Tech Mahindra to receive official termination notice from Etsialat (UAE, India)
Following the Indian Supreme Court’s cancellation of 122 2G licences awarded to telecom companies in 2008, over claims that the licences were not availed legally, Etisalat had announced that it will shut down operations of joint venture Etisalat DB in India.
However Tech Mahindra, which has signed a contract with Etisalat DB, has said that they are still awaiting official communication from them on the decision about cessation of operations. Further, they plan to have a discussion with Etisalat subsequently.
According to reports, Etisalat and Tech Mahindra’s contract is worth US$ 400 million for a period of 10 years.
The supreme Court’s decision also caused Bahrain Telecom to shut down Indian operations, while Telenor is looking for a new partner to continue their services in the country.
Airtel introduces staff transfer program (Africa)
Airtel Africa has launched a staff transfer program which will give African employees the opportunity to gain valuable work experience within the company’s parent company Bharti Airtel. The program started on the 23rd of February, 2011.
The initial phase of the program saw the integration of specialized staff from Bharti airtel into some African markets. In this phase of the program, the initial group from Africa to India will be employees from Airtel’s operations in Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, the democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Niger and Zambia.
They will spend up to one year working within various units, which include Bharti Airtel’s network infrastructure development, solutions for medium sized enterprises, sales & distribution, financial systems, marketing and other functions.
According to Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Joint Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, the company’s strongest pillar is the people. They invest considerable resources in developing capabilities whilst giving their human capital opportunities to grow. The transfer of knowledge is a conscious strategy informed by the fact that globalization has changed the required skill sets of the team.
According to Mr. Kohli, the transfer program is a mutually beneficial program between all Airtel operations in Africa and the Indian sub-continent. The need for consumers to leapfrog existing technologies and embrace new innovations is a reality as evidenced by some of the latest innovations rolled out by Airtel in Africa. They need to ensure that their solutions connect in a cultural and socio-economic context. This initiative is just a first step of getting their teams connected across the Globe.
During the launch of its operations in Africa, the telecom operator reiterated its intention to harness local manpower which stands at over 6,500 employees across the African continent. In addition to investing in the skill sets, Airtel has partnered with some of the leading technology providers to develop specialized skills and nurture job opportunities across the continent. The company has kicked off partnerships with global technology leaders such as IBM, Nokia Siemens, Huawei, Ericsson and Business outsourcing partners such as Spanco & Tech Mahindra.
Etisalat DB Opens Second Customer Contact Center (India)
Cheers Mobile Services, the GSM service from Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt. Limited (Etisalat DB), a joint venture between UAE’S largest telecom group, Etisalat and the Dynamix Balwas Group, today inaugurated its second customer contact centre in Noida, India. The company has an end-to-end outsourcing partnership with Tech Mahindra, the leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry.
With the launch of its second contact centre, Etisalat DB has reinforced its commitment to provide superior customer management services and establish itself as a leading telecom player in one of the world’s fastest growing mobile markets.
While Tech Mahindra will be responsible for managing Etisalat DB’s services in North & South India; West and Central India will be managed by Aegis. The BPO’s multi-site centers will provide inbound, outbound and back-office services in the respective regional languages besides English and Hindi.
Enabled by state-of-the-art technology, the contact centre operations will offer distinctive features like ‘automated call-back’ in case the customer’s call gets terminated; ‘schedule a call-back’ which allows customers to schedule calls from the contact centre as per their convenience. The BPO’s safeguards will ensure seamless service and business continuity for Etisalat DB with all centres being linked to each other, thereby presenting the company with a single window to provide superior experience to customers.
Commenting on the occasion, Official Spokesperson, Etisalat DB said, We are pleased to announce the opening of our second customer contact centre in India. These state-of- the-art contact centres align with our long-term commitment in India and are in line with our global strategy of, customer focus, innovation and market leadership. Our outsourcing partner Tech Mahindra has demonstrated capability and expertise in managing extensive customer-support operations for large telecom service providers, in India and globally. Tech Mahindra’s superior customer-facing processes will reflect the strong customer service ethos of Etisalat.â€
Mr. Sujit Baksi, President – Corporate Affairs & BPO, Tech Mahindra, said, “We are excited about further strengthening our relationship with Etisalat DB as they have innovative plans to address the mobile telephony market in India. With robust BPO capabilities, Tech Mahindra has a proven track record of delivering world class seamless customer experience leading to increased customer stickiness and growth. Our association with Etisalat DB will further strengthen our leadership position in the telecom software and solutions ecosystem.”
