Thakur
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Mumbai/New Delhi: Beetel isn’t simply a
brand of a push-button fixed-line phone that
lost its relevance in the age of mobile
phones.
It is a vehicle that helped chairman and
group chief executive officer of Bharti
Enterprises Ltd, Sunil Mittal , enter the
telecom sector after he was done with making
and selling bicycle parts, yarn, and electric-
power generators.
Beetel Teletech Ltd has changed much since
its founding in 1985. It now markets and
distributes mobile phones and other products
for companies such as Samsung Electronics
Co. Ltd, Panasonic Corp., Polycom Inc.,
Avaya Inc., Huawei Technology Co. Ltd and
SanDisk Corp. Of course, it continues to make
its push-button phones.
Mittal, too, has moved from just
manufacturing phones and is now the
chairman of the country’s largest and the
world’s fourth largest telco by subscribers—
Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Given this evolution, and the fact that offline
distribution has become highly competitive,
with e-commerce companies stealing a march
over offline distributors and retailers, Bharti
Enterprises’ decision on Tuesday—to sell a
majority interest in Beetel Teletech to a
subsidiary of US-based Brightstar Corp.—
makes business sense as it leaves distribution
to experts, analysts say.
This, the analysts add, will help Bharti
sharpen its focus on its core telecom
business, complete the acquisition of Loop
Mobile, and expand its global footprint.
Brightstar and Bharti didn’t disclose details
of the transaction such as the value of the
deal or the size of the stake, but both
companies said in a statement that Beetel will
retain its name, all existing employees, and
continue operating from its headquarters in
Gurgaon.
“The smartphone market in the country
recorded triple-digit growth in 2013 and
offers a huge opportunity going forward” said
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of Bharti
Enterprises, in a statement on Tuesday. He
reasoned that the new mobile businesses and
related technologies that Brightstar is
bringing to Beetel will help drive significant
growth “by leveraging our deep distribution
strength”.
According to Alok Shende, founder-director
and principal analyst, Ascentius Consulting,
the fixed-line market ecosystem “has seen a
steady state of decline, (and) is unlikely to
come back any time soon”.
Shende added that “with diminishing
consumer interest, the rationale for Beetle
Teletech to piggyback on Airtel’s fixed line
business is likely to taper in the near term.
Hence, the shift towards emerging
opportunities in the fast-paced mobility
market is of natural consequence for Beetel
Teletech. That Bharti has chosen to tie up
with a market player with global expertise will
help advance the likelihood of their success”.
With $7 billion in revenue, Brightstar is one
of the world’s largest telecom device
distributors, with operations in more than 50
countries. The deal gives it access to the
Indian market, the second-biggest
communications market in the world.
Japanese communications services provider
Softbank Corp. , which also has a joint
venture with Bharti for its application
development company Bharti SoftBank
(BSB), is the largest shareholder in Brightstar
with a stake of around 57%. Sunil Mittal’s son
Kavin Mittal heads BSB’s strategy and new
products division.
Beetel remains the country’s biggest
manufacturer of fixed-line devices.
It was one of the first companies started by
Sunil Mittal along with his brothers, Rakesh
Mittal and Rajan Mittal, in 1985 by
assembling fixed-line telephones and fax
machines and selling them under the Beetel
brand name to companies that lapped up the
push-button phones which offered a welcome
change to the rotary dial wirelines.
The following year, Bharti Telecom Ltd, as the
company that made the phones was then
called, entered into a technical tie-up with
Siemens AG of Germany to become the first
company in India to manufacture electronic
push-button telephones in Gurgaon. It later
began manufacturing push-button phones at
its Ludhiana factory.
In 1989, Bharti tied-up with Takacom Corp.
of Japan to become the first company in India
to manufacture telephone answering
machines.
A year later, Bharti partnered with Lucky
Goldstar (now LG Corp. ) of South Korea to
become the first company in India to
manufacture cordless telephones.
Bharti Cellular Ltd (now Bharti Airtel) was
born three years later and won a GSM mobile
service provider licence for Delhi NCR. The
company went public in 2002, and three
years later, became India’s first mobile
service provider to have a national footprint
in all 23 telecom circles.
Two years back, Bharti Airtel, popularly
known as Airtel , the brand under which it
offers most of its services, launched fourth-
generation, or 4G, services in Kolkata and
crossed the 200 million customer milestone
in India. The figure includes mobile, fixed
line and direct-to-home, or DTH, subscribers.
This year, Airtel’s mobile subscribers alone
have crossed the 200 million mark. And as of
31 May, the company had a 22.88% share of
the country’s total mobile user base of
910.16 million, according to the latest data
provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India.
brand of a push-button fixed-line phone that
lost its relevance in the age of mobile
phones.
