Sharat Chandra

GTL Raises the Bar

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President and Chief Operating Officer – Strategy & New Technologies, GTL Limited talks to Intercomms about the company’s innovation in the area of Network Planning, Design & Optimisation.

Q: What is GTL’s play in RF domain?
A: GTL Ltd., a Global Group Enterprise, is India’s largest network services and solutions provider to address the Network Life Cycle requirements of Telecom Carriers and Technology providers (OEMs). Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Global Group is focused on Network Services and Shared Telecom Infrastructure. For over two decades, the group has been partnering with leading Telecom OEM’s and Operators to offer it’s cutting edge solutions in the wireless communications space. Executing projects in over 35 countries, the Company has built over 45 cellular networks, installed and commissioned over 36,000 cell sites, connecting more than 36 million subscribers.

Network Planning, Design and Optimisation is a key vertical of GTL through which we deliver end to end RF capability which includes six functional sub-verticals starting from RF planning down to Training.

Q: Is Outsourcing a feasible option in this complex area of RF?
A: With proliferation of wireless networks globally, subscriber expectations are increasing, but the cost of managing the network must be reduced. This is a paradox that Operators face all the time. Add to that the fact that Network size & complexity is rapidly increasing with new multi – vendor, technology & version networks becoming increasingly common, the Carriers are perpetually in search of creating differentiation to ward off increasing competition and decreasing ARPU. RF engineers are hard to come by and tough to retain. They are always seeking an environment where they learn new techniques, work on multiple tools and deliver to multi-vendor network topologies. It is this uniqueness in our talent pool that gives us the edge.

Through years of experience and working across divergent geographies and technologies, we have developed an optimal balance between off-shore and onsite activities that can be performed in tandem. With our Virtual Planning & Optimisation setup in Gurgaon, New Delhi, India, we are in a position a position to offer a host of benefits which would not be available to customers in the traditional mode of seeking services from a services partner:

Benefits

• Low fixed Cost regardless of the project location

• Fast Delivery Cycle and Quick deployment of project

• Cost effective especially for high cost areas

• Flexible service packages to meet unique customer needs

• Ideal solution for high-risk or hard to access areas

• Expertise availability guaranteed:
  • Core expertise group available to service multiple projects
  • Quick take-off without time lag to mobilize
  • Uniform application on tools through standard processe

With the acquisition of ADA Cellworks in November last year we have taken a leap forward in enhancing our capabilities on a global scale. This acquisition brings to us proficiency in a multitude of tools, a talent pool of over 1000 high calibre RF engineers and presence in APAC, China and a big pool in India.

We are cross leveraging on markets where GTL was strong through its long term presence in bringing in services on RF and likewise, building up GTL presence in markets and with customers that ADA has developed over a decade of market leadership.

Q: What is your Business Model?
A: The business model is built around creating a multi vendor, multi tool proficiency through which we deliver services in a combination of onsite and offshore delivery. The primary engagement route is to serve the customer under KPIs and SLAs which then form the basis of measuring the outcome for customer network improvement, audit and first time deployment. Strengthened by a strong commitment to train the customer’s engineers on specific RF related courses, GTL not only creates a robust process based delivery engagement, but infact works towards strengthening the Carriers innate capabilities in the RF domain.

RF Planning, Design and Optimisation done for 31 networks, of leading telecom brands:

• Experience across 15 geographies
• Covering 2G, 2.5G, 3G technologies
• Across standards such as GSM, Edge/GPRS, CDMA, UMTS and WiMAX

Q: Tell us a about your Management Style?
A: I believe in creating synergy at all levels and provide strategic leadership and guidance to set medium and long-range agendas and the style and tone of operations. I have been focusing on refining business development objectives and furnishing the strategic vision and motivation behind the Company’s success in the competitive global marketplace. Tackling and withstanding some tough challenges along my career path, I utilize keen insights into the industry’s market dynamics, business priorities and clients’ needs and requirements to understand opportunities, weigh feasibility and move fast with the right strategy into the markets. Being open-minded and innovative, I am committed to continue building a strong team of professionals dedicated to GTL and its clients.

For more information visit:
GTL website at www.gtllimited.com
or email us on gtlservices@gtllimited.com