With an initial investment of USD 900 million, in India, Etisalat DB has built a strong telecommunication network in the Indian market. Backed by global and domestic financial institutions, the company, in the last 18 months has entered into long term strategic relationships with the leading names in the Telecom sector for its IT Outsourcing, Telecom Equipments and Network Infrastructure. Over 2000 proficient employees of Etisalat DB have been engaged to established widespread retail distribution network across the country to be a part of and value add to the Indian Telecom growth story.
About Etisalat DB
Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt. Ltd. has the Unified Services Access License in 15 circles. The company launched its services across its circles under the brand name, Cheersâ€. These licenses enable the Company to provide a full spectrum of telecom services covering a population of over 900 million across these circles. Under the license the Company can also provide Internet Telephony, Internet Services and Broadband Services. The company is headquartered in Mumbai. Etisalat DB’s services will include national & international long distance telephony solutions, full range of prepaid & postpaid products, national & international roaming and Value Added Services.
About Etisalat:
Etisalat is the Middle East’s largest operator and third largest corporation. With a market value in excess of Dhs. 80 billion (US$20 billion) and annual revenues of approximately Dhs. 30 billion (US$8 billion) Etisalat is today on the verge of being numbered amongst the top ten operators in the world. Etisalat, a true multinational powerhouse with operations in eighteen countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Etisalat’s terrestrial GSM network now covers a population of two billion and its satellite network provides services over two thirds of the planet’s surface. Etisalat’s Dhs. 36 billion international acquisition programme began in earnest in 2004 by winning the second mobile license in Saudi Arabia. Since then the company has witnessed rapid expansion positioning Etisalat as one of the world’s fastest growing operators with its mobile subscriber numbers rocketing 2,500% from 4 million in 2004 to 107 million in 2010. It is one of the telecommunication industry’s innovation pacesetters powering its home country, the UAE, into the top ten nations list by providing the latest technologies first. It is a pioneer in next-generation networks for both fixed-line and wireless networks and is in the process of deploying a nationwide fiber-optic network that includes enough cable to stretch to the moon and back two and a half times. In 2009, Etisalat reported annual Net Revenues of Dhs. 30.8 billion (US$ 8.4billion) and Net Profits of Dhs. 8.8 billion (US$ 2.4 billion) ranking Etisalat as the eighteenth most profitable telecoms group in the world. For the first nine months of 2010 Etisalat has achieved healthy Net Revenues of Dhs. 19.1bn (US$ 5.2 billion) and Net Profits of Dhs. 7.3bn (US$ 1.9bn). As a result, Etisalat has been named ‘Best Overall Operator’ in the Middle East ten times since 2006 and was named Best International Carrier at the World Communications Awards in 2008. It has also won numerous accolades for its innovative marketing being awarded for having the ‘Best Brand’, ‘Best Customer Service’ and ‘Best CSR Programme’. Etisalat’s management team is also well-celebrated with its Chairman, Mohammed Omran, receiving the top accolades in 2010 at both the International Business Awards and the World Communications Awards.
About Tech Mahindra:
Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry, majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, in partnership with British Telecommunications plc. With total revenues of INR 4625.4 crore in the year ended March 31, 2010, Tech Mahindra serves telecom service providers, telecom equipment manufacturers, and software vendors. Tech Mahindra enables clients to maximize return on IT investment by providing solutions which help the clients achieve shorter time-to-market, reduced total cost of ownership, and high customer satisfaction. Tech Mahindra achieves this through its domain and process expertise, distinctive IT skills, research and development, and proven innovative delivery models. Assessed at SEI-CMMi Level 5, Tech Mahindra’s development centres are ISO 9001:2000 & BS7799 certified and the company has principal offices in the UK, United States, Germany, UAE, Egypt, Singapore, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, and Australia.
