A LIVE PROJECT REPORT ON
¶A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS·
BY
Ms. Divya Luthra (MBA 2008-2010)
DECLARATION
I Hereby declare that the project report entitled ³A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS´ submitted for the degree of Master of Business Administration, is my original work and the project report has not formed the basis for the award of any diploma, degree, associate ship, fellowship or similar other titles.
Divya Luthta Part II Place:
Date:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Survey is an excellent tool for learning and exploration. No classroom routine can substitute which is possible while working in real situations. Application of theoretical knowledge to practical situations is the bonanzas of this survey.
Without a proper combination of inspection and perspiration, it¶s not easy to achieve anything. There is always a sense of gratitude, which we express to others for the help and the needy services they render during the different phases of our lives. I too would like to do it as I really wish to express my gratitude toward all those who have been helpful to me directly or indirectly during the development of this project.
I would like to thank my Faculty Guide Mr. Dheeraj Jain who was always there to help and guide me when I needed help. His perceptive criticism kept me working to make this project more full proof. I am thankful to him for his encouraging and valuable support. Working under him was an extremely knowledgeable and enriching experience for me. I am very thankful to him for all the value addition and enhancement done to me. Above all I shall thank my friends who constantly encouraged and blessed me so as to enable me to do this work successfully.
-Divya Luthra
MBA 2008-2010
Executive Summary
All companies emphasize the importance of marketing in general and customer preference in particular. The competition among various mobile service providers is increasing steeply with the entry of new players. Also very high expectations of the mobile users and their increased demand towards specific services have forced these service providers to analyze and constantly keep track of the customer expectations and needs. This indeed forms the need for study about various services to be provided and how to analyze the customer preferences towards different factors. The title of the Live Project undertaken by me is ³A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS´ The basic objective of this study was to understand the various factors which the INC students give importance when they have to make a choice among various mobile services available. My research objective was to analyze the student¶s satisfaction towards various service providers. Also to analyze the impact of various advertisement and promotional schemes launched by these service providers. I have done a descriptive research survey on students¶ preference and behavior towards these service providers. The findings and analysis were focused on whether advertisement has any effect on the preference or not. I have undertaken a descriptive research methodology which includes an analysis of primary as well as secondary data.
TABLE OF CONTENT
SR NO. CONTENT PAGE NO. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION 8
2 OBJECTIVES 9
3 BACKGROUND 10
4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21 5 DATA ANALYSIS 23 6 FINDINGS 27 7 CONCLUSIONS 30 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 32
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
As learning is a human activity and is as natural, as breathing. Despite of the fact that learning is all pervasive in our lives, psychologists do not agree on how learning takes place. How individuals learn is a matter of interest to marketers. They want to teach consumers in their roles as their roles as consumers. They want consumers to learn about their products, product attributes, potential consumers benefit, how to use, maintain or even dispose of the product and new ways of behaving that will satisfy not only the consumer¶s needs, but the marketer¶s objectives.
The scope of my study restricts itself to the analysis of student¶s preferences, perception of different mobile service providers. The scope of my study is also restricts itself to students only.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The subject matter for this research Project is to study the INC Porvorim student¶s preference towards the various mobile service providers. This project consists of different objectives. They are as follows:
To know about the student preference level associated with different mobile service providers.
To find out the students satisfaction towards the various service providers.
To know which advertisement media puts more impact on the buying decision of students.
INTRODUCTION
Telecom Industry in India
The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world.
Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China.
Indiaµs mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.
China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that India¶s share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%.
Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations, India¶s low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.
Indian telecom industry-
Telecom is usually among the first economic sectors to undergo a reform process. Experience of implementing reforms in this sector may be used to frame guidelines for reforms in other infrastructure sectors such as power etc. Telecom reforms in many countries include increased role of private sector in the provision of telecom services. Different countries have operationalized private sector participation through a variety of mechanisms ranging from divestiture of the dominant entity, contracting telecom services to private operators and opening of provision of services to the private sector.
This document outlines the management of the private sector entry in the Indian telecom sector and focuses on the unbundling issues, which have resulted.
Recognizing the role of telecom in development, the government had initiated reforms since 1984. In the first phase these included allowing private sector in customer premise equipment, franchising public call offices, setting up MTNL and VSNL.
During the nineties there was growing recognition that the government alone would not be able to finance the huge investments needed to provide minimum level of telecom infrastructure, and it was imperative to involve the private sector in provision of telecom service Mobile services
India's 21.59 million-line telephone network is the largest in Asia, 3rd largest among emerging economies (after China and Republic of Korea) and the 12th largest in the world. India's telecom network comprises of 27,753 telephone exchanges, with a total equipped capacity of 272.17 Lakh lines and 226.3 Lakh working telephones.
The Long Distance Transmission Network has nearly 1,70,000 route kilometers of terrestrial Microwave Radio Relay & Co-axial cables and about 171,000 route kilometers of Optical Fiber Cables. Fully automatic International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) service is available to almost all the countries. The total number of stations connected to National Subscriber Dialing (NSD) is over 18,000 and this is increasing fast. Yet the present tele-density is very low at about 2.2 per hundred persons, offering a vast scope for growth. In the field of International communications, tremendous progress was made by the use of Satellite Communication and submarine links.
The voice and non-voice telecom services include data transmission, facsimile, mobile radio, radio paging, V-SAT and leased line services to cater to variety of needs, both residential and business. A dedicated Packet Switched Public Data Network (I-NET) with international access for computer communication services is also available. ISDN service has already been introduced in the major cities. Other services like Intelligent Network (IN), Frame Relay (FR) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) for wide band multimedia applications will be introduced in the near future.
