BT was among the first few international players to enter the mobile telecom services sector in India. It had a significant equity stake in Airtel Bharti (formally known as Bharti). However, BT exited from Indian mobile access market later on. Recently, the company has acquired licences for providing national long distance and international long distance services. With this, BT has again set its focus on the Indian market. Arun Seth, CMD of BT India, talks about the company’s plans to Manoj Gairola. Excerpts:

What are BT’s plans in India?

BT was established in India to serve the connectivity needs of its multinational customers. Post our licences for providing long distance services in India, we are keen to serve the requirements of a new breed of Indian companies that are going global. As the companies extend their geographical boundaries, communication acts as a major pain-point in their expansion and integration process. This is where BT steps in. We provide high-speed quality video and voice services over our MPLS network which enable more companies to maximise the benefits from our networked IT capability in the areas of convergence, CRM and security.

We have gained leadership in the IT and BPO markets and are now extending our horizon to the Indian MNCs going global with focus on BFSI, media, broadcast, pharmaceuticals, IT and hospitality sectors.

What is your share in the managed services sector in India?

The IT & ITeS sector, which is our key customer, is expected to clock more than $40 billion in annual revenues and grow to $60 billion by 2010. Strong demand for global delivery has led many companies to look for our networked IT services. It’s difficult to ascertain the total needs of this sector but according to estimates, of the total spend nearly 10 per cent is set aside for the technology services, giving a potential of $6 billion. If you go by the growing needs of Indian MNCs, this is not even a fraction of what lies ahead.

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