BT sells 5.5% stake to Tech Mahindra (UK,India)
British Telecom (BT) Group has completed the sale of 5.5% (US$99.30 million) stake in Tech Mahindra. Following this sale, BT will have about 24.4% share holding in the joint venture. The sale accounts to about 6.9 million shares.
According to BT, Tech Mahindra remains a key supplier to BT and, while further sales may be considered in the future, BT expects to continue to have a shareholding in Tech Mahindra for some time.
Tech Mahindra which is formerly known as the Mahindra British Telecom (MBT) is a joint venture between the Mahindra Group and BT Group with Tech Mahindra holding 44% and BT holding 39% of the equity.
BT and M&M established a joint venture that became Tech Mahindra in 1986. Since that time, the Indian-listed business has grown to post annual revenues of above US$1 billion.
Tech Mahindra to begin Bharti’s African outsourcing services
India’s Tech Mahindra Ltd. expects to start offering call center services to Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s operations in six African countries from Feb. 1.
Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel had selected Tech Mahindra–along with International Business Machines Corp. and Spanco Ltd.–to provide business process outsourcing (BPO), services to the carrier’s operations in 16 African countries.
According to Sujit Bakshi, President, Corporate Affairs and BPO, under the five-year deal, Tech Mahindra will offer core customer service functions such as call centers and back offices in Zambia, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Congo DRC, Congo B. The deal didn’t involve making any upfront payment to account for cost savings that may accrue to Bharti.
Tech Mahindra’s BPO division accounted for 5.8% of the company’s US$990.06 million total revenue in the last fiscal year ended March 31. The segment employed 8,489 people at the end of the September quarter.
Bharti entered the African market through a $9 billion acquisition of Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co.’s assets in the continent in a bid to expand its business to offset the effects of stiff competition in India. The company has about 45 million subscribers in Africa, where the average telecom penetration is lower than India, and aims to achieve 100 million subscribers by 2012.
According to Bakshi, as part of the deal, Tech Mahindra will take over about 2,000 employees on the rolls of Zain and on contract and hire more staff locally to offer services in the six countries. Zain has about 4,500 employees in the 16 African countries, including sales personnel. Tech Mahindra is also targeting additional revenue streams from the telecom operator as it adds new subscribers and from new lines of services that Zain will offer.
As per the contract, which runs in two phases, Tech Mahindra will operate from Zain’s premises in the first phase and will take over the premises and also operate from its own centers in the second phase.
He added, the company will also invest in new hardware such as desktop computers and take over Zain’s existing hardware at depreciated value, depending on its condition.
BT to sell 5.5% of Tech Mahindra share (UK,India)
The UK telecoms company, BT has agreed to sell part of its 29.9% stake in Tech Mahindra. BT has agreed to sell up to 5.5% of the business to Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian automotive group that founded Tech Mahindra as a joint venture with BT in 1986.
According to BT, stake sales may be considered, but it expects to continue to have a shareholdings in Tech Mahindra for sometime, adding that it would remain a key strategic supplier to BT.
According to Mahindra & Mahindra, the purchases would be made over time at a market-related price. Tech Mahindra has a market capitalization equivalent to about US$1.71 billion, suggesting that the 5.5% stake would be worth about US$93.61 million.
As per BT, the proceeds of the sale would be used for general corporate purposes, including the potential repayment of debt.
The telecoms group had net debt of US$13.57 billion at September 30. Standard & Poor’s has BT’s investment grade credit rating hovering just one notch above junk status.
As part of the share sale agreement, BT will be released from the obligation to give Mahindra & Mahindra the right of first refusal on further Tech Mahindra share sales, subject to undisclosed conditions.
BT last year supported Tech Mahindra’s decision to buy Satyam Computer Services, which had nearly collapsed after its former chairman admitted to fraud.
Airtel to set up headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya)
Bharti Airtel has been allotted five acres of prime land valued at US$6.87 million in Nairobi to build its headquarters in Africa. The land was previously owned by the Postal Corporation of Kenya.
According to Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the government had approved the request by Bharti Airtel to acquire land for their headquarters.
According to Information ministry PS Bitange Ndemo, the company will pay for the value of the land and any other taxes. The government has sold the parcel to a single buyer to speed up their construction process. The request was made to President Kibaki in June when Bharti announced it would be investing US$149.90 million in the next 18 months in Kenya. The company has since revised the investment upwards to US$299.80 million.
