Bharti Airtel bets big on mobile gaming

The country's largest telecom player Bharti Airtel sees 3G as a major growth propeller and says the journey of 3G to 4G and to LTE (long-term evolution) would take place much faster in India.

In an interview with K Rajani Kanth, Bharti Airtel president (mobile services) Atul Mohan Bindal shares the strategies for enterprise and corporate segments, and partnerships for 3G content, including high-definition games and their growth trajectory. Edited excerpts:

What was the contribution from the enterprise and corporate segment to the company's revenues last year and how is it going to grow with 3G?

We see 3G as a major growth factor. Our enterprise revenues for the quarter ended December 31, stood at Rs 1,050.3 crore (Rs 10.50 billion).

So far, the tipping points of growth in mobile telephony have come either on the basis of innovation in technology or in product/tariff innovation. We believe that currently, almost 13.5 per cent of our revenues comes of non-voice support.

If it is a typical matured European telco, the revenue coming from here will around 32 per cent. The key difference here is the 3G environment.

There is no reason why we cannot bridge this gap - from 13.5 per cent to 31-32 per cent - in a couple of years. Also, we see a certain amount of latent data hunger after the 3G roll out, which is actually going to grow at a very rapid pace.

And, large enterprises, small and medium businesses, self-employed professional and students will play a crucial role in this.

What would be your strategies for enterprises and corporate customers?

Enterprises and corporates will be a key segment for our 3G services.

They look for packaged customised solutions, not just for a handset but a combination of services such as handsets, laptops, netbooks, dongles, voice and non-voice.

With a fixed line network that extends over 90 cities, broadband presence, which is triggered by a fibre-in-the-ground connectivity, leased line solutions and satellite TV, we are an integrated entity. This becomes a competitive advantage to differentiate us when it comes to enterprise and corporate business.

Airtel today launched 25 high-definition games for mobile customers. What's your gaming strategy?

There is no limit in terms of the number of games we intend to launch. Over the next 24 months, the mobile gaming market is expected to grow to around $500 million in the country, an estimate that has been built in consultation with our various gaming partners. There are best of the games, which we need to export.

Also, in entertainment choices such as movies, sometimes there are gaming options that would be developed on the back of that. Gaming is a constantly changing field and we look at tying up with more partners.

What is the arrangement you have with gaming companies?

Our gaming partners are partners 'in risk as well as in rewards'. Bharti Airtel, as a company, has always been founded on partnerships and it continues to be the same even for gaming partners.

We are looking at partners who have a similar vision about the future. A future, which we are going to shape together. It is not there just to pluck or not for a linear growth.

From where do you plan to get the games from?

We have a strategic investor in Singtel. Therefore, the best practices and the best in the ecosystem whether it is Australia, Philippines, Malaysia or Indonesia. We have access to benchmarking those knowledge and practices in bringing those over to India.

We also have presence in 16 markets in Africa. For us, the best endeavours have always come out of benchmarking the best in class from wherever or whatever it has worked in the world.

The same strategy holds for gaming. We are currently looking at the Japanese and Korean markets for mobile games, which are the leaders when it comes to gaming. With 3G happening at such a fast clip in India, domestic companies are also looking at partnering with us.