons of amazing services through its fiber-to-the-home services. Its key services include telephone services, television, and home broadband services.
While its key products are Mobile Phones, top-notch internet speed and services, fixed-line telephone, OTT services, and Wireless broadband.
Target Audience of Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio majorly concentrates on the audience who are smartphone users. It provides the service of high-speed internet and great android mobile services. Jio targets the urban and two-tier middle and upper-class people. Jio works towards transforming India into a digital nation.
Jio, being the highest in the market strategizes its business model in a very significant and unique way. It has opted for the formula of ‘Unique Selling Point.’ This basically means Jio offering such unique and advantageous services to their customers that can not be resisted. This can be elaborate as when Jio launched the unlimited offer with a 4G server, people of India weren’t encountered 4G at all. And with such a unique offer, how can someone turn it down? And that’s what benefits the company of Reliance Jio.
Jio offers a broad range of customer-based features and services like high-speed Internet, free voice calls, unlimited texting, and many other. All these are developed to charge money from the customers. Its tariff plans are exclusively built to catch consumers’ eyes.
Jio has offered some very exclusive services to its customers with a fully served 4G network. Jio was the first to bring on the popularity and use of 4G network while other telecom companies were still working with 3G networks. And with this significant approach, Jio builds the biggest loyal customers base. People wanted more things in less price, Jio took the opportunity and provided them that. This unique strategy is what brought Jio where it is now!
What is unique about the business model of Reliance Jio?
Jio has opted for the most powerful and promising business strategies, which has surely brought great benefits and profit to it. Its business model is very simple, yet unique. The most unique thing about Jio is it offers free voice calls to its customers. According to statistics, only 10-15% of the Jio 4G network is used for calling while the other 85-90% is used for data. And when you have this amount of popularity and usage, paying a little price is always worth it. That’s what Jio does!
In this way, it attracts more and more customers to its services and creates a significant marketing buzz with free offerings. In all manner, it’s beneficial for the company.
How does Reliance Jio make money?
Reliance Jio generates its money from two major options- Charging extra per unit and selling more units. And as compared to other telecom companies, Jio sells way more of its units to generate more money.
For those who refer to Jio as a cheap telecom service provider, they are talking about its per-unit cost. But apart from this, the company charges its customers INR 154 for ARPU. And this amount is higher than any other telecom operator company.
So, the Jio customers are actually paying more for the cheap products. Jio does not provide the facility of paying just INR 10 per month as compared to other telecom companies. Jio majorly focuses on generating more money through all its plans.
With its incredible marketing strategy of generating money through Jio tariff plans that come in 4G network brings great profit for the company. Jio follows different pricing options and makes enormous customer deals.
They offer various applications, devices, and fiber services to multiply their revenue. This helps Jio to win numerous business verticals. And with such marketing strategies and development, Jio’s market value and position are unbeatable.
FAQs
What is the revenue of Reliance?
Reliance has a revenue of 7.27 lakh crores INR (US$100 billion, 2021).
Since its entry into India in 2007, Vodafone has established itself as a trusted mobile service provider in the country. After the launch of Reliance Jio, the company is facing tough competition in India, and some are even speculating the shut down of the company in India. Besides India, Vodafone has its operations in over 30 countries worldwide, and despite its ups and downs, Vodafone has managed to hold a significant share of the telecommunications market in many countries across the world. Vodafone is yet another example of a business that started small and went on to make a mark worldwide. Here is how Vodafone started and rose to become a leading player in the global telecommunication sector.
Racal Strategic Radio Ltd, a component of Racal Electronics, Britain’s biggest manufacturer of military radio equipment, launched a joint enterprise with American telecommunications company Millicom in 1981, which evolved into the modern Vodafone.
Today Vodafone provides a wide range of products and services for consumers, businesses, and Governments. Besides mobile services, Vodafone offers fixed broadband and television services, cloud and hosting, internet protocol-virtual private network services, roaming, and unified communications services.
Vodafone’s M-Pesa is a mobile financial and mobile payment service that allows customers to access their bank accounts to receive or send money, purchase stuff, make bill-payments, save funds, and get simple loans; and Vodafone One Net is a converged fixed and mobile communications service for big multinational companies as well as small and medium enterprises.
Vodafone also provides machine-to-machine services, as well as tablets, smartphones, and telematics commodities/services. It has roughly 16,000 retail locations, distributors, and third-party merchants selling its products.
Vodafone – Latest News
Vodafone’s first-quarter revenue for FY2021-22 increased by 1.4 percent in Germany which is its biggest market. In the UK, as international travel reopened, the telecoms behemoth benefited from visitors to the UK utilizing its network. A marginal increase in Vodafone’s revenue also came as it levied roaming fees as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Overall, the Vodafone group made revenue worth $51.169B in FY 2020-21 which is 2.32% more than in FY 2019-2020 revenue.
Since the pandemic, Vodafone has experienced a resurgence in mobile phone sales, with greater customer loyalty across Europe, according to the company.
Vodafone – Industry
Companies in the telecommunications sector make communication possible on a worldwide scale, whether it’s through the internet or phone, over waves or wires, or digitally. These businesses built the infrastructure that allows data to be transferred anywhere in the globe in the form of text, speech, audio, or video. Telephone (both landline and wireless) operators, satellite companies, cable companies, and Internet service providers are the main corporations in the industry.
Telecommunications has grown in importance as a fundamental business, which speaks well for its prospects for the future and expansion. Continuous advancements in high-speed mobile networks and Network connectivity across devices continue to fuel industry invention and rivalry. Most of the industry’s attention is focused on delivering quicker data solutions, particularly in the field of high-resolution video. The driving causes are essentially faster and crisper services, improved connection, and multi-app utilization.
Vodafone is an acronym for VOice DAta FONE (a dramatic spelling of “phone”), which was selected by the firm to “represent the availability of telecommunication services through mobiles.”
Saatchi & Saatchi, a well-known worldwide advertising business, created the Vodafone logo in 1997. Conversation and voice communication is represented by the apostrophe in the logo. It brilliantly delivers a classic telecom brand that conveys its intended message in an aesthetically attractive manner.
Vodafone’s tagline says, “Together We Can.”
Vodafone – CEO and Founders
Vodafone was founded by Ernest Harrison and Gerry Whent in 1985.
Ernest Harrison
Sir Ernest Thomas Harrison OBE (11 May 1926 – 16 February 2009) was a British entrepreneur who was best known for being the first chairman of Racal’s spin-off mobile phone section, Vodafone.
Gerry Whent
Sir Gerald Arthur “Gerry” Whent CBE was the founder and first CEO of Vodafone. He was born on March 1, 1927, in Ferozepore, India, and died on May 16, 2002, in Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire.
Nick Read
Nicholas Jonathan Read aka Nick Read is the current CEO of Vodafone group. Born in 1964, Nick is a Certified Management Accountant. Prior to joining the Vodafone group, Nick worked for United Business Media Plc and Federal Express Worldwide. At Federal Express Worldwide, Nick worked as the Chief Finacial Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and the Africa region.
Nick joined Vodafone UK as the finance director in the year 2001 and became the CEO of the Vodafone group in 2018.
Ravinder Takkar
In India, Ravinder Takkar is the MD & CEO of Vodafone-Idea. He was the Ex- CEO of Vodafone Romania.
Vodafone – Startup Story
Based in Newbury in the United Kingdom, Vodafone has been offering its services since 1985. Vodafone’s story dates back to 1981. British Electronics company Racal Electronics and American company Millicom Inc joined hands to bid jointly for UK’s second cellular radio license. The joint venture between the two companies was named Racal-Millicom Ltd. In December 1982, Racal-Millicom Ltd. was successful in earning the second Mobile phone network license of the UK.