In the field of international communications, India's overseas service carrier Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has made tremendous progress by using extensive infrastructure of satellite earth stations, state-of-the-art digital gateways, Optical Fiber Multi Media submarine Cables and Multi Media Data Switches. Fully automatic international subscriber dialing (ISD) service is provided to almost all the countries in the world. In future, VSNL is positioning itself to provide bandwidth on demand, Global Virtual Private Networks, ISDN, B-ISDN, VSATs, Mini-M and hand held Personal Communications.
The telecommunications initiative in the country is led by Ministry of Communications through the Department of Telecommunication & Department Telecom Services and its undertakings for provision of basic telephone services, national and international long distance communications, manufacture of complete range of telecom equipment, research and development, and consultancy services.
Services Offered
y Telephone Services
y NSD/ISD Services
y Computerized Trunk Services
y Pay Phones
y National & International Leased Lines Circuits
y Telex
y Telegraph Services (Manual & Automatic)
y X-25 based Packet Switched Data Network (INET)
y Gateway Packet Switched Data Services (GPSS)
y Gateway Electronic Data Interchange Service (GEDIS)
y Gateway E-Mail and Store & Forward FAX Service (GEMS-400)
y Concert Packet Service (CPS)
y Satellite-based Remote Area Business Message Network
y Electronic Mail
y Voice Mail
y Audio-Text
y Radio Paging y Cellular Mobile Telephone y Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service y Video-Tex y Video Conferencing y V-SAT y Internet y ISDN y INMARSAT Mobile Service y INMARSAT Data Service y Home Country Direct Service y Intelligent Network (IN) Services
Cellular and Paging Services
Cellular and paging services though not a very old means of communication in India has very rapidly caught the imagination of the people. The revolution that started with pagers soon gave way to Mobile phones. Pagers being one way and with limited application have almost disappeared, as mobiles became the favorite. With more and more innovative offers like prepaid cards from telecom service operators, the mobile culture is growing. With more players entering the market, the competition has grown stronger, catering to the demands of consumers. Hutch, Airtel, Idea and Reliance are doing very well and are always coming up with new schemes and plans.SMS is a raging favorite among both the young and the old. A shift towards mobile telephony is apparent from the fact that the share of cellular connections in new connections is steadily going up and had reached 63% in December 2002.
Cell phones now come cheaper and so does the monthly bill.
As a result one can still hear some grudges from service providers as they claim lack of use of enough airtime to make it a profitable business. Today, India has 22 private companies providing cellular services in 18 telecom circles and 4 metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta). Ever since their introduction, cellular services have shown a fair growth with the subscriber base crossing the 1 million mark by the first quarter of 1999.India has adopted the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) for provision of cellular services. The cellular services in India operate in the frequency band 890-902.5 MHz / 935-947.5 MHz. In metro cities, each operator has been allocated a frequency spectrum of 6.2+6.2 MHz (except Chennai where 5.8+5.8 MHz spectrum has been allocated), while for other telecom circles a spectrum of 4.4 +4.4 MHz has been allocated.
Letters and Telegrams
Letters have been written from ages and the Indian Postal service is one of the biggest and most experienced services. About 90% of the postal outlets are in rural India. On an average a post office covers an area of about 21 sq. km and a population of about 6,600 people.
The Indian postal system currently provides 38 services which can be categorized as: Communication: letters, postcards, newspapers Transportation: parcels, money orders etc. Other services: resource mobilization, postal life insurance
For providing postal services, the whole country has been divided into twenty-two postal circles. Each Circle is coterminous with a State except for some. Besides these twenty-two circles, there is another circle, called Base Circle, to cater to the postal communication needs of the Armed Forces.
Telecommunication infrastructure was established in India in 1856. They were telegraphic data communication links principally for government and military use. Telegrams being the fastest means of communication in areas where phone lines did not reach, led to its use by the common man. Even now phone lines do not connect many interior regions of India and the telegram is used to fill in the gap. However it is a fast disappearing means of communication, as connectivity in India both in terms of telephone lines and wireless communication has rapidly grown.
Courier Services Time was when one had to wait for weeks together to see the other person receive important document. The common man had no access to fax machines nor was he aware of it's utility. Then came along the speed post, which too took about a week to deliver. The start of private courier services however changed all that. Documents could now reach within the day or by the next day. Moreover they are more reliable as chances of misplacement are minimal. Today businesses as well as individuals are increasingly dependant on the courier service.
Internet Once the Internet market space was opened up to private Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in 1998, the market has witnessed phenomenal growth. In certain states there has been a high percentage in penetration, but in others it has been slow due to low telecom penetration, low bandwidth and above all illiteracy. All tourist spots however are more or less connected to the net. Cyber cafes are as common a sight as telephone booths and connectivity in India has arrived for the common man. One need no longer invest in a computer, which is still a costly commodity. Though email and Internet browsing remain the favorite purposes e-commerce and e- business have put their foot in. Banks have now facilitated Internet banking. The Indian Railways offers a computerized reservation system which enables a person to book his tickets online and from anywhere. It also provides other services like railway timetables and ticket availability. Airlines bookings, Movie ticket bookings, hospital appointments and even consultations are widely available. Connectivity is fast spreading in all areas and the Internet is becoming more and more user friendly. Facilities in connectivity are easily available even though not a very high percentage of Indians use these facilities. The good news is that with improvements in bandwidth and penetration of Internet through PCs as well as cable TV, the Internet user base in India will expand by leaps and bounds. The cable route in fact is being touted as a significant pathway for the proliferation of the Internet in India. India already boasts of 37 million cable connections (expected to jump to 100 million by 2008), which could additionally be converted into Internet connections. Thanks to the wireless application protocol (WAP), Internet is coming to India through mobile phones as well. Voice over IP, a dream so far for India, too is expected to be reality in the future
History of Cellular Telephony
1947 Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications with the police car technology.
