ITV

Category: Hutch

  • Hutch starts language services in West Bengal, Sikkim

    MUMBAI: Hutch has launched its services in West Bengal and Sikkim. After expanding it to network, Hutch now claims that it has a widest cellular network in the region.

    The mobile service company has also announced a special range of Bengali-language value added services such as voice response. The launch of Hutch in West Bengal and Sikkim was announced by Hutchison Essar managing director Asim Ghosh, at a press conference in Kolkata.
     
     
    Speaking about the new offer, Ghosh said, “After demonstrating service leadership in Kolkata, we are extending it to West Bengal and Sikkim. Customers in West Bengal will soon experience the friendliness that has been the hallmark of our brand of service, in the rest of the country.”

    “With our customer service, backed by our continuous effort to build a robust and reliable network and innovative value added services, we hope to recreate the Hutch magic. This is one of the fastest rollouts of service networks since the time the license and the spectrum were awarded to us. That is an indication of our commitment to West Bengal,” he is reported to be quoted in a company release.

    In Kolkata, Hutch leads the market with a subscriber base of nearly 6, 00, 000 claims the release.
     
     
    Commenting on Hutch’s state-wide presence, Hutchison East, chief operating officer, Kumar Ramanathan, said, “We have focussed on seamless connectivity across the state, national highways, railway routes and commercial centres for the customers in West Bengal and Sikkim who travel extensively. Besides, a network that spans 140 towns and cities, we will provide 24-hour customer care through a dedicated customer service helpline.
     
     
    ” In a major move, we will start with five Hutch shops and 30 Hutch teleshops, sprinkled across the face of the state for the convenience of our subscribers”.

    All Subscribers whether postpaid or prepaid, will get 32K SIM card, which allows for a 200 number phone book. For the first time, Hutch subscribers in this region will be able to get services like stock rates on their Hutch phones, cricket updates, astrology etc. by dialing a single number, 123.”

  • Hutch slashes prepaid rate to up the consumer base

    MUMBAI: Cellular major Hutch has introduced a simple ‘flat rate’ tariff structure for all Hutch and Orange pre-paid users.

    Hutch chief marketing officer, Harit Nagpal, announced that the new Hutch tariffs will allow pre-paid users to make local calls to any mobile phone at 99 paise per minute and STD calls to any phone in the country for Rs 2.25 per minute.
    The new ‘flat rate’ tariffs will benefit all Hutch and Orange pre-paid users whenever they call any mobile phone (numbers starting with the digit ‘9’) locally or make an STD call to any phone in the country, says a company release.

    Speaking about the new Hutch ‘flat rate’ tariffs Nagpal said, “We have simplified the pre-paid tariff structure by introducing a flat outgoing rate to any local mobile phone. We are also increasing the affordability of a mobile pre-paid connection when compared to fixed lines rates. This is a good opportunity for fixed-line phone owners to become first-time mobile users. The flat rate for making STD calls, irrespective of the distance, is also a strong incentive for people to consider making calls from a Hutch pre-paid connection over a fixed line phone.”

    Hutch pre-paid users can avail the new tariffs by sending an SMS ‘Act 99’ or ‘Act STD’ to 144. Users opting for the new tariff will be charged a monthly fee of Rs. 25 for each subscription. Hutch users not opting for this promotion will anyway pay a lower rate of Rs. 1.99 for all locals calls, compared to the existing rate of Rs. 2.75.

  • Hutch provides Olympic content to subscribers

    Mumbai: Hutch has launched Athens 2004 Olympics on Hutch, a service that allows mobile users to access the latest Olympic news, medals tally and highlights through SMS, the voice response service and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).

    The Athens 2004 Olympics on Hutch service will be available to all Hutch and Orange users in the country, announced chief marketing officer, Hutch Harit Nagpal.
    Speaking about the service, as quoted in the release, Nagpal said, “The Olympics is the greatest international sporting event. Hutch and Orange users will be able to follow all news relating to the Athens 2004 Olympics, including India’s performance and the Olympics medal tally, on their mobile phones. We are hosting the service in multiple formats like voice, SMS and GPRS to suit the needs and handsets of our large base of subscribers.”