The Network was named Vodafone as the network lets its users transfer voice and data over the mobile phones. Racal-Vodafone (Holdings) Ltd became the holding company of Vodafone replacing Racal-Millicom Ltd. Racal held the majority shares in Racal-Vodafone (Holdings) Ltd. Meanwhile, Racal’s radio division earlier called Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunication group limited.
In December 1986, Racal Electronics bought the entire shares of Vodafone from the minority shareholders, and thus Racal became the sole owner of the Vodafone brand.
In September 1988, Racal Telecommunication group limited was renamed Racal Telecom. In October 1988, when Racal Telecom went public, it came out that Racal Telecom was valued much more than its parent company Racal Electronics. This led to the de-merger of Racal Telecom from Racal Electronics, and Racal Telecom was renamed again as the Vodafone Group. Gerry Whent became the first CEO of Vodafone Group.
Vodafone – Mission and Vision
Vodafone’s mission statement says, “To connect for a better future and our expertise and scale gives us a unique opportunity to drive positive change for society.”
Vodafone’s vision is, “To be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world and to enrich our customer’s lives through the unique power of mobile communication.”
Vodafone – India
Vodafone India (previously Vodafone Essar Ltd, Huchison Essar Ltd) is the Indian subsidiary of the UK-based Vodafone Group plc and a telecommunications service provider in India, having its operating headquarters in Mumbai. Vodafone India has a market share of 21% as of March 2018, and after merging with Idea, the Vodafone Idea network now has around 375 million members, making it India’s third-biggest cellular mobile provider.
The advent of Jio in the Indian telecom business in 2016 prompted a flurry of mergers and corporate restructuring. In March 2017, it was reported that Idea Cellular and Vodafone India will be consolidated. In July 2018, the Department of Telecommunications approved the merger. The Vodafone-Idea merger received final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal on August 30, 2018. On August 31, 2018, the merger was finalized, and the newly formed company was named Vodafone Idea Limited.
As per September 2021 data, Vodafone Idea Limited is the third-largest mobile communication network in India on the basis of the number of subscribers. The Vodafone Group owns 45.2 percent of the merged firm, the Aditya Birla Group owns 26 percent, and the remaining shares are held by the general public.
Vodafone is well known as a mobile service provider, but there are many more categories that Vodafone has entered into. Vodafone offers broadband and wifi services. Another popular service is Vodafone TV. Vodafone TV has been designed to offer an all-round entertainment option to the viewers. On Vodafone TV, viewers can access live TV, Video on Demand and can also access platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Vodafone TV comes with attractive features like Ultra HD picture quality, intelligent voice search and smart replay of games, etc.
Vodafone released Vodafone 360, a new internet provider for mobile, PC, and Mac, in October 2009. After low hardware sales, this was canceled in December 2011. This followed the resignation of the Director of Internet Services in September 2010, who tweeted, “5 days until I leave Vodafone, freedom beckons.” Vodafone launched, Vodafone 150, which is the world’s cheapest mobile phone, in February 2010. Vodafone intended to sell ‘Vodafone 150’ for less than $15 (£10) in underdeveloped countries. It began in India, Turkey, and eight African countries, including Lesotho, Kenya, and Ghana.
Some other services offered by Vodafone are –
Payment through mobile phone – Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest mobile communication operator and a Vodafone joint venture, released Vodafone-developed digital payments software in March 2007. M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money transfer service, had 1.6 million users by February 2008. By 2011, there were fourteen million M-Pesa accounts, with 40% of the country’s savings saved in them. Vodafone launched a global collaboration with Visa in February 2012.
Health Services – Vodafone launched a newly developing market sector in November 2009 (the application of mobile communications and network technologies to healthcare). Several of its early accomplishments is the Novartis-led “SMS for Life” project in Tanzania, for which Vodafone designed and developed a message-based system that allows all of Tanzania’s 4,600 public healthcare facilities to report their levels of anti-malarial medications so that accurate inventory data can be seen centrally in legitimately, allowing for quick and efficient re-supply of stock.
Vodafone Foundation – With the tagline “Connecting for Good,” the Vodafone Foundation is a well-known charity that supports and initiates programs that employ mobile technology as a means to assist the needy. They frequently collaborate with other philanthropic organizations.
Vodafone – Business Model and Revenue Model
Various economic variables have an influence on the industry’s enterprises, including high infrastructure costs, price wars in various market forces, and enmeshed mobile telephony sector, and government restrictions. Government laws, such as the recent Vodafone-Hutch transaction, which the Indian government sanctioned for tax evasion. Vodafone uses a mix of segmentation tactics to divide its mobile network services, enterprise services, and internet services. It makes use of geographic, demographic, and psychographic segmentation.
Coming to Vodafone’s revenue model, a huge chunk of Vodafone’s revenue comes from selling mobile data, voice, financial services, and messaging services to individual and enterprise customers. Vodafone also makes money by offering various other services like cloud and hosting, cyber security solutions, remote working solutions, IoT related services and more to the enterprise customers. As per 2019- 20 reports, the company is aiming to diversify its revenue streams further in segments like financial services, IoT, digital services and enterprise.
As per some reports, Vodafone’s mobile networks, which allow consumers to call, text, and download files, account for about 70% of its revenues and even more of its earnings. Fixed-line services, which include internet, TV, and voice, make for the majority of the remaining revenue.
Vodafone – Investments
Vodafone has made 25 investments in total. Below are some of the recent investments made by Vodafone.
Date
Organization Name
Round
Amount
Apr 7, 2021
AST SpaceMobile
Post-IPO-Equity
$230M
Jan 20, 2021
FifthIngenium
Convertible Note
€470K
Mar 3, 2020
AST SpaceMobile
Series B
$110M
Aug 1, 2016
DAZL
Seed Round
$10.5K
Jun 30, 2016
Fight The Stroke
Seed Round
–
Jul 27, 2015
Cognia
Venture Round
–
Jun 22, 2015
LINKX
Seed Round
€30K
Jun 22, 2015
Mentelity
Grant
€30K
Jun 22, 2015
Jobtease
Seed Round
€30K
Jun 22, 2015
Puffer
Seed Round
€30K
Vodafone – Acquisitions
Vodafone has acquired 32 organizations. Some recent acquisitions made by Vodafone are –
Acquiree Name
About Acquiree
Date
Amount
GrandCentrix
GrandCentrix develops and provides a platform for suppliers of interactive mobile value-added services
Nov 18, 2019
–
Liberty Global
Liberty Global is an international cable company providing television, broadband internet, and telephony services.
Jul 31, 2019
$21.3B
Hellas Online
Hellas Online is one of the leading Greek fixed-line telephony services providers based in Athens
Aug 22, 2014
€72.7M
Cobra Automotive Technologies
Cobra Automotive Technologies design, development, manufacture and marketing of electronic systems.
Aug 1, 2014
–
The Cobra Group
The Cobra Group is an Electronics company.
Jun 16, 2014
€145M
ONO
Communications and Entertainment
Mar 17, 2014
€7.2M
Kabel Deutschland
Kabel Deutschland is the largest cable television operator in Germany.
Jun 24, 2013
$10.4B
Complete Telecom
Complete Telecom provides network infrastructure, converged networks, and metro and WAN bandwidth solutions.
Oct 1, 2012
–
Cable & Wireless Worldwide
Cable & Wireless Worldwide is a global telecommunications company.