1947 The basic concept of cellular phones began, when researchers looked at crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially. However at that time, the technology to do so was nonexistent.
1947 AT&T proposed that the FCC allocate a large number of radio- spectrum frequencies so that widespread mobile telephone service would become feasible.
1947 The FCC decided to limit the amount of frequencies available, the limits made only twenty-three phone conversations possible simultaneously in the same service area.
1968 AT&T and Bell Labs proposed a cellular system to the FCC of many small, low-powered, broadcast towers, each covering a 'cell' a few miles in radius and collectively covering a larger area. Each tower would use only a few of the total frequencies allocated to the system. As the phones traveled across the area, calls would be passed from tower to tower.
1968 The FCC reconsidered its position by stating "if the technology to build a better mobile service works, we will increase the frequencies allocation, freeing the airwaves for more mobile phones."
1973 (April) The first call on a portable cell phone is made by Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, who is also considered the inventor of the first modern portable handset.
1977 AT&T and Bell Labs had constructed a prototype cellular system. A year later, public trials of the new system were started in Chicago with over 2000 trial customers.
1979 The first commercial cellular telephone system began operation in Tokyo.
1980 Analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Each country developed its own system, which was incompatible with everyone else's in equipment and operation
1981 Motorola and American Radio telephone started a second U.S. cellular radio-telephone system test in the Washington/Baltimore area.
1982 FCC authorizes commercial cellular service for the USA.
1982 The Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT) formed a study group called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study and develop a pan-European public land mobile system. The proposed system had to meet certain criteria:
Good subjective speech quality Low terminal and service cost Support for international roaming Ability to support handheld terminals Support for range of new services and facilities Spectral efficiency ISDN compatibility
1983 The first American commercial analog cellular service or AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) was made available in Chicago by Ameritech. 1987 Cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the airways were crowded.
1989 GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI),
1990 Phase I of the GSM specifications were published.
1991 Commercial launch of cellular service based on GSM standard in Finland
Cellular Telephony In India
1981 The DoT separated from the Post and Telegraph Department
1984 Manufacturing of subscriber terminal equipment opened to private sector.
1985 Telecom was constituted into a separate department with a separate board.
1986 VSNL and MTNL, two operational divisions of DoT, corporatised
1989 Telecom Commission formed.
1991 Telecom equipment manufacturing opened to private sector. Major international players like Alcatel, AT&T,Ericsson, Fujitsu, and Siemens entered equipment manufacturing market.
1992 Telecommunication sector in India liberalized to bridge the gap through government spending & to provide additional resources for the nation¶s telecom target. Private sector allowed participating
1992 First disinvestment of MTNL& BSNL
1994 Licences for radio paging (27 cities) issued.
1994 May New Telecom Policy announced.
1994 September Broad guidelines for private operator entry into basic services announced.
1994 November Licences for cellular mobiles for four metros issued.
1994 December Tenders floated for bids in cellular mobile services in 19 circles, excluding the four metros, on a duopoly basis.
1994 License for providing cellular mobile services granted by the government of India for the Metropolitan cites of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai. Cellular mobile service to be duopoly
1995 August Kolkata became the first metro to have a cellular network telecom circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.
1995 January Tenders floated for second operator in basic services on a circle basis.
1995 July Cellular tender bid opened.
1995 August Basic service tender bid opened; the bids caused lot of controversy. A majority of bids were considered low.
1995 19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses
1995 December LOIs issued to some operators for cellular mobile operations in circles.
1996 January Rebidding takes place for basic services in thirteen circles. Poor response. 1996 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) formed by ordinance.
1996 October LOIs being issued for basic services.
1996 Dec Start of cellular services in circles
1997 March the TRAI Act passed in Parliament.
1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is set up
1998 June Several VASs available through private operators. The first private basic service becomes operational.
1999 Mar TRAI's tariff order 1999 March Announcement of National Telecom Policy1999.
1999 Oct DTS separated from DoT
2000 January Amendment to the TRAI Act.
2000 Apr Reconstitution of TRAI and formation of TDSAT
2000 August Announcement of Domestic Long Distance Competition Policy.
2000 Oct Corporatisation of DTS to form BSNL
2001 January TRAI recommends that basic service providers be allowed to provide limited mobility services within a local area, called Short Distance Charging Area. 2001 January, the Cellular Operators Association of India moves the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal over the decision to permit basic service providers to offer limited mobility services.
2001 January DoT issues guidelines for limited mobility services.
2001 March DoT issues guidelines on allocation of spectrum for limited mobility services.
2001 March DoT issues 40 letters of intent to three basic service providers.
2001 April Government refers the limited mobility issue to a Group of Ministers on telecom and IT Convergence, after COAI approaches the Prime Minister to seek his intervention in the matter.
2001 April GoT-IT submits its report to the PM. Clears limited mobility services, subject to alterations being made in certain guidelines.
2001 May DoT accepts the GoT-IT recommendations and incorporates the changes in the guidelines.
2001 May TRAI issues tariff order on limited mobility services, making them as affordable as landlines.
2001 Oct Issue of licences for fourth cellular operators
2002 Feb Disinvestment of government's 25 per cent stake in VSNL to the Tata Group
2002 March TDSAT dismisses COAI¶s petition, challenging the government¶s decision to allow basic service providers to offer limited mobility services. 2002 April COAI appeals to the Supreme Court against TDSAT µs judgment.