    All Hutch and Orange users can call the 123 Voice Response Service and say ‘Olympics’ to hear the latest news, events, medal tally and details of India performance at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

    Hutch users can also SMS ‘Olympics’ to 123 to receive the information through SMS. Hutch GPRS users can visit the Olympic section of the Hutch GPRS service to get this information.

  • Hutch launches multimedia mobile services in Punjab

    MUMBAI: Hutch today launched its services in Punjab with the latest range of multimedia mobile services, including GPRS-based services like push2talk, mobile gaming, click and print MMS, and state-wide customer service support.

    Hutchison Essar, managing director, Asim Ghosh, announced the it in Chandigarh, today.
     
     

    “The people of Punjab are used to the latest and best in every category. Punjab also has the highest mobile penetration amongst the states. We have committed to investments worth Rs 460 crores (RS 4.6 billion) for the Punjab circle, to build the most advanced GSM network in the country and offer not just basic mobile service but the widest range of multimedia mobile services as well,” offered Ghosh, as quoted in an official release.

    “We want to provide the latest range of multimedia mobile content to our users – whether its for keeping in touch with others for information or entertainment. Multimedia applications such as push2talk, click and print MMS and MS Outlook on mobile phones are some of the unique services available only to Hutch users,” claimed Hutchison Essar executive director Rajiv Sawhney.

    “This follows our service philosophy about delivering performance and making the experience enjoyable at the same time for all those who come into contact with it. The Hutch brand is not just a logo or only a telecom brand – it is a service philosophy and represents our unique way of doing business,” Sawhney added.
     
     

    He further elucidated, “We have led the development and adoption of GPRS-based multimedia services in India. With over 2,00,000 GPRS users, we have over 50 per cent of the GPRS subscriber base in the country. Despite the high mobile penetration, mobile users in Punjab have yet to experience many of these services. I am confident that our multimedia service offerings will hold special appeal for the trend-setting people of Punjab.”

    Commenting on Hutch’s statewide presence, Hutch Punjab, chief operating officer Arun K Kapoor said, “People in Punjab travel extensively within the state. Keeping this in mind, we have focussed on seamless connectivity across state and national highways, railway routes and commercial centres. The Hutch network is already present across 64 towns and cities, which are home to over 85 per cent of the current cellular subscriber base in Punjab.”

    Speaking about the special services for Hutch users, Arun K Kapoor said, “Hutch users in Punjab will get a chance to choose their own mobile number. They will also get an enhanced 32 K Sim card which allows for a 250 number phone book. In addition to this, the entire Hutch range of innovative value added services – special applications such as push2talk, Java-based mobile gaming, ‘live’ video clips and click and print MMS, the VOX voice response service that provides cricket updates, ring tones, jokes, stock information and news with voice commands, Microsoft Outlook on Hutch mobile phones, Hutch Alive cell-broadcast service, group messaging and missed call alerts will also be available. Hutch users will also enjoy the benefit of the widest two-way international roaming coverage and 24-hour customer care through a dedicated customer service helpline.”

    Hutchison Essar has licenses for 13 circles in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, UP (E), UP (W), Punjab and West Bengal and Sikkim and has a combined subscriber base of 5.8 million cellular subscribers, adds the release.

  • Hutch acquires licence for West Bengal & Sikkim

    MUMBAI: Telecom company Hutchison Essar has acquired the West Bengal and Sikkim telecom service licences. This was announced today by Hutchison Essar executive director Sandip Das.

    With this development, Hutch’s ‘beautiful world’ now spreads to 13 cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP East, UP West and West Bengal and Sikkim.
     