Apr 23, 2012
–
Bluefish Communications
Consulting and Professional Services
Dec 1, 2011
–
Vodafone – Growth
Year
Revenue
Percentage Increase/Decrease From previous Year
2021
$51.169B
+2.32%
2020
$50.011B
-1.1%
2019
$50.565B
-18.16%
Vodafone – Competitors
Vodafone’s top global competitors are : AT&T, BT, Orange, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Telstra, Tata Communications, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Liberty Global and Telefonica Colombia.
Vodafone’s business will almost certainly continue to be hampered by tough regulatory frameworks and adverse demographic trends in its major European countries, particularly in Spain and Italy, which account for over 25% of revenues and have some of the weaker fundamentals.
Meanwhile, Vodafone’s capital allocation history does not bode well for the company’s M&A (Merger & Acquisition)plan. Since 2009, Vodafone has incurred more than $50 billion in impairment charges, which reflect the fact that an acquired asset is currently worth less than what Vodafone paid for it.
Vodafone is one of the major telecommunications businesses in the world, having a strong presence in its main European countries. However, due to its increased fragmentation and fewer business-friendly authorities, this is a challenging region to compete in when compared to America.
In light of Vodafone’s need to continue deleveraging and invest substantially in 5G, cautious income investors may choose to avoid the stock in favor of more stable telecom companies like Verizon (VZ), which have more obvious routes to profitable long-term development.
In India, Vodafone is burdened by huge dues. In total Vodafone Idea has total debt of ₹1.92 trillion, which includes AGR dues, Spectrum-related dues, and bank loans. Stiff competition from reliance JIO is another major challenge Vodafone (Currently Vodafone Idea) is facing in India.
Vodafone – Future Plans
In the March quarter, Vodafone Idea recorded a net loss of Rs 7,022 crore and net debt of Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
“Financial performance has impacted its ability to generate the cash flow that it needs to settle/refinance its liabilities and guarantees as they fall due,” the company said, “which, combined with its financial condition, is resulting in material uncertainty that casts significant doubt on the Company’s ability to make the payments mentioned therein and continue as a going concern.”
Vodafone Idea stated in a statement that it is undertaking 5G testing in the cities of Pune and Gandhinagar, utilizing spectrum authorized by the government.
With its equipment partners in Gandhinagar and Pune, the telecom claimed to have reached peak download rates of 1.5 Gbps utilizing the 3.5 GHz spectrum.
Jagbir Singh, CTO at Vodafone Idea, said, “We are pleased with the speed and latency results in the initial stages of the 5G trials on the government allocated 5G spectrum bands. Having established a robust 4G network pan-India, delivering fastest 4G speeds and a 5G-ready network, we are now testing the next generation 5G technology to be able to bring a truly digital experience for enterprises and consumers in India, in the future.”
However, despite all its efforts, ‘Vodafone Idea’ is not in a good position in India. As expressed by Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read, the company has no plans to infuse fresh funds into the ‘Vodafone-Idea’ Venture.
In its fiscal Q4 and full 2021 earnings statement, Vodafone Group stated that it will focus on growing as “a new generation connectivity and digital services provider” for Europe and Africa.
The Covid 19 pandemic has proved yet again that connectivity and digital services are crucial to society and Vodafone Group is ready to grab the opportunities that the Covid situation has created in the field of connectivity and digitization.
As per Vodafone CEO Read, the company is targeting revenue growth and disciplined capital allocation. It is also working on bringing down operating costs by 20% across its European and central Units by the end of the financial year 2023.
Vodafone – FAQs
What does Vodafone do?
Vodafone (based in Newbury, the United Kingdom) is a telecommunication services firm that provides phone, text, and data services via mobile and fixed networks, as well as fixed broadband and television services, cloud and hosting, internet protocol-virtual private network services, roaming, and unified communications services.
Who founded Vodafone?
Vodafone was founded by Ernest Harrison and Gerry Whent in 1985.
When was Vodafone founded?
Vodafone was founded by Ernest Harrison and Gerry Whent in 1985.
How does Vodafone make money?
Vodafone’s mobile networks, which allow consumers to call, text, and download files, account for about 70% of its revenues and even more of its earnings. Fixed-line services, which include internet, TV, and voice, make for the majority of the remaining revenue.
Which companies do Vodafone compete with?
Vodafone’s top global competitors are : AT&T, BT, Orange, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Telstra, Tata Communications, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Liberty Global and Telefonica Colombia.
Vodafone’s top competitors in India are Bhart Airtel, Reliance Jio, Tata Communications, etc.
The success of a company is just the tip of the iceberg below which lies the business model of the company.
Hard work and dedication to the services, funds from other companies, and robust marketing strategies are some prominent factors that drive a company towards success, but the business model can be deemed as the base of the company, on which the business is built. The business model is nothing but a company’s plan to make a profit which is why it plays a major role in new and well-established companies as well.
With the world today that is encouraging more and more businesses to grow, only some manage to evolve to their full potential. One of such businesses that have stood up with their robust business model and have become a key player in the telecommunication industry is Airtel. Here, we will walk through their business model and how it helped the company carve a niche for itself.
Bharti Airtel, also known as Airtel, is one of the leading multinational telecommunication service providers of India based out of New Delhi, India. It boasts of over 457 million subscribers, holds second place in India’s mobile networks and third place in the world’s mobile networks. Millward Brown and WPP plc have named Airtel as India’s second most valuable brand in their Brandz ranking. In addition to these, Airtel is the first-ever multinational telecommunication service to launch 4G in India.
Areas of Operation
Initially starting from India, Airtel has witnessed significant growth and is now successfully operating in around 18 countries, which includes South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands.
Key Products and Services
Over time Airtel has expanded as a company and has begun to offer a wide range of services that include 2G, 4G, 4G+ networks, fixed-line broadband, and voice services.
Here’s a quick rundown along with the main service belts that Airtel offers:
Telemedia – Under the Telemedia segment Airtel offers broadband internet via DSL, leased internet lines, MPLS solutions, IPTV, and fixed-line telephone services. Their control over the Telemedia segment allows them to offer differentiated and converged solutions to customers.
Television – Airtel is also associated with the provision of the direct television network or DTH (Direct-to-home) TV services across the nation with their Airtel digital TV.
Mobile data – Airtel also provides BlackBerry services that work on push-on technology, USB modems, Airtel data cards, easy mail, and its own mobile application that helps its customers monitor all their services and packages bundled in on the app.
Airtel business – Airtel Business comprises of six main products, which are, Cloud and managed services, digital signage, NLD/ILD connectivity, dongles for Wi-Fi, voice solutions, and conferencing solutions that serve a range of industry verticals including BFSI, IT/ITeS, manufacturing, hospitality, and government.
Android Tablets – With a view to capitalize on the growing demands for cost-effective, portable devices, Airtel has launched its first 7-inch tablet running on the Android operating system in 2011 via Beetel Teletech Ltd.
Mobile wallet service – Airtel offers the mobile wallet service which allows Airtel users to make payments for utility bills, goods, and services in addition to money transfers across networks. It is done using the airtel money app that runs on Android, iOS, and windows.
Target Audiences of Airtel
Being a telecommunication service provider the target audience of Airtel is really wide and is not influenced by age, gender, place of residence, income, social distinction, and any such factors. Airtel has an array of different services that attract both individuals and companies across varied industries.
Airtel showcases an exemplary business model for others to follow irrespective of the industry that each belongs to. Airtel focuses mainly on two things: customer acquisition and servicing (retention) and business development or expansion. Their vision and mission clearly state that their ultimate goal is to be a globally admired telecom service and to mainly focus on customer satisfaction and provide them innovative services that tend to be cost-efficient products.
The other functions that include hardware, network management, backend applications (billing, etc.), and other services are outsourced. This business model has been pioneered by Airtel and inspires many newcomers in the game.
What is unique in the business model of Airtel?