2002 December Supreme Court asks TDSAT to take a fresh look at its decision, while keeping in mind the issue of the absence of a level playing field raised by cellular operators. Refuses to stay the rollout of limited mobility services.
2002 December Reliance Infocomm launches its limited mobility services.
2003 March Talks between basic and cellular service providers to resolve their differences over the limited mobility issue, initiated by the government, fail.
2003 July TRAI permits provision of SMS by basic service providers.
2003 August TDSAT delivers its verdict on limited mobility issue. Rules that limited mobility services are legal, but they should be restricted to within a SDCA. Asks DoT and TRAI to provide a level playing field to cellular operators within four months.
2003 October Group of Ministers on Telecom decides to restrict limited mobility services to an SDCA as per the TDSAT ruling.
2003 October GoM on Telecom gives its nod to TRAI¶s recommendation of a single licence for basic and cellular services.
2003 October Cabinet gives its approval to the unified licensing regime.
2003 November DoT issues guidelines on unified access licensing. Paves the way for Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices to convert their basic service licences into mobile licences. 2003 November Unified licences issued to Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices.
2004 May TRAI releases consultation paper on unified licensing for basic and cellular services.
2004 August TRAI issues draft recommendations on Unified Licensing Regime.
2005 January TRAI issues recommendations on Unified Licensing Regime.
2005 June TRAI¶s direction to all unified access service providers, basic service operators and cellular mobile service providers on provision of wireless services outside the licensed service area
COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India)
COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) was set up in 1995 as a registered non- governmental, and non-profit society. The Cellular Operators Association of India was established with the aim that it would be dedicated to the advancement of modern communication.
COAI encourages the advancement of communication through Services of Mobile Cellular Telephone. The vision of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) is to set up and sustain cellular infrastructure that is of world class standard and also to encourage mobile communication services that is affordable in the country. Cellular Operators Association of India is the official voice for the cellular industry in India and it interacts on its behalf with the licensor, the telecom industry associations, the management spectrum agency, and the policy makers. The chairman of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) is Mr. Sanjeev Aga and the vice- chairman is Mr. Naresh Gupta. COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) has many committees under it such as the Executive Council Committee, Business Development Committee, Finance and Commercial committee, Regulatory Council Committee, and Technology Committee.
The various objectives of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) are that it would study the best research and practices of the cellular industry in India and at the same time analyze the worldwide cellular experience. Further the various objectives of COAI are to encourage mobile telephony services at affordable rates for the Indians, to improve the competitiveness and standards in the Indian cellular industry, and also reach the status of top class infrastructure.
Also the various objectives of Cellular Operators Association of India are to improve the quality and standards of services by consulting GSM India that is the Indian chapter of the Association GSM and to help the authorities that are relevant by giving them information with regard to the cellular industry in order to help them form suitable polices which would help in the growth of the industry.
COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) objectives includes to upgrade and maintain services such as security, speech transmission, coverage, and access in order to help in the expansion of the cellular services in the country and to make continuous efforts to satisfy the customers. Further the various objectives of COAI are to address the problems of the cellular operators that relate to financial, operational, licensing, or regulatory by interacting with the Ministry of Finance, Department of telecommunications, Financial Institutions, Ministry of Communications & IT, Ministry of Commerce, and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Also the objectives of Cellular Operators Association of India are to make efforts to achieve the country's objectives of better rural access and increased tele- density and also to spread information and dispense awareness among consumers and operators on issues relating to the various kinds of services provided by the service operators to their customers.
COAI MEMBERS-
COAI Core members-
1.) Aircel group 2.) Bharti airtel limited 3.) BPL Mobile communications ltd 4.) Idea cellular ltd 5.) Reliance telecom ltd 6.)spice communications ltd 7.) Vodafone essar ltd
COAI Associate members-
1. Alcatel Lucent 2. ATC Tower Company of India Pvt. Ltd. 3. Aster Infrastructure Pvt. Limited 4. Ericsson Communications Ltd. 5. Essar Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. 6. GTL Infrastructure Ltd. 7. India Telecom Infra Limited 8. Motorola India Limited 9. Nokia Siemens Networks 10. Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Ltd. 11. Texas Instruments India Ltd. 12. Tower Vision India Pvt. Ltd. 13. XCEL Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
Components and factors responsible behind the growth of telecommunications industry
Two major factors responsible for the growth of telecommunications industry are use of modern technology and market competition.
One of the products of modern technologies is optical fibers, which are being used as a medium of data transmission instead of using coaxial or twisted pair cables. Optical fibers can carry a high volume of data and are easier to maintain and install. Use of communication satellites makes this telecommunications industry a booming industry.
The use of mobile network has a crucial role behind the growth of an improved telecommunications industry. Leading companies are showing their interest to invest in this telecommunications industry.
Telecommunications industry is going to be a digitized one. Use of ISDN (Inter Services Digital Network) makes this telecommunication industry a total digitalized system and eventually enhanced the speed and quality of digital communication.
The introduction of these advanced technologies makes the telecommunications industry a competitive one, where a number of multinational companies have shown their interest to invest in this industry and consequently the prices are reduced, the quality is also improved. During the period of 1990, the telecommunication industry showed a speedy growth in terms of investment and eventually increased the competition. The competition between the companies led to the decline of revenues.
