Dial for change

New Delhi, Aug 7: AirTel subscribers will be serviced by the likes of IBM Daksh, MphasiS, Teletech and Nortel under an outsourcing deal to be signed on Monday.

The project focused on customer services will cost Bharti Tele-Ventures about Rs 1,000 crore, an amount that is likely to be paid through a revenue-sharing model typical of the outsourcing deals the firm sealed earlier.

The four companies will increase their employee strength to cope with the increase in volumes as a result of the contract. “This will be big work for us. Our focus will be to address problems of technology for corporate customers. I will not be able to divulge more details since we will announce it soon,” Bharti sources said.

Teletech is likely to handle billing, tariff and connectivity. Bharti had joined hands with the US-based firm in the past for a $20-million venture offering back-office support for marketing and infrastructure services.

IBM Daksh will help keep Bharti’s high-end services and products, like broadband and Blackberry, rolling.

Nortel, it is understood, will be given a network outsourcing deal similar to the one Bharti already has with Ericsson for managing and maintaining GSM links.

“Subscribers will have the best in call attendance and complaint recording. The deal will also bring a systematic and scientific approach to customer relations. This should not be perceived as the company moving away from direct interaction with customers,” the sources said. Executives stressed that the deal is part of a trend being followed by all major telecom companies.

Bharti offers mobile services in 23 circles to over 12 million customers across the country. In recent times, its growing subscriber base and new value-added services have outgrown the spectrum available to it, leading to a rise in complaints about customer services. The company’s network management deal with Swedish equipment supplier Ericsson was for $250 million.

Last year, Bharti signed a 10-year contract of $750 million with IBM to outsource its IT operations, which includes hardware, software, services and data warehousing. About 200 employees working on IT operations in Bharti were transferred to IBM under the deal.