As we have already mentioned, Airtel believes in outsourcing everything else apart from their marketing, sales, and finance operations and the ‘minutes factory’ model of low cost and high volumes.
Airtel is widely recognized as the pioneer of such a strategy, inspiring tens of thousands of other brands and entrepreneurs. The equipment of Airtel is also provided and maintained by other companies namely Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia Networks; and US-based Amdocs provides Airtel with the IT support that the brand requires.
In its business model, Airtel has underlined some key points that they term as strategic business pillars for their businesses. These are:
Focus on Quality customers – Airtel aims to provide value for their customers along with the differentiated services that they provide.
Opening doors for new revenues – The brand is now helping its non-mobile wings like Airtel Business, Digital TV, and Broadband services to grow along with an eye to bring in new verticals.
Providing Top-of-the-line services – Airtel aims to bring in the best possible network quality to their customers with the help of cutting-edge infrastructure and advanced automation tools and technology.
Employee-centric culture – Along with investing huge on the digital talent, Airtel makes sure that it hands over significant roles to each of its employees and ensures they grow along with the firm.
Eco-friendly approach – Airtel advocates the reduction of overuse of resources and cutting down its operational expenses to the minimum with an eye on the environment.
Along with its basic strategies as Airtel business plan, it is working on future strategies, to retain its top position, such as bringing more innovation in its services, exploring new plans and products, providing valuable and quality services to its customers.
How does Airtel make money through its business model?
Airtel makes money through all the products and services mentioned above. It uses a B2C model to derive income from its customers and a B2B model, registered under Airtel Business that helps startups and SMEs. Airtel stands out with its unique business model that aims to provide the customers with the best services at competitive prices.
It is to be remembered that Airtel is not one of the companies that have achieved fast growth but one that stands as a market leader purely because it has innovated things and earned its place. Furthermore, it is also one of the few telecommunications services providers that have realized the importance of value-added services (VAS) right away in the start, which further eased its way.
Airtel’s competition with other companies
Airtel snatched the market from Essar by providing services before them and holding the position until them with the help of high usage premium clients.
Telecommunication services mainly have two important characteristics which are quality and price of the service, with that said, Airtel makes sure that they establish service by giving high importance to the characteristics and being a high-quality service provider with a premium image.
Conclusion
Airtel has witnessed gradual growth and has emerged as a promising brand in the telecommunications sector with the help of a foolproof business model, a meticulous understanding of its key concepts, years of hard work, tireless efforts, and absolute dedication. Airtel success story surely is a huge inspiration to legions of other businesses across different domains.
FAQs
What is the revenue of Airtel?
The revenue of Airtel was ₹89,473 crore (US$13 billion) in 2020.
Who is the CEO of Airtel?
Gopal Vittal is the current CEO of Airtel.
What is the debt of Airtel?
In the financial year 2020, Bharti Airtel Limited reported a net debt of about 1188 billion Indian rupees.
Countries all across the world are racing to deploy 5G. 5G networks, once placed perfectly, will impact everybody and everything. It will change the face of remote industries, smart cities, and digital transmissions.
Every country understands the power of connectivity and is keen to commercialize 5G. It is meant to connect new industries through its high multi-Gbps data speed. It will provide increased reliability, immense network capacity, and a more uniform user experience.
Below is the list of top countries that already have 5G
Germany
Average 5G’s speed: 102.0 Mbps
Service Providers: Vodafone, Telefonica Deutschland
Germany is one of the leading users of the 5G network. 5G services are available in around 1000 towns across the country. Telefonica Deutschland has already reached 16 million people. The Vodafone CEO said, “We aim to reach 30M people by the end of 2021.”
UK
Average 5G’s Speed: 133.5 Mbps
Service Providers: EE, Vodafone, Three UK, O2
United Kingdoms is one of the earliest countries to commercialize 5G. Here, the service providers began 5G in May 2019. It has expanded to 125 towns now. Vodafone’s 5G was made available to Coventry University to train student nurses and healthcare workers through virtual reality. Meanwhile, another service provider, Three UK is focusing more on providing 5G for homes and 1.6 million households are now covered.
Hong Kong
Average 5G’s Speed: 142. 8 Mbps
Service Providers: China Mobile Hong Kong, 3 Hong Kong, HKT, SmarTone
Hong Kong is comparatively new to the race of 5G. 5G in Hong Kong became active in 2020 only. China Mobile, SmarTone, and other operators have acquired 200 MHz of the whole 3.5 GHz spectrum for HKD 1 billion i.e., $129 million. 5G is available in both indoor and outdoor locations. China Mobile claims that it is going to cover 90% of all Hong Kong City.
Switzerland
Average 5G’s Speed: 150.7 Mbps
Service Providers: Salt, Sunrise, Swisscom
5G has also begun in Switzerland and it’s already have secured second place in top countries to serve 5G. Swisscom and Ericsson covered over 54 cities. They aim to provide 5G to everybody in the country whether they’re living in the countryside, city or mountains. However, the government of Switzerland is also concerned about the adverse effects of the radiation coming from the 5G towers. They’re actively working to control it.
Kuwait
Average 5G’s Speed: 150.7 Mbps
Service Providers: Zain Kuwait, STC, Ooredoo
Kuwait is one of the earliest 5G consuming countries. It started serving 5G in mid-2019. Kuwait has the largest mobile penetration in the world. The introduction of 5G will take internet usage to the next level. The 5G network will help users to engage with advanced models of technology that can increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve health.
Service Providers: Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, Videotron
5G network has been launched in Canada along with mobiles to connect to 5G. It is available through subscription and pre-paid is not yet available. Other smaller network operators will also launch 5G by 2021-22. Also, it’s important to know that old 4G phones cannot be upgraded to 5G so people have to buy a brand new 5G phone to enjoy the high-speed network.
Country with the most cities with 5G availability
Taiwan
Average 5G’s speed: 210.2 Mbps
Service Providers: FarEasTone, Chunghwa, Taiwan Mobile, Tatar
Taiwan launched 5G in July 2020 and reached 1 million subscribers in no time. Chunghwa Telecom claims to have reached 3 million subscribers later that year and 5 million by the end of that year. 5G is growing at a tremendous rate in Taiwan. Taiwan Mobile expects to cover 15 to 20% of all subscribers in the country.
Australia
Average 5G’s Speed: 215.7 Mbps
Service Providers: Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom
Australian telecom service providers have managed to provide 5G services to a large percent of the total population. Telstra alone has covered 50% of the population including 46 towns and cities. Meanwhile, Optus covers over 4 lakh households. Together, they’ve covered 85% of the total population.
In South Korea, 5G was initially launched for B2B customers as they had businesses as their main focus. As far as customer focus is concerned, 15% of the total population is using 5G as of September 2020. The government is also supporting 5G service providers with taxes as they plan to expand their network across the country. This opens many gates for a hefty expansion of 5G in South Korea.
Saudi Arabia
Average 5G’s speed: 404.2 Mbps
Service Providers: STC, Mobily, Zain
Saudi Arabia has a total of 51 cities under 5G coverage. Saudi Arabia is ambitious with its 5G project as they plan to achieve one goal- “Thriving Society, Thriving Economy, Ambitious Nation”. They plan to expand their network to 71 cities by the end of the year. They will be targeting three major sectors through top-class connectivity- oil & gas, public sector, and manufacture.
China
Average 5G’s speed: 301.60 Mbps
Service Providers: China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile
China has the world’s largest number of 5G subscribers. At the end of February 2021, it was reported to have 260 million 5G subscribers. In the Mobile World Congress 2021, the Chinese government officials claimed that they’ve invested more than $40.2 billion to build the world’s largest 5G network.
