For India's largest wireless carrier, which enters the global elite club as its subscriber base scores past the 25 million-mark, innovation is the key to success.

Bharti's objective is to differentiate itself in India's highly competitive communications environment by ensuring customer delight through personalized customer service and accomplishing this through a highly cost-effective business model. Bharti Airtel-which made waves when Vodafone, the world's largest wireless company, took a strategic 5% stake in India's leading mobile operator-continues to surprise the market. India's largest telecommunications services provider from private sector now wants to transform itself from being a pure communications player to a "lifestyle enabler".

The company, which has many firsts to its credit, has joined hands with Microsoft to launch Windows Mobile 5.0 platform that delivers a comprehensive mobile experience beyond just e-mail. The tie-up also comes close on the heels of India's first ever comprehensive "Service Delivery Platform" that the company announced recently-this could well be another first for the Indian wireless telecom market. Airtel recently became the first private operator from India to join an exclusive list of global telecom operators with more than 25 million customers. It has consistently set benchmarks for the sector and changed the face of telecom through strategic initiatives in a challenging and competitive landscape.

The company's success can be attributed to its bold strategic expansion at the right time, when the sector is still evolving and presenting huge challenges. It did not deter Bharti as it opted to expand its national footprint, however, not before making substantial investments in setting up wireless infrastructure in the country. Soon it became the first private sector operator to provide mobile services in all the 23 circles in the country. However, with the mobile subscriber base exploding in the country and competition intensifying, it has led to commoditization of voice-based services; falling tariffs have only aggravated the problem for operators like Bharti. This has meant that strategies like free talktime, lower rates at night, etc., are no longer sufficient to give an edge over rivals. Not to give in, Bharti has used this challenge as an advantage. Its decision to provide subscribers with high level of personalized customer service through a contact center infrastructure augmented by a cost-effective business model has won laurels for it.

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