WE ARE THE LEADING CDMA PROVIDER IN NIGERIA
Tushar Maheshwari, Starcomms Chief Commercial Officer

Starcomms Plc, Nigeria’s highly innovative telecommunication company has been rolling out a lot of value-added services to the pleasure of its subscribers in the last few months. These services tailored to help its 3 million subscribers live their lives in much better ways than they would without their phones.
In an exclusive interview with A&B, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari explained how the company has been leading as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) provider despite the competition in the telecommunications industry.

What are the things that really stand Starcomms out
At Starcomms, what stands us out are mostly our innovative services. Of course, the credit for that goes to every member of the company. Then we have very high standard and high quality services. We just want subscribers with smiles on their faces. And some of these innovative services have positioned Starcomms as pioneer of a kind in West Africa and in fact the whole of Africa. For instance, Starcomms is Africa’s first CDMA operator to introduce location based services, which are deployed by most big international telecommunications company to its subscribers.
Also, our innovative services are one of its kind. For example, we have a service called StarTrack. This service allows subscribers (Locators) on the Starcomms network to know the whereabouts of their Friends, Family, Team and loved ones via SMS at every point in time.
This service will however, be enjoyed with the consent of the subscribers being located (Locatees) to allow the locator (registered Starcomms Subscriber) to locate them.
With the aid of StarTrack, subscribers would be able to keep up with their buddies wherever they are – in school, at the club, the cinemas, in the mall or at their office and hook up with them. This service is very useful for families, especially when parents need to know the whereabouts of their wards that may not be far from home. The parents can easily know when they are in their school and ensure their safety and wellbeing without making phone calls or sending SMS to them directly.
Starcomms StarTrack has been particularly designed to eliminate worries in the lives of people who want to be on top of their circumstances always. We recognize the fact that subscribers cannot be everywhere all the time. But the need to be in close touch without necessarily interfering in each other’s activities makes StarTrack the service of choice.
Also, keeping its subscribers abreast of modernity, Starcomms is also offering all its subscribers, regardless of the quality of phones the opportunity to log on to world’s popular networking sites Facebook, Twitter, Hi5 and MySpace. The Starcomms Social Networking Service, the first in the country, creates a platform for users to connect to their web contact without the need for a computer. Related to the social networking service is the voice chat service. This is designed to help foster relationships among Starcomms subscribers whose personal traits align. Named Starcomms Afritalk, the service will enable customers to relate by voice with people who are not on their phone lists and so extend their span of influence
We have other packages like listen to Bible and Quran on your phones. It is the first network to bring these services to Nigeria, keeping its subscribers in touch with modernity.
These are what really stand us out among our contemporaries. Innovation is basic to our relationship with our customers, we have continued to take our subscribers to higher level of experience each time we introduced any new service or products. For these, many other operators have been trailing our track records but we keep moving

Why it is that Starcomms is not given attention to spreading its network across the country
Wherever we are, our aim is to standardize what we have and bring smiles to the face of our subscribers. Of what benefit it is when you are everywhere and cannot render quality services? Well, we have Starcomms in more than 31 cities in Nigeria, rendering quality services to all subscribers. There is no gainsaying that modern telephony has gone beyond mere conversation from a distance. Since the deregulation of telecommunication services in Nigeria about a decade ago, Nigerian public have been inundated with new ways of using the telephone that have changed the entire lives of people. It’s above just making calls

What are the challenges in the telecommunications industry and how is Starcomms coping with
One major challenge is the inter-connectivity among all telecommunications network. There have been many things surrounding this issue. Sometime back, there was an issue between Starcomms and a particular network, but was rectified after some agreement. This issue of inter-connectivity still exists. Sometimes, it might be faulty cable to expired deal, but I hope with time, such challenges will be a thing of the past. Those challenges really do not have any negative effect on us at Starcomms. We are the leading Code Division Multiple Access provider in Nigeria and we will continue to lead with our cutting edge services.

As the Chief Commercial Officer, what facelift are you ready to give Starcomms
In terms of the brand, am with the right management to drive Starcomms to the greatest height of achievement. Keeping in mind our target audience, we have these three watchwords; to be the most vibrant, most innovative with the youths in mind. That’s why most of our consumer-based promotions target the youth especially. Moreover, our internet facility is the first of its kind in this country. It’s cheap and fast, this is part of my initiative with my crew since my inception into office in August.

Why is it that Starcomms rarely engage in event sponsorship
Not really my friend, it’s just that we focus on strategies that will make our consumers understand us better. Whenever we launch in a new place, we usually organize our own style of event inviting stakeholders. In terms of sponsorship, we are just being selective in what you called event in Nigeria. Part of our activities for the first quarter of this year is to organize event in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and University of Lagos will be the first to taste it.

What has been your working relationship with the CEO and members of staff
My relationship with my CEO, Maher Qubain has been splendid. He is more or less a Nigerian. He treats everybody equally despite the fact that he is not from India like most of us here. Nigerians are a very good set of people and my members of staff are not an exemption. I have been enjoying every bit of my stay in Nigeria and I can say that there is no place like Nigeria in Africa.