Airtel intends to expand its network to reach more rural areas and create 7,000 jobs by 2013. Through partners: IBM, Tech Mahindra, and Spanco — it has outsourced its back office operations such as a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT operations.
As per Dr Ndemo, the caliber of Bharti’s partners would attract other international companies to set up operations in Kenya. Every job they create will yield three more in the informal sector, while the government will benefit from tax revenues.
According to Airtel Kenya managing director Rene Meza, Bharti Group doubled the amount they intend to invest in Kenya to increase the capacity on its 2G network to accommodate other operators, under site sharing agreements.
Operators foray into outsourcing
Mobile operators now days have joined the race of opening BPOs to help their customers. Last week two telecommunications operators, MTN Nigeria and Bharti Airtel trading with the brand name, Zain Nigeria signed different Business Process Outsourcing deal with some companies.
MTN tied knots with Communications Network Support Services (CNSS) to run and manage its Jos Customer Assistance Centre. Bharti Airtel entered into a strategic BPO partnership with IBM, Tech Mahindra and Spanco.
Outsourcing is being pursued as an active business strategy in the current economic scenario, since it enables a firm to focus on its core-competency area. It also releases the firm from resources and labour intensive functions, which are now performed by trained personnel at much lower costs.
The processes or activities that are being outsourced by telecommunications operators could range from customer care centres to information technology management, market research and even financial portfolio management among others.
Telecommunications operators in the country have been bedevilled with a lot of operational challenges that have hindered operators from delivery quality services. When operators in the space launched service over nine years, little did they know that their infrastructure they use to deliver services believed to be a source of joy and enhancement of the people’s socio-economic life will be object of attack by armed robbers and miscreants.
Operators have lot generators, diesel, air conditioners, live of security men at base stations among other valuables to armed robbery, which led to them conceiving the idea of outsourcing the management of base station to some infrastructure building companies, such as Helios towers, Swap Technologies, IHS among others.
Subsequently, Zain last year had signed a five year network management contract with Ericsson, that allows Ericsson manage Zain’s network operations, field operations including optimization, third-party vendor management for Zain’s GSM/WCDMA networks, and business support system.
MTN and CNSS Deal
As per MNT, the outsourcing of its Jos Customer care to CNSS is in line with the plans communicated by the company in 2009 to enhance the breadth and depth of its customer service towards increasing its capacity to respond promptly to over 35 million MTN customers.
According to Akin Braithwaite, Customer Relations Executive, MTN, their ultimate goal is to ensure a significant reduction in the waiting time for a customer to speak with a customer representative and get his issues resolved.
The customer assistance centre, more popularly known as call centre, took off on a temporary site at Rayfield, Jos in July, operating four shifts of customer care representatives in a day. It complements existing customer support infrastructure that is currently the biggest in the industry.
The 650-man customer assistance centre, installed with cutting-edge technology is being run in partnership with CNSSL Contact Centre, a Call Centre outsource company based in Nigeria and managed by Nigerians.
Gbenga Adebayo, chief executive officer, CNSSL Nigeria, a telecoms support services company and Founder of CNSSL Contact centre spoke with excitement about the expansion of the Jos call centre.
He added that the permanent site and expanded call centre should be ready by November and will employ an additional 1, 500 Nigerians. They will receive world-class customer service training provided by experts from MTN”. The ultimate recruitment plan for the centre according to him is staff strength of about 2,200 by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
The Jos call centre also demonstrates MTN’s overarching strategy to contribute to socio-economic development in Nigeria. According to Wale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN. “It is a strategy deliberately designed to both improve the quality of customer support available to our esteemed customers and also add value to the local communities by creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.â€
The recent upheavals in Jos further underscore MTN’s commitment to impacting Nigerian society through its operations and services. While businesses and individuals were known to leave the city, MTN made a strategic decision to go into Jos metropolis and create jobs and opportunities for its residents. Currently, 70% of staff at the Jos call centre are from Plateau state with the remaining 30% made up of youths from all over Nigeria.
Bharti Airtel BPO Deal
Under the agreement Bharti Airtel, which owns and currently operates the ‘Zain’ brand in 16 countries across Africa, will outsource core customer service functions like call centres and back office as it prepares for significant growth in the region. The mobile telecommunications operator currently has over 40 million customers across its African operations and is targeting to achieve 100 million by 2013.