     
    Hutchison Essar doubled its national subscriber base from two million in 2002 to four million in 2003. The company is currently investing Rs 18 billion to strengthen its national cellular infrastructure, IT backbone, customer service network and provide innovative value added services, that will help maintain its ARPU (average revenue per subscriber) leadership.

    Commenting on the acquisition of the West Bengal and Sikkim license Das said, “The wireless teledensity in West Bengal at 0.48 per cent, represents a significant opportunity for growth. This acquisition is an important part of our expansion into Eastern India. We are currently building up the cellular network and will launch the Hutch service in these two states shortly.”

    He added, “We will also be investing aggressively to strengthen our national network and customer service capabilities. We doubled our subscriber base last year. We expect significant growth again.”

  • Hutch, Contests2win tie-up for mobile contests

    MUMBAI: Hutch and Contests2Win have entered a strategic alliance to develop and launch special GPRS-based mobile contests.

    Hutch VP corporate marketing Harit Nagpal and Contests2win CEO Alok Kejriwal announced this today.
    Hutch users across the country and Orange subscribers in Mumbai, can download the contests onto their GPRS phones, which then get refreshed automatically on a daily basis to present a new challenge to the user. Also, winners will be announced daily and each winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 1000, informed an official release.

    Kejriwal said, “It’s a great opportunity to deliver contesting as a service to the Hutch subscribers. We have expertise of delivering interactivity across a variety of platforms, and the GPRS medium is as dynamic as any medium can get!”

    “Also, winning delivers an emotional high and spans all age groups. We have carefully customised the content to suit the Hutch subscriber, and will add more depth and width to the offering as the service gains success,” Kejriwal promised.

    Nagpal added, “Humans are competitive by nature and look for challenges in every sphere of life. With this tie-up, we are offering our customers an opportunity to challenge their intelligence and wit, with the chance to win prizes as well. We will be working with Contests2Win to develop special mobile contests exclusively for Hutch and Orange users.”

  • Hutch expands mobile gaming market with 400 products

    The products include a Rahul Dravid cricket game, and a development alliance with gaming company Mauj. Hutch corporate marketing VP Harit Nagpal was quoted in a company release saying, “Gaming is one of the fastest growing mobile applications today. We have seen this trend internationally, and we are witnessing it now in India. An average of 1,20,000 mobile games are downloaded every month by Hutch users currently. This is a phenomenal 50 fold increase from an average of 2,200 mobile game downloads in February last year. This growth is expected to increase further with increasing penetration of GPRS handsets and applications.”

    By 2006, Datamonitor predicts that wireless gaming will generate $17.5 billion in annual revenue worldwide. The company also projects that by 2005, 80 per cent of all mobile users in the US and Western Europe will play mobile games at least occasionally.

    Elaborating on the alliance between Hutch and game development companies Nagpal added, “Hutch holds over 75 per cent of the downloadable mobile gaming market in India today. While most of the mobile games currently have been internationally developed, Indian gaming developers are working on games with Indian themes. We are working closely with leading gaming developers like Mauj – to create mobile games exclusively for Hutch users. We offer over 400 mobile games to our users currently and are adding two new games to our existing portfolio daily. We are also launching an exclusive Rahul Dravid cricket game which will be available to Hutch users only.”

    The other main games include Prince of Persia, Juan Pablo Montoya racing, Karpov 3D chess and Top Gun. The release adds that wireless gaming is already a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide but has been slow to take off in India until now. Hutch users can download any of the 400 mobile games using the Hutch GPRS service. Once downloaded, for Rs 50, the games reside on the Hutch handset and can be played any number of times. Premium games such as Prince of Persia are available for Rs 99 per download.

    Hutch also claims to be the only cellular service to offer live video-replays of sports and entertainment events such as the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket series by using using MMS. Datamonitor further stated that mobile gaming in East Asia generated $827 million in revenues in 2001. US wireless gaming revenues were $436.4 million in 2001 (Frost & Sullivan).