Telecom equipment and services India has a mere 1.2 telephones for every 100 of its people. This is way below international standards and is not becoming of a country aspiring to be a major player in the global economy of the 21st century. This means that opportunities for investment in this sector are immense. Basic voice services are the biggest market. Installation of around 25 million direct exchange lines by the year 2001 will require an investment of US$ 22 billion. The cumulative investment up to the year 2001 to meet demand for cellular mobile and radio paging services is estimated at US$ 8 billion and US$ 1 billion respectively. Investment in other Value Added Services (VAS) up to 2001 is estimated at US$ 3.5 billion.
The government cannot make investments of this magnitude because of resource limitations. The private sector and foreign companies are therefore welcomed into this sector, both as direct investors and exporters of equipment and technology. VSAT services, though privatized, have not taken off in India. Demand for electronic mail, video-conferencing is not strong enough to justify investment. Besides, license fees to be paid to the _ HYPERLINK "http://www.dotindia.com/" _Department of Telecommunications_ (DoT) are too high given the size of demand.
The telecom sector has witnessed the presence of many leading foreign companies including US companies: AT&T, Motorola, Nynex, US West, Hughes, Harris, Qualcomm, Sprint, Telstra, NTT, Singapore Telecom, Philippine Telecom, Bezeq, Siemens, Ericsson, Nokia, Fujitsu, Alcatel, and Bell Canada among others. The _ HYPERLINK "http://www.dotindia.com/" _DOT_ retains its monopoly as of now as the main service provider short- and long-distance basic services.
Private operators have to obtain licenses from DOT and work with it on a revenue sharing basis. It has been agreed in principle that private companies will be allowed to establish their own gateways in addition to using the gateways of _ HYPERLINK "http://www.dotvsat.com/index.shtml" _DOT_, _ HYPERLINK "http://internet.vsnl.net.in/" _VSNL_ or authorised public\government organisations. But this concept will be put into practice only after security-related issues are looked intoi by a committee that has already been set up.
Potential investors should be aware that telecom privatisation has been hit with snags. Cellular phone operators have been taken by unpleasant surprises. Both the bidders and the government had then estimated an average air-time use of 250 minutes per subscriber per month. But the actual use, as at May 1998, was only 140 minutes. Each subscriber now spends an average of Rs.1,100 a month on an average, but the industry needs a per subscriber expenditure of Rs. 1,800 every month to make commercial sense. This situation is building pressure to extend the licenses to 15-year-periods as opposed to the current 10 years. The extension will bring in extra revenue which can help the private operators make some money for themselves and pass a part of it to the customer as well (given the intense competition among the private operators).
One possibility is that India may follow the Chinese model of cellular phone services, which is to charge a high monthly rental but low air-time charge. This may reduce the number of subscribers but those who subscribe will have a higher spending power. At present, India charges a monthly rental of only US$4 (compared to US$30 in China) while the average air-time charge in India is 20 US cents (compared to only 5 cents in China).
The case for increasing monthly rental is clear: The present monthly rental of US$4 (approx. Rs. 160) for cell-phones is less than the rental for pagers (which is Rs.250): this is clearly an anomalous situation which cannot last long. The profile of the cell-phone owner in India is therefore poised to change towards the better-off classes who can pay higher monthly rental and talk longer on cheaper air-time rates. This will drive out the lower middle classes from the cell-phone circuit, but middle-to-upper middle classes in India are huge enough to make commercial sense for the private operators.
It can be expected that responsibility for resolving telecom issues will gradually devolve to the states. Customs duty on parts of telecommunications equipment and sub-assemblies thereof are on the decline and will be ultimately be totally eliminated in accordance with the telecom agreement of the World Trade Organisation.
Provision of _ HYPERLINK "http://www.indiaonestop.com/internet.htm" _Internet services_ has been thrown open to domestic and foreign investors with effect from October 7, 1998.
Cellular Service Overview
1. There are five private service operators in each area, and an incumbent state operator. Almost 80% of the cellular subscriber base belongs to the pre-paid segment.
2. The DoT has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the same Operating circle provided their combined market share did not exceed 67 per cent. Previously, they were only allowed to buy companies outside their circle.
Growth Drivers Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are growth drivers in the industry. Cellular operators now get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.
The Key players in the Telecom Market in India
Cellular Service provider: 1. BSNL 2. Airtel 3. Vodafone 4. Reliance 5. Tata Indicom 6. Idea Subscribers:
Wireless subscribers crosses 200 million mark
Tele density reaches 21.20%
The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 241.02 million at the end of August 2007 as compared to 232.87 million in July 2007. The overall teledensity has increased to 21.20% in August 2007 as compared to 20.52% in July 2007.
In the wireless segment, 8.31 million subscribers have been added in August 2007 while 8.06 million subscribers were added in July 2007. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base reaches 201.29 million at the end of August 2007.
Profiles of various companies in telecom sector
AIRTEL
Type Public, Listed on BSE
Founded 1985
Headquarter New Delhi, India s
Key people Sunil Mittal
Industry Telecom
Mobile and Fixed-Line Telecommunication Products operator
Revenue $6 Billion
Slogan Express Yourself
Website www.airtel.in
Bharti Airtel, formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) is India's largest cellular service provider with more than 75 million subscribers as of August 2008.It also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its TELECOM services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers through its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. Bharti Enterprises has successfully focused its strategy on telecom while straddling diverse fields of business. From the creation of 'Airtel', one of India's finest brands, to becoming the largest manufacturer and exporter of world class telecom terminals under its 'Beetel' brand, Bharti has created a significant position for itself in the global telecommunications sector. Bharti Airtel Limited is today acknowledged as one of India's finest companies, and its flagship brand 'Airtel', has over 24 million customers across the length and breadth of India.