It is a vehicle that helped chairman and
group chief executive officer of Bharti
Enterprises Ltd, Sunil Mittal , enter the
telecom sector after he was done with making
and selling bicycle parts, yarn, and electric-
power generators.
Beetel Teletech Ltd has changed much since
its founding in 1985. It now markets and
distributes mobile phones and other products
for companies such as Samsung Electronics
Co. Ltd, Panasonic Corp., Polycom Inc.,
Avaya Inc., Huawei Technology Co. Ltd and
SanDisk Corp. Of course, it continues to make
its push-button phones.
Mittal, too, has moved from just
manufacturing phones and is now the
chairman of the country’s largest and the
world’s fourth largest telco by subscribers—
Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Given this evolution, and the fact that offline
distribution has become highly competitive,
with e-commerce companies stealing a march
over offline distributors and retailers, Bharti
Enterprises’ decision on Tuesday—to sell a
majority interest in Beetel Teletech to a
subsidiary of US-based Brightstar Corp.—
makes business sense as it leaves distribution
to experts, analysts say.
This, the analysts add, will help Bharti
sharpen its focus on its core telecom
business, complete the acquisition of Loop
Mobile, and expand its global footprint.
Brightstar and Bharti didn’t disclose details
of the transaction such as the value of the
deal or the size of the stake, but both
companies said in a statement that Beetel will
retain its name, all existing employees, and
continue operating from its headquarters in
Gurgaon.
“The smartphone market in the country
recorded triple-digit growth in 2013 and
offers a huge opportunity going forward” said
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of Bharti
Enterprises, in a statement on Tuesday. He
reasoned that the new mobile businesses and
related technologies that Brightstar is
bringing to Beetel will help drive significant
growth “by leveraging our deep distribution
strength”.
According to Alok Shende, founder-director
and principal analyst, Ascentius Consulting,
the fixed-line market ecosystem “has seen a
steady state of decline, (and) is unlikely to
come back any time soon”.
Shende added that “with diminishing
consumer interest, the rationale for Beetle
Teletech to piggyback on Airtel’s fixed line
business is likely to taper in the near term.
Hence, the shift towards emerging
opportunities in the fast-paced mobility
market is of natural consequence for Beetel
Teletech. That Bharti has chosen to tie up
with a market player with global expertise will
help advance the likelihood of their success”.
With $7 billion in revenue, Brightstar is one
of the world’s largest telecom device
distributors, with operations in more than 50
countries. The deal gives it access to the
Indian market, the second-biggest
communications market in the world.
Japanese communications services provider
Softbank Corp. , which also has a joint
venture with Bharti for its application
development company Bharti SoftBank
(BSB), is the largest shareholder in Brightstar
with a stake of around 57%. Sunil Mittal’s son
Kavin Mittal heads BSB’s strategy and new
products division.
Beetel remains the country’s biggest
manufacturer of fixed-line devices.
It was one of the first companies started by
Sunil Mittal along with his brothers, Rakesh
Mittal and Rajan Mittal, in 1985 by
assembling fixed-line telephones and fax
machines and selling them under the Beetel
brand name to companies that lapped up the
push-button phones which offered a welcome
change to the rotary dial wirelines.
The following year, Bharti Telecom Ltd, as the
company that made the phones was then
called, entered into a technical tie-up with
Siemens AG of Germany to become the first
company in India to manufacture electronic
push-button telephones in Gurgaon. It later
began manufacturing push-button phones at
its Ludhiana factory.
In 1989, Bharti tied-up with Takacom Corp.
of Japan to become the first company in India
to manufacture telephone answering
machines.
A year later, Bharti partnered with Lucky
Goldstar (now LG Corp. ) of South Korea to
become the first company in India to
manufacture cordless telephones.
Bharti Cellular Ltd (now Bharti Airtel) was
born three years later and won a GSM mobile
service provider licence for Delhi NCR. The
company went public in 2002, and three
years later, became India’s first mobile
service provider to have a national footprint
in all 23 telecom circles.
Two years back, Bharti Airtel, popularly
known as Airtel , the brand under which it
offers most of its services, launched fourth-
generation, or 4G, services in Kolkata and
crossed the 200 million customer milestone
in India. The figure includes mobile, fixed
line and direct-to-home, or DTH, subscribers.
This year, Airtel’s mobile subscribers alone
have crossed the 200 million mark. And as of
31 May, the company had a 22.88% share of
the country’s total mobile user base of
910.16 million, according to the latest data
provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India.
