Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced a new initiative – Open Network — under Project Leap, its national network transformation initiative.
Under the initiative, the company has opened up its entire mobile network information to its customers through an interactive online interface, which will display Airtel’s mobile network coverage/signal strength across India, in addition to network site deployment status on a real time basis.
The new interface will be available on the company’s website and myAirtel app starting Wednesday that will also allow customers to report their network-related issues in an easy fashion, the company said.
This is similar to a portal that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is working on wherein consumers can check the signal strengths of operators in a particular area.
“Using a simple colour scheme, the interface will allow customers to check if the Airtel mobile network in an area is excellent, good, moderate or non-existent, along with the status of corresponding sites serving the area — existing, required, being upgraded or forcibly shut down,” Airtel said.
The interface uses geospatial tools and other technologies for accurate reporting of network coverage.
In addition, customers can also contact the Airtel Call Centre or walk into any of the Airtel Flagship Stores across the country to report network-related issues. All Airtel Call Centres and Flagship Stores have been especially equipped with solutions based on the new interface to respond to network related issues, it said.
“Open Network is a paradigm shift in the way we engage with our customers. With this initiative, we are establishing complete transparency with regard to our mobile network and opening ourselves to customer scrutiny and feedback,” Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said.
“Today, getting permissions to put up a network site is perhaps the biggest challenge in delivering a seamless experience to customers. We hope our customers will actively come forward and help us make our network better,” he added.
A 360 degree campaignStarting Wednesday, the company is also rolling out a 360 degree advertising campaign around the Open Network initiative. The mixed media campaign from Taproot-Dentsu will communicate the initiative on TV, print, outdoor and digital format, Airtel added.