It must be noted that China lacks transparency in its claims so they are not trusted by many officials across the world. But still, China has more 5G subscribers than many countries combined.
USA
Average 5G’s speed: 70 Mbps
Service Providers: T Mobile, Verizon, AT&T
In the USA, T Mobile is winning the race as it has successfully provided 5G to over 279 cities with over 200 million Americans. Verizon is also working its best to deliver the network speed in 60 major cities. Meanwhile, AT&T serves some parts of many states. The number of cities with 5G connectivity increases each year in the USA.
FAQ
Why is 5G such a big deal?
The new 5G standard is faster and more responsive, which will leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence and to automate network management and security.
Where is the most 5G in the world?
The top three countries that have the most cities with 5G are China, the United States, and South Korea.
When 5G will launch in India?
Jio one of the leading network providers in India has announced that they will be ready to deploy 5G technology in the second half of 2021.
Conclusion
5G will soon take over 4G, 3G, and LTE networks. These were the leading countries that have their citizens already equipped with 5G. It’s safe to say that this new super fast network is going to change the way we perceive data transfer. However, we must not forget to keep an eye on the side effects and dangers that these changes pose. But all in all, we should brace ourselves for this new generation of connectivity and speedy downloads.
Efficient and seamless communication is the key to a successful startup business. The most effective communication tools are those that are easy to use—in other words, they don’t require a lot of technical expertise, they’re easily customizable, and, best of all, they are easy on your business budget.
When you’re starting out in business, there are a few things you can do that will help you get your message across quickly. Here are just some of the communication tools every startup company should use both internally and externally.
Having VoIP phones is a must for every startup. But first, what are VoIP phones?
VoIP, which stands for “voice over internet protocol,” is a phone that is connected over the internet. It can either come in the form of a software (on a computer or portable device) or specialized hardware (running on an individual’s personal computer). So, instead of the traditional telephone, VoIP phones use an internet connection to communicate.
One of the advantages of a VoIP phones is that it also provides a wide range of features, including caller ID, ringless voicemail, and multiple phone numbers. If the phone has more than one number, you can use a single number and keep receiving calls from a number of people. You may also opt to receive multiple messages at one time.
MassText Messaging App
The ability to communicate through a mass text app allows startups to reach out to more people. This will be very helpful if you want to announce something to your employees. You can simply just send one text to all your employees. At the same time, this is also a very useful marketing tool to communicate with your customers.
The use of mass text messaging for communication allows for you to reach out to many different individuals who may be in a variety of situations. If you are unable to get them on the phone or Skype, you can get them through text, making it easy to let them know your intentions and what you want them to know. If you have a product launch or upcoming sale, you can send text blasts to all your customers who subscribed to your newsletter. One click, and everybody gets the message. You won’t need to send individual texts.
Email Messaging Platform
Email is a must for every corporation. This is the basic communication tool in a corporate setting. It’s a more formal way to communicate within and outside the company, which will also increase your startup’s credibility. So, make sure to set up your startup with an email platform.
At the same time, email is also a very important communication tool when talking to your clients or customers. Email campaigns have become increasingly popular over the past several years as they give you the opportunity to build relationships with customers, which can lead to repeat customers. In addition to that, the cost of an email campaign can be minimal compared to other marketing tools.
With an email campaign, your company can send email blasts to clients and customers. These messages often contain sales messages, and they include information about new products and services that are available for your company. An email campaign can provide you with valuable feedback about what your customers think of your products and services, which can help you build customer loyalty.
Project Management App
Communication tools for project management are often used to increase the level of communication between teams, to manage time and costs, to reduce project risks, to improve productivity, to manage conflicts, and to make decision-making easier. With that said, another communication tool you need for startups is a project management app.
Project management apps can also be used to track progress and performance of project managers. An organization can build a network of project managers to coordinate and monitor the progress of its employees. Communication tools can also allow project managers to provide feedback to people who are working on the project and allow managers to identify problems or issues.
Private Channel, Chat, and Group Messaging Tools
Communication tools
Aside from having your email set up, you’ll also need a private channel where your team can exchange messages, links, and files in the form of chat and group messaging. This way, you can instantly contact members of your team.
There are also messaging apps, like Slack and Microsoft Teams, that integrate some popular and useful tools such as Dropbox, Zoom, Groove, Trello, and others into their systems. Having this will make it easier for you and your team to collaborate and share files. In addition, these apps are also available in iOS and Android. So, even if your team members or employees don’t have their laptops with them, they can easily respond to messages on their phones.
Survey and Data Analysis
Communication includes getting feedback from your employees as well as your customers. To get to know your employees and customers better, a good communication tool you’ll need as a startup is surveys. There are apps to create surveys and help you analyze data, such as Survey Monkey.
These apps can create a seamless survey that your employees and customers can answer. Afterwards, you’ll get a comprehensive report about the opinions of both parties. This will help you evaluate your performance and how to approach situations moving forward. For most of the survey apps, it’s usually free for a certain number of questions per survey. Then, paid plans will provide you with unlimited number of questions, customized themes, additional analysis, phone support, and more distribution options.
Customer Service Chatbot
Customer service chatbot has proven to be highly effective for addressing customer concerns immediately. When using a customer service chatbot for your business you will soon start to see the benefits that you can reap from it and the benefits go beyond just the obvious of an increased level of efficiency.
Your customers will also notice the improvement in your services and this can make them feel more comfortable with your brand and this can lead to increased sales. You will also be able to improve the way your customers interact with you through a more personalized approach. If you’re customer service personnel is away, you can also set up some auto-replies to be able to assist your customers even if you’re away.
In addition, customer service chatbot providers also offer packages with a support ticket tracker. This way, you’ll be able to monitor all communication between your customer service personnel and customers. In addition, you’ll be able to see which tickets have been addressed, are pending, or solved.
As your startup gets bigger and bigger, it can be difficult to keep up with the changes, new people, new rules, and policies. The solution to that communication problem is to set up a social intranet software, which is a central portal accessible only by people in your company.
This social intranet software should contain announcements, company news, company-wide documents, templates, policies, and contracts. By having one, your employees will be aligned with the latest news and goals of your company. Your employees will also have an easier time keeping up to date with changing policies.
Task Management Apps
One of the more common communication tools is the task management system. Task management systems offer a very simple method of managing your tasks and keeping track of them. Many of these systems also provide reports and graphs that make it easy to see where you are currently at in terms of productivity. Most task management systems will also provide a calendar for keeping track of events such as meetings, deadlines, and other projects.
For managers, they can assign tasks to their team members as well as track all their progress in one page. Deadlines, priority levels, and meetings can also be inputted in the system. It’s a communication tool that will keep your employees on their feet and organized.
Internal Blogs
Internal blogs are also an effective way to communicate with your employees and make sure that you’re all aligned towards the same goal. If you are creating content for an internal blog, you need to be certain that all of your information is relevant. If your information is not relevant, your reader will be frustrated and may not be willing to read the information. You also need to determine how the content relates to your goals and objectives, the business objective, and your readership.
For internal blogs, you can post topics regarding the achievements of your company to keep everyone up to speed. In addition, to boost employee morale, you can also use this medium to announce employees who did exemplary work. This will encourage more employees to do the same. You can also use internal blogs to post work-related tips on how be more effective.
Internal blogs are very flexible. This can also be used as a medium for your employees to post creative works they create. If you have employees who love to write poems, then you can feature poems of the month to celebrate the talents of your employees. Having this will create a tight knit community within your startup and have more people involved.