The selection of world class partners like IBM, Tech Mahindra and Spanco will enable Bharti Airtel’s mobile customers to enjoy world class customer service with the partners introducing quality best practices based on their experiences of working with international organisations in the telecommunications, banking, finance, insurance and retail sectors.
The widespread adoption of the BPO model by Bharti Airtel across its operations will also have tangible benefits for development of the sector in each country, create additional job opportunities and develop local talent. The partners will provide services in each market which will sustain and build skills, capabilities and resources
The outsourcing of customer service operations will play a key role in making Bharti Airtel competitive in Africa as it focuses on making mobile communications affordable and available to everyone across its 16 markets of operation.
According to Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, their partnership with IBM, Tech Mahindra and Spanco is aimed at redefining and providing a world class and seamless customer experience in all 16 countries. The BPO model has significant benefits for their customers, the countries in which they operate and their economies. Partnering with world class organisations on such a massive scale will galvanise the BPO sector in Africa and be a catalyst for growth in the sector. These partnerships will offer career enhancement opportunities to their team in this specialist field as they will now get exposure to global best practices and the latest technologies.
This is the second major partnership announcement from Bharti Airtel on the African subcontinent. In September this year Bharti selected IBM to build and manage IT systems to power the mobile communications network across 16 African countries.
According to John Lutz, general manager, IBM Managed Business Process Services,”IBM’s strategic relationship with Bharti Airtel illustrates its focus on emerging markets like Africa. IBM’s business process outsourcing unit helps clients manage functions like customer care so that they are able to channel critical resources to essential growth activities such as product design and marketing.
According to a Deloitte report for the GSMA, the mobile communications industry association, less than 40% of Africans has access to a mobile phone. However, demand is growing at an average rate of 25% annually, and a 10% rise in mobile penetration could increase gross domestic product by 1.2% in developing markets.
According to Vineet Nayyar, Vice Chairman, Tech Mahindra, practically, there are three major benefits to Bharti Airtel from outsourcing its customer service functions. It can scale quickly to manage its expected growth, customers will receive first class service to global standards, and each market will benefit from talent training and development.
By seeding the African BPO market with these three world class partnerships, Bharti Airtel is effectively kick-starting the onshore business process outsourcing sector across Africa. The three partners collectively employ over 90,000 people for providing BPO services in more than 100 countries.
With MTN and Bharti Airtel leading other operators in adoption of outsourcing business model, it is expected that other operators will follow as well.
BT in discussion to sell its stake in Tech Mahindra
If sources are to be believed, BT Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest fixed-line phone company, is in talks to sell part of its 30% stake in India’s Tech Mahindra Ltd.
According to sources, BT may sell shares through the stock market. The company may also seek to sell about 7% to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which owns 42.8% of the Indian software services provider.
As per the previous statements by the Chief Executive Officer Ian Livingston, BT was reviewing options for its stake in the Indian software provider. The U.K. Company’s pension plan, the nation’s largest, was US$12.1 billion in deficit at the end of last year, according to its trustees’ annual report in June.
According to James Crawshaw, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s in London, investors are concerned BT needs the cash to pay the dividend on top of the possible pension costs. The Mahindra stake is worth about 5 pence per BT share.
Tech Mahindra has slumped 21% this year, closing at US$17.70 in Mumbai trading yesterday, which values BT’s stake at about US$668 million. BT reduced its holding in the venture following a share sale in 2006.
Bharti Airtel to bring jobs at African call centers
Bharti Airtel has announced to bring call center jobs to Africa after buying out a major mobile phone provider on the continent.
According to Manoj Kohli, partnerships with IBM, Tech Mahindra and SPANCO will bring outsourced support jobs to Nigeria and other nations to bolster its recently purchased Zain network. Kohli declined to offer a value on the deal.
Company officials estimated several thousand call center jobs would start immediately, with more in the future.
Bharti has 183.4 million customers across 19 countries, making it the world’s fifth largest telecommunications company. Bharti closed a US$10.7 billion deal in June with Kuwait-based Zain to take over its holdings in Nigeria and 14 other African nations.
