Latest news with #SharatSinha
Entrepreneur
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Entrepreneur
Airtel Business Aims To Double Growth In IoT Division
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the force behind the world's major revolution in connected technology solutions. IoT helps enterprises unlock a competitive edge by driving efficiency, enhancing safety, reducing costs, and enabling smarter decision-making across sectors. "For Airtel, IoT is amongst the fastest growing product portfolios in the enterprise space with a focus on doubling down growth. Our growth in this space is attributed to our consistent strategic investments in both our in-house IoT platform and a custom network built for IoT devices. We are increasingly combining connectivity and Cloud services, making our solutions an economical choice for customers," said Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO- Airtel Business. Airtel Business currently connects over 48 million IoT devices across use cases. IoT initiatives are also being driven by digitization programs of the Government such as National Smart Grid Mission aimed at reducing aggregate technical and commercial losses for the DISCOMs. "In this area , we are working with SIs deploying the smart metering solutions and acting as one stop solution providers for the smart metering technology stack," he said. IoT connectivity remains the company's largest contributor and the focus is expanding beyond core capabilities. The connected car ecosystem One of the emerging trends in terms of consumer IoT can be witnessed in the automotive sector. The connected car ecosystem in India has evolved rapidly over the past 24-36 months, with all leading auto manufacturers either launching connected offerings or gearing up for it. "The focus of OEMs is to launch an Internet-enabled vehicle, wherein connectivity and smart features are at the core of the product offering. We tailor IoT solutions to cater to the distinct needs encountered by enterprises across the automobile domain. OEMs are looking for solutions to enable traffic segregation between infotainment and vehicle telematics, a problem we have solved by enabling multi-APN support. They are also looking to share the connectivity costs with the vehicle owner, which has been enabled by Airtel Business via an innovative multi-party billing solution," added the CEO. Connected vehicle data has the potential to redefine the driving experience. With India gearing up to become a global manufacturing hub for automobiles, device OEMs and IoT solution providers are looking to manufacture and build their IoT solutions in India and deploy globally. Some of the other analytics are around real time driving patterns and driver behavior helping OEMs build features aimed at improving safety. OEMs today implement security features such as emergency calling (e-call) and SOS communication to ensure that the vehicle can communicate with a contact center in case the passenger needs any help. 5G & Beyond While the network infrastructure is rapidly expanding, the widespread adoption of 5G IoT devices will take time. For 5G IoT to achieve widespread penetration, the cost of 5G modules and devices needs to significantly decrease. Automotive OEMs will be the earliest adopters of full 5G capabilities for IoT. This is primarily driven by the need for higher throughput to support bandwidth-intensive use cases like in-car infotainment, including music streaming, video on demand, and seamless connectivity for multiple passenger devices. These applications benefit significantly from the enhanced speeds and capacity that 5G provides. "Beyond these high-bandwidth applications, we anticipate that the broader 5G IoT market will also gravitate towards 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap). Use cases such as advanced wearables, industrial sensors, are ideal candidates for RedCap, offering a better balance of performance, power efficiency, and cost. Our core network already supports 5G RedCap. However, the widespread availability of cost-effective RedCap modules and the development of such solutions will take time to evolve," Sinha said. In Fy26, as part of expansion, Airtel Business will continue to provide comprehensive full-stack solutions across various verticals like asset monitoring, energy management, and smart logistics. Specifically for the smart metering sector, where large SIs and EPC companies are seeking single-stop providers for their technology IoT devices penetration increases, issues around data security and privacy are gaining prominence. "We have been building capabilities to ensure that our customers and their data always remain secure. Airtel Business strictly complies with Department of Telecom's guidelines on IoT which mandate restrictive communication for IoT devices. We have deployed dedicated core network infrastructure which enforces these policies stringently, while giving our customers the flexibility to dynamically configure and define rules on the fly," the CEO IoT market growth is set to accelerate in 2025. Starting this year, the enterprise IoT market growth is forecasted to re-accelerate, growing at 14 percent CAGR through 2030. Driving this recovery is spending on IoT-related SaaS and IaaS, both forecasted to grow at over 20 percent CAGR through the rest of the decade, stated a report by IOT Analytics.
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Business Standard
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Airtel rolls out Business Name Display to prevent spam call confusion
Building on its spam filter service, Bharti Airtel on Monday announced a Business Name Display (BND) feature that will allow businesses to display their brand name on the recipient's mobile screen during outgoing calls. Launched in September last year, the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered spam filter uses a proprietary algorithm to identify and classify calls and SMSes as 'Suspected SPAM' for Airtel users. However, Airtel Business said the filter had led more people to ignore calls flagged as spam or from unknown numbers — resulting in important calls from trusted brands being tagged incorrectly. Consequently, customers were missing critical calls from banks, food delivery services, courier companies, and hospitals. The Business Name Display feature aims to solve this challenge by clearly showing the name of the company making the call. This allows businesses to stand out while helping protect customers from fraudulent callers. Additionally, businesses will gain access to call engagement analytics, such as answer rates and interaction patterns. The solution has been successfully piloted with over 250 businesses across sectors including banking, retail, food delivery, mobility, quick commerce, and logistics. These businesses used over 1.5 million phone numbers to make 12.8 million calls in the past 30 days, resulting in a significant increase in customer engagement. 'With Business Name Display, we will be helping businesses establish trust and stand out with every call, while simultaneously giving customers the confidence of knowing who is reaching out to them. It is about making communication more personal, secure, and seamless for both sides,' said Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO, Airtel Business. In December, the telecom company had announced that it flagged 8 billion spam calls and 0.8 billion spam SMSes within 2.5 months of the spam filter's launch. Airtel said it identified nearly 1 million spammers every day on its network, where 6 per cent of all calls and 2 per cent of all SMSes were classified as spam.