Discussion forums can be your startup’s digital workspace where all employees can ask questions, bond, and discuss different projects freely. Most of the time, there is a big disconnect between veteran employees and new hires. To keep new hires up to speed and minimize mistakes, the discussion forum can be an avenue for veterans to share their knowledge. At the same time, the forum can also serve as a connection to bridge together veterans and new hires.
In discussion forums, internal knowledge can be disseminated. All these information and discussions will be stored within the organization so that anyone can access it if they need to go back to a question. It can also be a space where your employees can talk about anything under the sun and bring each other closer together.
Conference Calls
Collaborative communication tools include teleconferencing, video conference, and conference call apps. Especially with more people working from home, conference call apps are very important. You can do video calls with your team to collaborate. In addition, you can also use this tool to host discussions, team huddles, webinars, and live events. This is a very important tool for your team to be able to collaborate even if they’re not physically together.
Since remote working has become more prevalent, your counterparts might also be working from home. Because of this, you can use conference call apps to conduct meetings with clients or suppliers. If you need to present something to your client, conference call apps also have a share screen option for you to share your presentations while explaining it over voice.
Employee Profiles
As your organization gets bigger, it can be difficult to know each and every person in the startup. Problems on not knowing who to contact for specific processes, questions, or information. This may also cause employees spending unnecessary time searching for information by asking their colleagues to track down individuals.
As a solution, you can set up employee profiles, which provides basic information about each person within your startup. This way, everyone can see the contact details of the person they need to contact and understand their role. The system should also show their expertise and who they report to for seamless communication. This will save a lot of time and alleviate a cloud of confusion among employees.
Conclusion
Effective and efficient communication is important and integral for every kind of company including startups. There needs to be seamless communication both internally and externally for a startup to thrive. Thankfully, there are lots of communication tools that you can use to help you out with that.
The tools listed here are simple to use and can be used by anyone who is comfortable using them. They make it much easier for you to communicate effectively. They are also very cost-effective tools that will help you manage multiple projects.
FAQs
What are Communication Tools?
Communication tools refer to three forms of electronic communication in distance education courses e-mail, discussion groups, and chat rooms.
Why do we use communication tools?
communication tools are used for external and internal communication.
What are communication skills examples?
Examples of communication skills:-
Active listening
Adapting your communication style to your audience
A report published by TRAI in January 2021, earlier said that the Telecom company Vi had added more subscribers to their user base but the most recent news suggests that the company has lost around 2.3 million users in their user base. Let’s look at the reasons for the changes in data.
Vodafone Idea Limited is a merged entity. It is an Indian telecommunication company with its headquarters in Mumbai and Gandhinagar. The company is the third largest mobile telecommunication network in India and is the sixth largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.
In the year 2018 Vodafone India and Idea cellular underwent a merger and the company was called as Vodafone Idea Limited. Currently, Vodafone holds a 45.1% stake in the company and Ravinder Takkar is the current CEO of the company.
In September 2020 the company had formed a new brand called as Vi. This is a combined brand of the two entities Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. The aim was to build a unified brand from two different companies.
After the merger in August 2020 Vi had lost a significant number of gross and active subscribers. Vodafone and Idea operated as two different entities until September 2020.
Vi also provides services such as IoT, Mobile payments, entertainment, and enterprise offerings. The services are accessible through both digital mediums and retail outlets across the country. Vi has a distribution reach of 1.7 million retail outlets and a broadband network of 340,000 sites.
In the mobile network services, Vi offers 2G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi services across Pan India. Vi provides Wi-Fi and hotspot services in major cities across the country which include Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune with more than 200 locations.
According to reports in January, Vi had added a user base of around 1.7 million in January 2021 and this was the first time in the last 15 months the company has added subscribers to its user base. Also its competitors, Bharti Airtel added a user base of 5.9 million subscribers and Jio which added about 1.95 million subscribers during January 2021.
According to the report of the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) in January 2021, Vi had an active user base of 256.3 million which is 89.63 percent of their total users.
Revised Data by TRAI
Recently the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) released a revised telecom subscription data for January 2021. The revised Telecom subscription data showed that the company Vi had actually lost 2.3 million subscribers than gaining 1.7 million in January 2021.
The company Vodafone Idea has acknowledged earlier about its error in the numbers provided to Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) that the company had added 1.7 million subscribers in the month of January 2021.
TRAI had examined through the numbers and identified that it was a non-intentional error that was not done through a deliberate planning. TRAI confirmed that the error had taken place by mistake.
Vi had told the TRAI that it had added a user base of around 3.7 million from Uttar Pradesh west telecom circle alone. There is a total of 22 telecom circles in India and the company has reported that it lost subscribers in 18 telecom circles and gained subscribers in the rest of 4 telecom circles.
Vi had sent the correct numbers to TRAI. Vi had noted on its website saying that they had found an unintentional error on their subscriber data for January 2021 which was submitted to TRAI. They also said that they had corrected the error and had reported the revised data to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Corrected Figures by TRAI
As per the corrected figures of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Vi had lost 2.3 million wireless users in the month of January 2021. Whereas its competitors Airtel gained 5.9 million subscribers and Reliance Jio had gained 2 million subscribers.
Reliance Jio had the highest wireless subscriber numbers with a base of 410.7 million and Airtel in the second position with a subscriber number base of 344.6 million. Vi had taken the third position with a total subscriber number of 281.9 million.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had reported that Vi had the highest upload speed in the month of February 2021. Vodafone India’s upload speed for the month of February 2021 was 7.2 Mbps which was 6.7 in January 2021.
Idea Cellular upload speed for the month of February 2021 was 6.4 Mbps which was around 6 Mpbs in January 2021. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular was also ranked as the best in the TRAI’s report for voice call quality charts of February 2021.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) considers the company as two separate entities in its portals for My Calls and MySpeed even after the merger of both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.
FAQ
Will Idea Vodafone survive?
Rohan Oza, an american businessman and investor believes that Vodafone will survive. “It is unlikely that the company will go bust, as it is in the interest of the government to continue with three players in the market.
What is the future of Vodafone idea?
As reporyed by Goldman sachs, Vodafone Idea could potentially save ₹58 billion (5,800 crore) in cash flows annually if the AGR liability were lowered to its self-assessed value.
Is Vodafone shutting down in India?
Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest service provider, plans to shut down its 3G network later in 2021.
Conclusion
Vi has been rolling out various strategies and campaigns to capture the market to increase its subscriber base. We will have to wait and see what is going to happen in the future regarding the increase or decrease of Vi’s subscriber base.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, an ex-military officer. It was merely formed as a private company. The main mission of the company was to provide consulting and operations services to most of the enterprises in China and outside the country.
There are around 3 core business units in the company, Telecom Carrier Networks, Enterprise Business and Devices, and manufacturing communication devices.
Huawei is a global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. The company offers a range of products, services, and business solutions for telecom carriers, including wireless network, fixed network, cloud core network, carrier software, IT infrastructure, network energy, professional services, and network rollout services.
It also builds a digital infrastructure platform utilizing cloud computing, software-defined networking, big data, and IoT to enable the digital transformation of the government, public utilities, finance, energy, transport, and manufacturing industries. In addition, Huawei provides smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, converged home devices, and applications on these devices for consumers and businesses.
Huawei – Logo and its Meaning
Huawei Logo
In addition to Huawei’s name, its own brand uses a flower-shaped logo. This is a symbolization of the “Hua” syllable that can mean petals or can also mean a lavish and luxurious in Mandarin. So it can be concluded Huawei logo symbolizes the achievement that surge or boast.
Huawei – Founder and History
The company was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, an ex-military officer.
Founder of Huawei
It was merely formed as a private company. The main mission of the company was to provide consulting and operations services to most of the enterprises in China and outside the country. The company has around 140,000 employees working. 46% of the employees are involved in research & development.