While a joint venture with TeleTech Inc., USA marked Bharti¶s successful foray into the Customer Management Services business, Bharti Enterprises¶ dynamic diversification has continued with the company venturing into telecom software development. Recently, Bharti has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group owned ELRO Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA.
Companies of Airtel
A brief introduction to each of its companies is given below: 1. Bharti Airtel Ltd Bharti Airtel Ltd is India's leading provider of telecommunications services. The company has 4 distinct Business divisions - Mobile & telephone services, broadband services, long distance services and enterprise services. 2. Bharti TeleTech Ltd Bharti TeleTech Ltd manufactures and exports world-class telecom equipment under the brand 'Beetel' 3. Telecom Seychelles Ltd Telecom Seychelles Ltd provides telecom services in Seychelles, under the brand 'Airtel' 4. Bharti Telesoft Ltd Bharti Telesoft Ltd delivers best-in-class, revenue-critical VAS products and services to telecom carriers. 5. TeleTech Services (India) Ltd TeleTech Services (India) Ltd is joint venture with TeleTech Inc., USA. It offers a range of Customer Management Services. 6. FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd is Bharti's venture with EL Rothschild Group owned ELRO Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA.
Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airtel. Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of subscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates). It has presence in all 23 circles of the country and covers 71% of the current population. Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti Airtel. In March 2008, Bharti Airtel will roll out third generation services in Sri Lanka in association with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singtel" \o "Singtel" Singtel. This is because Singapore-based Asian telecom major Singtel, which owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in the 3G space as it has already third generation networks in several markets across Asia The Company Bharti Airtel is in India the biggest integrated and also the 1st telephone service provider in the private sector, which has footprint in around 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel Limited has been since its very beginning using the latest technology and thus the company has paved the way for the telecom sector in India with its world-class services and products. This has helped Bharti Airtel Company to grow for the number of its customers has increased very rapidly over the years. The company has around 5o million customers in 2007 and its market share of mobile subscribers in India is at 23.4%. The company Bharti Airtel Limited's total revenue amounted to Rs.12, 242 crore in 2006- 2007 and the net profit stood at Rs.3, 126 crore. The Company Bharti Airtel is divided into 3 business units that are: y Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services y Enterprise services y Mobile services
Among the various services that the Bharti Airtel Limited Company provides to its customers, the services of broadband and telephone (B&T) are 1 of them. The company provides broadband Internet services of high speed for it has the best network in India. The company Bharti Airtel also provides telephone services in around 94 cities of the country and this helps the people to stay connected with one another. The company plans to expand its broadband and telephone services by providing IPTV services and DTH operations. Further Bharti Airtel provides enterprise services to its customers. The services of enterprise provide telecom end-to-end solutions to customers who belong to the corporate sector and also long distance services to international and national carriers. The company Bharti Airtel has more than 35,016 kilometers of optic fiber, a submarine landing station, and is also a member of South East Asia- Middle East- Western Europe- 4. All this has helped the company to provide the best enterprise services to its customers. The company Bharti Airtel Limited plans to expand its enterprise services so that it can achieve the status of a global carrier within a period of 2- 3 years.
Awards and Recognition Wireless service provider of the year 2005 at the Frost and Sulivan Asia-Pacific ICT awards Competitive service provider of the year 2005 at the Frost and Sulivan Asia-Pacific ICT awards Bharti Airtel added the highest ever net addition of 5.3 million customers in a single quarter (Q4-FY0607) and also the highest ever net addition of 18 million total subscribers in 2006-07 The company will invest up to $3.5 billion this fiscal (07-08) in network expansion. It has an installed base of 40,000 cellsites and 59% population coverage After the proposed network expansion, an additional 30,000 towers will result in the company achieving 70% population coverage Bharti has over 39 million users as on March 31, 2007 It has set a target of 125 million subscribers by 2010 Prepaid customers account for 88.5% of Bharti¶s total subscriber base, an increase from 82.7% a year ago ARPU has dropped to Rs 406 Non-voice revenues, (SMS, voice mail, call management, hello tunes and Airtel Live) constituted 10% of total revenues during Q4, lower than 10.7% in the Q4 of the previous year
Blended monthly minutes of usage per customer in Q4 was at 475 minutes Has completed 100% verification of its subscribers and in the process disconnected three lakh subscribers
Market News Market Capitalisation Approx. Rs. 1,670 billion Closing BSE share price = Rs. 880.75 Sales : 02.62 Billion $ Profits : 00.46 Billion $ Assets : 04.46 Billion $ Market Value : 41 Billion $ On February 12, 2007 Vodafone sold its 5.6% stake in AirTel back to AirTel for US $1.6 billion; and purchased a controlling stake in rival Hutchison Essar.
1983 as Racal Telecom, Founded independent 1991
Headquarters Newbury, England, UK
Arun Sarin, CEO Key people Sir John Bond, Chairman John Buchanan, Deputy Chairman Andy Halford, CFO Industry Mobile telecommunications
Mobile networks, Telecom services, Products Etc.
