BPL Mobile launched GPRS services in Mumbai on 16 January 2002 with a network capacity for 10,000 users. The network capacity can be increased with a software upgrade. It is still the only network to have commercial GPRS services. At the end of August 2002, it had around 4,000 GPRS subscribers out of a subscriber base of 534,110, which represents about 0.75% of its overall subscriber base.
BPL Mobile initially hoped to have 25,000 subscribers 12 months after its launch but is now expecting around 10,000. BPL awarded the GPRS infrastructure contract for Mumbai in August 2000 to Motorola in partnership with Cisco. The lack of handset availability (at affordable prices) meant that GPRS was launched 12 months than originally planned. BPL has also blamed the lack of available GPRS handsets for its slow start when BPL launched its GPRS service with the Motorola P7389i. The issue of GPRS handset availability is now less of an issue and there are several GPRS handset devices available for use with BPL's GPRS network, which include the Ericsson T39, Motorola v. 66, Motorola P7389i, Nokia 8310 and Siemens ME 45.
Handset availability is only one issue. There is the need for compelling GPRS services. With only one commercial GPRS service in India, there is no great impetus for third parties to develop content and services for GPRS use because there is no compelling business case for the third parties. Potential customers are looking for compelling GPRS content and at the moment it is not there and is not helped by the small screen of GPRS phones. Anil Nayar, President of Bharti Televentures said that "The small screen of these [GPRS] phones still remains a handicap for many users. They simply do not want to access the Net through such phones unless we manage to discover some killer application and compelling content to appeal the small user base that is expected to adopt GPRS." (quoted in Times of India, 23 May 2002).
No other cellular operators in India have given firm launch dates for GPRS. Bharti in August 2002 indicated that it hoped to launch GPRS in Delhi by October 2002. Operators are looking at how well BPL's GPRS network performs and the fact that it has only 4,000 subscribers is not a encouraging sign. Mumbai is the financial centre of India and it is perceived that the demand for GPRS is stronger here than any other city or region. Launching GPRS requires a significant investment and at the moment operators are unsure whether GPRS will pay back the required investment and if it will, how long will it take and hence are afraid to commit to GPRS. BPL has spent INR 1 billion on installing its GPRS network (USD 20.6 million) in Mumbai. There is also additional expenditure such as advertising and marketing costs to consider. Nevertheless investment on GPRS is still very small compared to the required investment for third generation systems. BPL Mobile is using GPRS as a testing ground for 3G services.
BPL Mobile only has one GPRS tariff. It is offering GPRS at a flat fee of INR 750 (USD 15.4) per month for unlimited use with activation fees of INR 1,200 (USD 24.7). BPL Mobile is offering a special charge of INR 750 per month in which one saves on the activation fee of INR 1200. It is also offering a special offer on the Motorola v. 66 of INR 19,900 (USD 409.7) for the mobile phone and service charges of INR 500 (USD 10.3) per month for one year. Unlike many European operators, there is no tariff charging for GPRS usage by packet. The saving of the activation fee of INR 1,200 is a significant incentive although to access GPRS services also requires a GPRS handset and the handsets are not cheap with many GPRS handsets costing around USD 400 although the Motorola P7389i retails for INR 10,000 (USD 206). The GPRS service is focused on the high-end and corporate user who, although conscious about price, is more concerned with the content and services which GPRS offers with issues such as a high quality of service, great customer service and relevant content are very important.