After a few years, the company got a research centre of its own and started doing research and development. The set up got an initial breakthrough by launching its C&C08 digital telephone switch. The company got its first international project in 1997. It then started providing fixed line networks products to a company in Hong Kong.
In 1999, Huawei set up its first R&D centre in Bangalore, India. The company also entered into a 5-year contract with IBM till 2003. Huawei continued to expand into international markets. It is the first company to deliver LTE/EPC commercial network for Telia Sonera in Norway in the year 2009.
In 2013, the company opened its new office in Canada. Over the years, Huawei always focused on enhancing its mobile technology and has a number of partnerships with other companies. It also formed a joint venture, 3Com-Huawei and focused on R&D and production of the networking products.
Huawei is a collective company now and not privately owned any more. By the year 2010, 80% of the top 50 telecom companies worked with Huawei. Some prominent partners include Motorola, Vodafone, Talk Talk, T-mobile, Clear wire, Bell Canada, etc.
Huawei – Mission
Huawei’s mission is to expand the benefits of technology to everyone, everywhere. To achieve this, they’ve developed a digital inclusion strategy that focuses on three areas: technology, applications, and skills. Huawei believes that technology will make life better for every individual, home, and organization.
The research report provides deep insights into the regional market revenue, parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness per market segment of North America. The report provides an overview of the growth rate of the North America 5G Chipset market during the forecast period, i.e., 2020–2027 in which top key players are Broadcom, Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, Mediatek Inc., Nokia Corporation, Xilinx, Inc.
Lawmakers passed a motion demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decide within 30 days whether to ban Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Canada’s next-generation wireless network.
The chief executive of Ericsson has come out in support of arch-rival Huawei after Sweden blocked the Chinese firm from building its 5G networks.
Huawei – Partnerships
As of the beginning of 2010, approximately 80% of the world’s top 50 telecoms companies had worked with Huawei.
When you look at the rise of the Huawei it’s clear that the success has come from adopting new business models to fit current market trends and to ensure that they remain competitive towards its competitors. The adaptation and change for its business models over the years has ensured that it remains a dark horse in the smartphone industry. Many years ago, Huawei was known for selling ‘cheap and cheerful’ products, which were renowned to not last very long.
As a company, Huawei has invested millions in R&D to help them pursue better approaches to the industry and to try and get the company renowned as one of the best. As you can see from the image below the amount of units that Huawei now sells compared to back in 2013 is a substantial improvement, which can effectively be down to several improvements it has made as a company over the period of 3 years. The willingness of adapting and changing its ideas to fit and match companies such as Apple and Samsung will be a major factor of its success.
Huawei announced worldwide revenues of $105.1 billion for 2018, with a net profit of $8.7 billion. Huawei’s Q1 2019 revenues were up 39% year-over-year, at US$26.76 billion. In 2019, Huawei reported revenue of US$122 billion.
Huawei – Investments
Huawei Technologies has made 5 investments. Their most recent investment was on Dec 19, 2019, when Lero raised €6M.
Date
Organization Name
Round
Amount
Dec 19, 2019
Lero
Venture Round
€6M
May 8, 2017
Falcon Computing Solutions
Series B
$8M
Mar 1, 2015
Che Youyuan
Angel Round
CN¥3M
Jul 21, 2014
XMOS
Series D
$26.2M
Jan 1, 2011
Teewon
Venture Round
CN¥320M
Huawei – Acquisitions
Huawei Technologies has acquired 9 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Vocord on Jun 4, 2019.
Aquiree Name
Date
Amount
About Acquiree
Vocord
Jun 4, 2019
–
Vocord is a developer & manufacturer of intelligent video surveillance systems, biometric identification and computer vision
Vokord Telekom Zao
Jun 3, 2019
$50M
Vokord Telekom Zao manufactures radio and television broadcasting and communications equipment
Huawei’s globalization efforts were marred by issues of security concerns expressed by countries that were sceptical over its lack of transparency. The US had vehemently opposed Huawei’s growth activities in its country. To become a truly global company, Huawei had to develop its market in the US. Against the backdrop of such security concerns, the case study would analyse the growth of Huawei in its home country, China, its international growth strategies and whether the hue and cry raised by the US authorities on security concerns would really impede the growth of Huawei globally.
During the first three quarters of 2020, the Chinese telecoms and smartphone giant reported revenue of 671.3 billion yuan (about USD $100.7 billion), an increase of 9.9% year-over-year, with a profit margin of 8%. The company said those results “basically met expectations,” but it represents a huge drop from its performance during the same period last year, when Huawei reported 24.4% growth with a profit margin of 8.7%.
The company wrote that “as the world grapples with COVID-19, Huawei’s global supply chain is being put under pressure and its production and operations face significant challenges. The company continues to do its best to find solutions, survive and forge forward, and fulfil its obligations to customers and suppliers.”
Looking to the future, Huawei’s innovation will transition as we move from an Innovation 1.0 era to an Innovation 2.0 era. Huawei said that it was going to start with smartwatches, wearables, in-car head units and it’s powering the Honor Vision smart TV, although the company stuck to open source Android for its smartphones in 2020, while its wearables still use LiteOS at the time of writing.
The company says, “In Innovation 2.0, based on our vision for the intelligent world we are entering, we will aim to break the bottlenecks in theories and basic technologies that have hindered the development of ICT. In this stage, we will focus on theoretical breakthroughs and inventions, which means going from 0 to 1. “
The philosophy of Huawei’s Innovation 2.0 will bring together universities and research institutes and connect the academia with businesses, to allow all types of global scientific research resources and talent to come together in the pursuit of innovation.
To better implement Innovation 2.0, Huawei will adopt a number of approaches, including supporting the research programs of universities and research institutes, building its own labs, and investing along multiple technological paths.
Huawei – FAQs
What services Huawei provide?
Huawei Technologies designs, develops, and sells telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics.
Can Huawei phones be used in India?
Yes, Huawei phones are used in India as it was relaunched in January 2020 itself.
Can Huawei still use Google?
Despite executive comments to the contrary, Huawei says it’s still open to using Google services after being forbidden from including them on devices last year.
How does Huawei make money?
There are around 3 core business units in the company, Telecom Carrier Networks, Enterprise Business and Devices or manufacturing communication devices.
Where was Huawei banned?
The company was blacklisted in 2019 by Trump when the US alleged that it was too close to the Chinese government.
The sudden outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has left no industries and sectors unscathed, worldwide. And many parts of the economy have taken a hit because of it.
While the pandemic has created global economic uncertainty, it has also proved to be lucrative for some industries and created new markets and opportunities. In fact, some of them are seeing more business than they ever have. The world has changed, for now, and so has the needs and wants of consumers.
How the Pandemic affected this industry in a good way.
These are the companies that are thriving even in these unprecedented times.
Online Training & Education Services
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the shutting down of schools, colleges, and other educational institutions. This has given rise to online home-based learning, using digital platforms. This has led to the acceleration in the integration of information technology in education, where online education has become an integral component of school education.
The increase in demand for the online training and education sector can lead to aggressive hiring. Even for those without any teaching qualifications, apart from tutoring, there are a plethora of jobs in this sector, like designing, communicating, software engineering, etc.
While people are forced to stay in homes due to the inescapable lockdown, they are now spending more time and money on redecorating and refurnishing their houses. They want to decorate every corner that seemed imperfect to them earlier but couldn’t buy time to take care of it.
Now that people spend every day, all day staring at their home, they are finally purchasing home decor products like potted plants, wall art, accent pillows among others.