Revenue Ÿ £31.104 billion GBP (2007)
Net income ź £-1.564 billion GBP (2007)
Make the most of now (in many
Slogan countries, their previous slogan,
How are you?, is still used)
Website www.vodafone.com Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £100 billion (December 2007). Vodafone currently has equity interests in 25 countries and Partner Networks (networks in which it has no equity stake) in a further 39 countries. The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones." At 31 January 2007 Vodafone had 200 million proportionate customers in 25 markets across 5 continents. ("Proportionate customers" means, for example, that if Vodafone has a 30% stake in a business with a million customers, that is counted as 300,000). On this measure it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile. The eight markets where it has more than ten million proportionate customers are the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Egypt and the United States. In the U.S., these customers come via its minority stake in Verizon Wireless, and in the other seven markets Vodafone has majority- controlled subsidiaries. On 30 May 2006, the company announced a loss before tax of £14.9 billion for 2005, the biggest loss in British corporate history. The loss for the year from continuing operations was £17.2 billion and the bottom line loss for the financial year was £21.8 billion. The company was pushed into loss by impairment charges of £23.5 billion, which related to the acquisition of Mannesmann several years earlier, and losses of £4.6 billion in relation to its discontinued business in Japan. At an operating level it remained highly profitable, with an operating profit on continuing operations of £9.4 billion before impairment costs. Vodafone¶s original logo was used until the introduction of the speech mark logo in 1998. In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two UK cellular telephone network licenses. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15% and 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110 million. In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group. In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores. In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation. On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone airtouch plc. Trading of the new company commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilefunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network. On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000. In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone¶s interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resists Vodafone¶s efforts. However on 3 February 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.
Hutch Becomes Vodafone In one of the biggest brand transition exercises in recent times, Hutch, India¶s fourth-largest mobile service provider will be renamed Vodafone. Vodafone is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crore on this high-profile transition. Vodafone has acquired 67 per cent in Hutchison Essar from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, and completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007. The brand change that will touch 3.5 crore customers and four lakh shops and employees will be executed through a media blitz and the pug, which had become famous with its network advertisement, will remain. ''This marks a significant chapter in the evolution of Vodafone as a dynamic and ever-growing brand. The brand change over the next few weeks will be unveiled nationally through a high profile campaign covering all important media,'' a news agency quoted the company statement as saying. Leading broadcaster Star India has entered into an exclusive deal with Vodafone Essar for the latter's re-branding campaign to Vodafone from Hutch.
Financial Results From its 31 March 2006 year end onwards Vodafone will report its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It has issued results amended to IFRS standards for its 31 March 2004 and 31 March 2005 year ends for information purposes, and these are shown in the first table below. Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion that equals £4.5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure and Vodafone¶s proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies' statutory turnover. Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, eg. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes £7,100 million from discontinued operations
Growth of Hutchison Essar (1992-2005): In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a company that in 1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications services in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in November 1995. Analjit Singh of Max still holds 12% in company. By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service in 13 of India's 23 licence areas and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a company that held licence applications for the seven remaining licence areas. In a country growing as fast as India, a strategic and well managed business plan is critical to success. Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India - in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to establish a robust network, well known brand and large distribution network -all vital to long-term success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-end post-paid customers which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a higher Average Revenue Per User ("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan, it was able to establish leading positions in India's largest markets providing the resources to expand its footprint nationwide. In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately US$11.1 billion or HK$87 billion.
1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group established Hutchison Max 2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations Entered Calcutta and Gujarat markets through ESSAR acquisition 2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai 2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL - Essar Subsidiary) which operated in Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and renamed it under Hutch brand 2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely 'Punjab', 'Uttar Pradesh West' and 'West Bengal' 2005: Acquired BPL, another mobile service provider in India 2008: Vodafone acquired Dishnet Wireless, a service provider in Orissa and has successfully launched its services in the following circle. 2008: Vodafone launched the Apple iPhone 3G to be used on its 17 circle 2G network. Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out visibly though it uses only white letters on red background. Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a pug named Cheeka following a boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline, Wherever you go, our network follows. The simple yet powerful advertisement campaigns won it many admirers.
BSNL (BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED)
Communication Service Type Provider
Countrywide except Delhi & Availability Mumbai
Revenue US$ 9.04 billion (2006)
Owner The Government of India
Key people Kuldeep Goyal(CEO)
19th century, incorporated Founded 2000
Website www.bsnl.co.in
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation Limited) is a public sector communications company in India. It is the India's largest telecommunication company with 25.14% market share as on December 31, 2007. Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janpath, New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-ratna - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector companies in India. BSNL is India's oldest and largest Communication Service Provider (CSP). Currently BSNL has a customer base of 68.5 million (Basic & Mobile telephony). It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New Delhi which are managed by MTNL. As on December 31, 2007 BSNL commanded a customer base of 31.7 million Wireline, 4.1 million CDMA-WLL and 32.7 million GSM Mobile subscribers. BSNL's earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 stood at INR 397.15b (US$ 9.67 b) with net profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion). Today, BSNL is India's largest Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Undertaking with estimated market value of $ 100 Billion. The company is planning an IPO with in 6 months to offload 10 % to public.
History
The foundation of Telecom Network in India was laid by the British sometime in 19th century. The history of BSNL is linked with the beginning of Telecom in India. In 19th century and for almost entire 20th century, the Telecom in India was operated as a Government of India wing. Earlier it was part of erstwhile Post & Telegraph Department (P&T). In 1975 the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from P&T. DoT was responsible for running of Telecom services in entire country until 1985 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. It is a well known fact that BSNL was carved out of Department of Telecom to provide level playing field to private telecoms.Subsequently in 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for Private investment, therefore it became necessary to separate the Government's policy wing from Operations wing. The Government of India corporatised the operations wing of DoT on October 01, 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).BSNL operates as a public sector.
