Hutch dials more revenue per user

2 lakh subscribers in AP, highest average revenue per user of Rs527

Hutch in Andhra Pradesh is scoring. The cellular operator has the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) among all other cellular operators in the state for the last quarter. This apart, the company has also crossed the two lakh subscriber base in the state.

Kumar Ramanathan, chief operating officer (Andhra Pradesh), Hutch, told Business Standard that the company was able to achieve a higher ARPU than its competitors purely because of its ability to get better customers on board.

"At the acquisition stage, we are able to attract the right profile of customers. Our ARPU is about Rs 527 as of the last quarter and this is much better than competition," he said. Incidentally, Hutch had posted the highest ARPU in the industry of Rs 736 in the Mumbai circle, where it operates under the Orange brand name.

"Importantly we are paying a lot of attention to every point of interface with the customer and ensure that it is direct and transparent. This ensures that their confidence in the operator is not misplaced," Ramanathan said.

Hutch's competitors, IDEA and Airtel have an ARPU of Rs 500 and Rs 492 respectively. Importantly, both IDEA and Airtel have more subscribers with about 4,55,000 and 5,84,000 respectively. "In the last two quarters our revenues have become healthier and in the last two months we have added about 50,000 customers in our circle," Ramanathan said.

Hutch which was the last operator to enter the state market, started operations 21 months back and today has a coverage that is spread across 120 towns in the state.

"Eighty per cent of the wealth of the state is covered by our network and in the next quarter we will be expanding the coverage to match competition," Ramanathan said. Hutch has a pan-Andhra Pradesh coverage with presence in 21 out of the 22 districts, across 120 towns and 150 local calling towns.

Hutch had earlier announced that it would invest Rs 1,800 crore across all its circles by the end of 2004. This would take Hutch's total investments in operations in India to about Rs 6,400 crore by the end of calendar year 2004.

Hutch at present has 12 circles under its fold in the country, including the metros of Mumbai and Delhi. Apart from this it has operations in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chennai, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Haryana, UP ( East). UP ( West) and Punjab. Hutchison Essar now has a combined subscriber base of over 4.8 million cellular subscribers in the country.