Agricultural Technologies
The lockdown in various countries have severely diminished global production capacities and disrupted global supply chains. Food agencies over the world are planning to have the majority of the food produced locally by harnessing technology, increasing the amount of space dedicated to farming, and supporting local agriculture.
To scale up operations and meet the surge in demand for locally-produced crops, job opportunities in this sector are fast-growing. These jobs include horticulture technician, farm engineer (specializing in robotics and automation), an events executive for the marketing side of things, and the like.
Pharmacies
Health has become a priority more than ever. With deaths due to the coronavirus all around the corner, people are threatened and so they are prioritizing health issues above all. Pharmaceutical companies have added a surge of openings in the lockdown.
Pharmacies
Home Fitness Equipment
Lockdown has enabled people to fulfill their long-forgotten or neglected fitness goals. While others want to maintain their form just like before the pandemic. But the closure of all gyms led them to boost the sales of home fitness equipment. As a result, many fitness enthusiasts and newbies are spending not just on yoga mats and small weights, they now want professional-quality home gym equipment, so their workouts don’t suffer during this quarantine.
Courier Pick-Up and Delivery Services
The delivery and pick-up industry is the most profitable in the coronavirus pandemic. Not only are people ordering food online, but they are also increasingly ordering essential groceries and other food items. Because of the fear of catching corona, people nowadays do not want to step out of their houses, especially in metropolitan cities. Hence, the delivery service is the need of the hour.
There are so many relevant employment opportunities included in this industry apart from being a delivery driver. From data analysts to UX designers to account management staff, there are plenty of well-paying choices for qualified jobseekers within the industry.
Delivery services of restaurant businesses
Tech Support
With physical call centers and operation centers closing down, companies are left with the need for agents to still take customer and technical support calls. Especially with the increase in remote work, more people than ever need support with setting up and pairing devices or troubleshooting errors.
SkinCare
Self-Care is trending nowadays. In response to the emotional stress of this time, many people are putting in a little extra effort with pampering themselves with skincare products. Many people also want to make sure they still look just as young and vibrant as they did entering this pandemic when they exit it. As a result, the skincare industry is on the rise.
Teleworking Software
Telecommunication has been on a steady incline for the last 5 years. As more states try to practice safety at home and maintain social distancing, companies have transitioned almost fully to remote work. In order to successfully enforce a work remote culture, employees need a broader reach through video conferences, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration services. This implies that telecommunication has been on a steep and sudden incline with teleworking software as the foundation for this new workplace model.
The retailers who are surviving this pandemic must adapt, and for many, that means turning to augmented reality (or virtual reality) software. Due to social distancing, everything has drifted online. Furniture companies are now creating apps to allow customers see how a chair might look in their living room. Realtors are offering clients apps that allow for 3D tours of homes. And of course, bored individuals at home are buying VR equipment for entertainment purposes.
Grocery Stores
The shopping markets have quickly transformed from the inevitable errand people used to have on their to-do lists to the only outing allowed throughout the quarantine. This leads to an increase in the business of grocery stores.
Supermarkets are also looking for support from stocking shelves all the way to managing supply chain logistics, handling public relations, and software development engineering.
In times of such great uncertainty, people’s routines and purchasing habits go out the window, which opens up the opportunity for businesses who can pivot operations and invest in new technologies to adapt to the changing climate. Now, more than ever, it’s important for companies to understand the environment we’re living in and adapt to it. These are the companies that will not only survive during the pandemic but also move ahead of their competition.
In the modern age, phone systems are interconnected with the computer network but often overlooked as a vulnerability. Fraudsters can invade the privacy of phone systems through the customer’s network or the telecommunications service provider. The moment they gain access, they manipulate the phone system to make unauthorized calls leaving the customer with a hefty bill.
Telecom Fraud is a grave threat to the telecom business market. This fraud is exploitation oftelecommunications mainly including cell phones or services with the intention of illegally and deceitfully acquiring money from a communication service provider or the customers.
Major Categories of Telecom Fraud
There are several telecom fraud schemes and it can be divided into three broad categories, based on who the fraudsters are targeting. These categories following are:
To Defraud Telecom Service Providers
This type of schemes are the most complex and exploit telecom service providers using loopholes, SIP trunking, and many more discrepancies.
Traffic Pumping
Traffic-related schemes use holder’s access techniques to try to increase traffic to a high-cost destination, which then shares the revenue with the fraudster.
Phone Fraud
Phone Fraud covers all types of general fraud that are perpetrated over the telephone. Phone fraud is a nuisance for millions of customers, companies and service providers.
The methods include plenty of artificially generated traffic by hacking into corporate switches, missed call campaigns, false answers, which are examples of fraud that causes high costs for the victims.
Not one telecom service provider can escape from fraud. Any type of Fraud reduces Organization’s profits, affects good customers and lowers operational efficiency. The real costs may exceed lost revenue and involve unwarranted network, investment, diversion of resource, and customer displacement. The actual impact is rarely measured, reducing visibility and effectiveness.
Fraud Management System provides the required technical and business skills to support both strategic and tactical fraud management efforts. It recognizes that resources are limited and try to find profit-enhancing solutions on time.
Fraud Management System(FMS) is a special tool designed to effectively detect, analyze and report on fraudulent events which ultimately impacts the revenue and cost streams of the business.
No FMS can entirely provide an absolute solution to effectively detect and fix the problem, the Fraud has to be detected with Fraud Analysts who have sufficient skills and knowledge to understand the process. They must have the information to direct the Fraud Analyst through the investigative stages, but most importantly there must be a clearly defined strategy for FMS.
Telecom Fraud Procedure
Quality of Data
The quality of data used and monitored within an FMS is high since it is retrieved directly from the sources or a middle platform. This produces a high level of clarity on what the origin of the data was and assuring that frauds identified are based on accurate data.
Flexibility
Telecom Fraud Management System has to be flexible to handle any type of data and create flexible rules on any type of event, it is also necessary to address the changing dynamics of fraud and future fraud threats in next-generation technologies, products and services.
The flexibility is an important asset for the Fraud Analysts as it provides the capability to test and verify various thresholds and alarm settings to maximize their capabilities of fraud detection.
The extraction, automation and processing of the events are performed with little or no human intervention. FMS can interface different types of data sources to ensure visibility and usage on a wide range of products and services.
Dashboard
Dashboard view and the nature of fraud being detected within the FMS visible is a key tool for a Fraud Manager. This allows the Fraud Analysts to view Key performance indicators, analyze whether fraud detection targets are being met, and review the performance to ensure cases are being managed and resolved properly.
Therefore, Fraud Manager is enabled to determine whether the FMS performance and resources are both operating with the fraud strategy.
Case Management
Case Management tool ensures all fraud incidents are identified, recorded and tracked in a location. This information can be used to identify fraud syndicates and track fraudsters, where links are identified between new and old cases.
Additionally, it ensures that all the information related to a case can be stored at a later stage. This also enables to track the performance of the Fraud Analyst cases to ensure defined processes are being met and followed.
Telecom Fraud types
Telecom Fraud Protection
Globally, Telecom Fraud is increasing at an alarming rate and is one of the biggest sources of revenue loss for every telecom operator or service provider. Businesses today are spending millions protecting themselves from fraudsters. They are mainly on the reactive and defensive mode, with bottom lines under huge pressure.
Conclusion
The Telecom fraud management team can significantly detect the frauds in telecommunications. For Fraud management, it requires a dynamic skilled staff, using flexible tools, and a defined process.
The competition against fraudsters can never be won due to the fast-moving telecoms environment and the drive to launch complex products quickly to attract market share and maintain a competitive advantage, leading to technical weaknesses and risks which fraudsters will rely upon the opportunity to keep the fraudulent business activities operational.
Devashish Shrivastava
