A  huge sci-fi fan, Sridhar T. says he sees Star Trek-like stories coming to life all around him. “Fiction is turning into reality, as I see scores of people flip open their mobiles, a la Spock. I guess I am waiting for the ‘Beam Me Up, Scotty’ bit to happen,” he says with a laugh.

While that lies far into the future, Sridhar had nursed early ambitions of becoming a cricketer or an astronomer. “I wanted to be a cricketer after seeing Kapil Dev in action. However, I realised that I could neither hit nor throw straight. Then, when Doordarshan was airing Star Trek, I wanted to be an astronomer, boldly going where no man had gone before,” he says.

While that was not to be, his career has called for boldness of a different kind. He spent the initial part of his career in the IT space, working with brands like Zenith Computers and Acer. He then shifted to the telecom sector, joining Samsung India.

“In the late 1990s, I considered mobility as the domain of a select few who could afford call tariffs of Rs 16 per minute. However, as I witnessed the inflection points in the industry and saw the progressive adoption of mobility by the masses, I realised the power of this industry. Today, I can look back and see the change telecom has brought about. I was lucky to be part of that change,” he says.

In 2003, he joined Idea Cellular and later Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL). Today, as chief operating officer of SSTL’s Tamil Nadu circle, Sridhar has several challenges and targets before him. “In a single line, my role is to make SSTL the most competitive operator in the industry. With 13 to 14 players in every circle, many telecom watchers believe the industry is overcapacitated. Thus, a new brand has to be sharply focused and create maximum consumer engagement in order to make an impact and establish a mindshare footprint. This remains the core challenge.”

Commenting on future trends, he says that certain “new-age” applications will take centre stage over the next few years. “M-commerce, m-banking and mobile advertising will gain traction. Devices are bound to explode with newer technologies coming in.”

That apart, he expects consolidation to take place in the sector and data to become an important revenue stream. “Given the current network overcapacity, there is bound to be consolidation. The industry is looking forward to the National Telecom Policy, 2011, as many forward-looking measures are expected to come in.”

In his personal time, Sridhar enjoys reading, in particular books by Ken Follett and Jeffrey Archer. He also enjoys rereading classics by Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.