Hans India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Airtel Business Launches 'Business Name Display' (BND) for Enterprises
Gurugram (India), May 5, 2025: Airtel Business today announced the launch of 'Business Name Display' (BND), an industry-first solution designed to enhance customer engagement for enterprises. The service enables businesses to display their brand name on the recipient's mobile screen during outgoing calls, thereby fostering trust and helping customers distinguish legitimate business calls from spam. Airtel solved the spam challenge for its customers with the launch of India's first spam-fighting network, supported by a nationwide awareness campaign to educate users. While these initiatives have significantly increased customer awareness, leading more people to ignore calls flagged as spam or from unknown numbers, it also resulted in unintended consequences where call from brands got tagged as spam. Consequently, customers were missing on critical calls from banks, food delivery, courier delivery, hospital for critical doctor's appointment et al. The 'Business Name Display' solves for this challenge and facilitates a relevant yet safe communication environment enabling end customers to make informed decisions on all incoming calls, which will display the name of the company the call is from. In turn, businesses can stand-out to their customers even as they protect them from fraudulent callers. Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO, Airtel Business, said, 'At Airtel, we are constantly innovating to create a communication experience that is smarter, safer and more transparent for everyone. With 'Business Name Display', we will be helping businesses establish trust and stand out with every call while simultaneously giving customers the confidence of knowing who is reaching out to them. It is about making communication more personal, secure and seamless for both sides.' The solution was successfully piloted with over 250 businesses across sectors including banking, retail, food delivery, mobility, Quick commerce, courier and logistics. These businesses used 1.5 million+ phone numbers to make 12.8 million calls in the last 30 days, leading to an impressive increase in customer engagement. By displaying a verified name at the onset of each call, businesses can: Clearly distinguishes itself from unknown calls Build trust and enhance their brand reputation Provide context that improves the customer experience as well as the call answer rates To activate the service, businesses must register and configure their details through Airtel Business's online portal here.
Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Airtel launches new feature to let businesses display their names on calls
Airtel Business introduced an industry-first solution called 'Business Name Display' (BND) on Monday, May 5, aimed at helping enterprises improve customer trust and engagement during voice calls. The service allows businesses to display their brand name on the recipient's mobile screen for outgoing calls in order to help users recognise the calls and differentiate them from spam. The move comes in response to a growing menace of spam and fraudulent calls, which have led customers to ignore unknown numbers, including calls from businesses as well. With BND, Airtel is looking to solve this by allowing brands to establish their identity upfront, the telecom major said. 'Airtel is focused on building a communication experience that is smarter, safer, and more transparent. With 'Business Name Display', we are giving businesses a way to stand out and build trust while providing customers the clarity and assurance they need when receiving calls,' Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO, Airtel Business, said in a statement. During the BND trial, over 1.5 million phone numbers were used to make 12.8 million calls in 30 days. The service was operated across 250 businesses across sectors such as banking, retail, food delivery, courier, logistics, mobility, and quick commerce. The results showed a significant boost in customer engagement and call response rates, the Indian telco added. Airtel's latest offering builds upon its earlier efforts to stop spam calls in India, including the launch of a spam-fighting network and a nationwide awareness campaign. While these efforts have made users more cautious, they have also led to some genuine calls from banks, hospitals, or deliveries being mistakenly ignored or flagged as spam. According to Airtel, businesses can do the following with BND:
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bharti Airtel's B2B unit launches brand name ID solution for enterprises
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel 's B2B unit, Airtel Business , on Monday launched a new solution, Business Name Display , aimed at growing customer engagement for enterprises. Similar to the caller ID service offered by Truecaller and other applications, Airtel Business's solution enables businesses to display their brand name on the recipient's mobile screen during outgoing calls, which in turn, will facilitate trust and help customers differentiate legitimate business calls from spam. The launch comes months after Airtel rolled out a free-of-cost artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solution to caution its mobile customers against suspected spam calls and messages. India's second-largest telco, however, said the solution also unintentionally started tagging calls from brands as spam, leading to customers missing out on important calls from banks, food delivery, courier delivery, and hospitals. 'With 'Business Name Display', we will be helping businesses establish trust and stand out with every call while simultaneously giving customers the confidence of knowing who is reaching out to them. It is about making communication more personal, secure and seamless for both sides,' said Sharat Sinha, director & CEO, Airtel Business. As per Airtel, it has successfully piloted the solution with over 250 businesses across sectors, including banking, retail, food delivery, mobility, quick commerce, courier and logistics. 'These businesses used over 1.5 million phone numbers to make 12.8 million calls in the last 30 days, leading to an impressive increase in customer engagement,' the telco said in the statement. To activate the service, businesses can register and configure their details through Airtel Business's online portal.
