Why Airtel DTH is Better Than Tata Play

 

Last year, I was forced to switch to Airtel DTH and give up my Tata Play connection. I was quite happy with my Tata Play (earlier, Tata Sky) connection and used to consider myself their loyal customer. I kept delaying switching to Airtel for more than a year and when I switched to it, I did not hope for any better service. But I was shocked to find Airtel much better than Tata Play!

The very first thing I noticed with Airtel DTH’s set up box was that if I switched off my TV/DTH, or if power cut happens, and DTH is back after a while, the TV started from the channel I was watching last! It was a great convenience and I liked it. It was only the beginning.

I noticed that the picture quality was much better on Airtel as compared to Tata DTH, although I discounted this by thinking perhaps because its machine was new for my TV.

The next great, or perhaps the greatest advantage I found with Airtel DTH was that it did not charge “extra” fee for HD channels. Tata Play/Sky used to charge a fixed monthly fee (perhaps Rs 150) just to watch any HD channel, even if only one. HD channels are costlier than SD channels anyway, and I did not understand why they needed to charge fixed monthly fee merely to enable HD quality. Airtel does not charge anything extra, and I am free to choose any number of HD channels along with other SD channels. The price difference between SD and HD channels is also very low, mostly Rs 5, for each channel. And this has enabled me to subscribe to many HD channels in my ala-carte list, and it greatly enhanced my TV viewing experience.

To summarize, I like Airtel DTH much more than my previous Tata Play DTH and I recommend Airtel DTH highly to everyone.

- Rahul

New Airtel Brand Identity

One fine morning, I realized that Airtel had changed its logo. The new logo propped up everywhere in the city in a matter of a week. At first glance, I didn’t like it. On second thoughts I criticized Bharti for the extravaganza (consider the cost of changing the logos and hoardings all across the nation; and creating new ads for media). I wondered what the reason behind such a change was. I liked the previous logo – it was bright and made a strong impression. But now that the initial ‘shock’ is over, I see the matter from a different angle.

Airtel announced adopting a new brand identity on the occasion of touching 200 million subscriber base. Also, it made the launch to be part of strategically synergizing all its global operations under a single brand. Making it part of the same strategy Airtel changed the Zain brand name to Airtel for its $ 10.7 billion African acquisition of Zain Telecom. And that explains how the swirling “a” appears in the logo. Just search for Zain Logo on google or yahoo images and you would see its similarity with the new Airtel Logo. Similarity of logos would give the new brand identity an edge in places where Zain used to dominate the market.

Along with the logo, Airtel also launched a new Airtel Signature tune made by AR Rahman.

I found the new Airtel logo to be far trendier and it would also connect with the youth in a better way. Just compare the new Vs the old logo. The old one had a rectangular shape – it gave a strong but ‘closed’ impression which doesn’t go well with today’s ‘open’ times. The new logo is more curvy, has less dark color and it would go well in any occasion or getup. In contrast, the old one had more corporate and serious look. I am sure the new Airtel logo would connect with the youth with a far better effectiveness. (On this aspect, a lot of other brands like Vodafone and DoCoMo were doing better than Airtel)

Total expenditure of the launch and promotion of new brand identity all over the world would cost around Rs 300 Crores. But given the strategy and integration of Zain, I think the payback doesn’t need to be calculated. Overall, given the strategic vision behind the launch of new brand identity, I give full marks to Bharti Airtel. I am sure it will succeed.

- Rahul