Main Services being provided by BSNL BSNL provides almost every telecom service, however following are the main Telecom Services being provided by BSNL in India:- 1. Universal Telecom Sevices : Fixed wireline services & Wireless in Local loop (WLL) using CDMA Technology called bfone and Tarang respectively. BSNL is dominant operator in fixed line. As on December 31, 2007, BSNL had 81% marketshare of fixed lines. 2. Cellular Mobile Telephone Services: BSNL is major provider of Cellular Mobile Telephone services using GSM platform under brandname Cellone. Pre-paid Cellular services of BSNL are know as Excel. As on March 31, 2007 BSNL had 17% share of mobile telephony in the country. 3. Internet: BSNL is providing internet as dial-up connection (Sancharnet) and ADSL-Broadband Dataone. BSNL has around 50% marketshare in broadband in India. BSNL has planned aggressive rollout in broadband for current financial year. 4. Intelligent Network (IN): BSNL is providing IN services like tele- voting, toll free calling, premium calling etc. BSNL Units BSNL is divided into a number of administrative units, termed as telecom circles, metro districts, project circles and specialized units, as mentioned below:- Telecom Circles: Telecom Circles & Metro districts are responsible for providing service to the customers. There are 24 Telecom Circles and 2 Metro districts.
BSNL Present & Future Since its corporatisation in October 2000, BSNL has been actively providing connections in both Urban and Rural areas and the efficiency of the company has drastically improved from the days when one had to wait for years to get a phone connection to now when one can get a connection in even hours. Pre-activated Mobile connections are available at many places across India. BSNL has also unveiled very cost-effective Broadband internet access plans (DataOne) targeted at homes and small businesses. At present BSNL enjoy's around 45% of market share of ISP services. y http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Broadband.PNG y http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Broadband.PNG
Year of Broadband 2007 2007 has been declared as "Year of Broadband" in India and BSNL is in the process of providing 5 million Broadband connectivity by the end of 2007. BSNL has upgraded existing Dataone (Broadband) connections for a speed of up to 2 MB/s without any extra cost. This 2 MB/s broadband service is being provided by BSNL at a cost of just US$ 5.5 per month. Further, BSNL is rolling out new Broadband services as Triple play (telecommunications).
BSNL is planning to increase its customer base to 108 million customers by 2010. With the frantic activity in the communication sector in India, the target appears achievable, however due to intense competition in Indian Telecom sector in recent past BSNL's growth has slowed down. BSNL is pioneer of Rural Telephony in India. BSNL has recently bagged 80% of US$ 580 m (INR 2,500 crores) Rural Telephony project of Government of India.
Challenges During Financial Year 2006-2007 (From April 01, 2006 to March 31, 2007) BSNL has added 9.6 million new customers in various telephone services taking its customer base to 64.8 million. BSNL's nearest competitor Bharti Airtel is standing at a customer base of 39 million. However, despite impressive growth shown by BSNL in recent times, the Fixed line customer base of BSNL is declining. In order to woo back its fixed-line customers BSNL has brought down long distance calling rate under OneIndia plan, however, the success of the scheme is not known. However, BSNL faces bleak fiscal 2006- 2007 as users flee, which has been accepted by the CMD BSNL. Presently there is an intense competition in Indian Telecom sector and various Telcos are rolling out attractive schemes and are providing good customer services. However, BSNL being legacy operator and its conversion from a Government Department, earns lot of criticism for its poor customer service. Although in recent past there have been tremendous improvement in working of BSNL but still it is much below the Industry's Expectations. A large aging (average age 49 years(appx)) workforce (300,000 strong), which is mostly semi-illetrate or illeterate is the main reason for the poor customer service. Further, the Top management of BSNL is still working in BSNL on deputation basis holding Government employee status thus having little commitment to the organisation. Although in coming years the retirement profile of the workforce is very fast and around 25% of existing workforce will retire by 2010, however, still the workforce will be quite large by the industry standards. Quality of the workforce will also remain an issue.
SPICE/IDEA
Spice: Public, Listed on BSE Type Idea: Subsidiary
Spice: 1997 Founded
Idea: 1995
Spice: Mohali, India Headquarters Idea: Indore, Delhi, Pune, India
Spice: Dilip Modi
Key people Idea: Chairman: Kumar Mangalam Birla ; MD:
Sanjeev Aga
Industry Telecom
Products Mobile operator
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business Revenue /idea-cellulars-revenue479-/394751
Spice: Spice Hai toh life hai (If there's Spice then
Slogan there's Life.)
Idea: An !dea can change your life.
Spice: Spice Telecom ; Idea: Website www.ideacellular.com Introduction to Spice One of the service providers of mobile telephony in India Spice Telecom, is the brand name of Spice Communications Limited.Spice Telecom is presently operating in the states of Punjab and Karnataka i.e. in 2 circles of 23 Telecom Circles of India. Spice Communications Limited has been promoted by Dilip Modi of Modi Wellvest Private Limited . 40.80% of the company is owned by Modi Wellvest; Modi is promoted by Mr. Dilip Modi and Super Infosys. Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) owns 39.20% through TMI India Limited, Mauritius. TMI India Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of TM's international investment holding company TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI). Spice Telecom is a flagship company of MCorp Global (www.mcorpglobal.com) a cellular mobile telephone services provider in India.
Introduction to Idea IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007. Idea Cellular is a leading GSM mobile service operator with pan India licenses. With a customer base of over 36 million in 15 service areas, operations are soon expected to start in Orissa and Tamil Nadu-the first steps in providing pan India services covering over 90% of India's telephony potential. A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in India in an increasingly segmented market. Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand known for many firsts, Idea was the first to launch GPRS and EDGE in the country. Idea has received international recognition for its path-breaking innovations when it won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years. IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, India's first truly multinational corporation. The group operates in 25 countries, and is anchored by over 100,000 employees belonging to 25 nationalities. The Group has been adjudged 'The Best Employer in India and among the Top 20 in Asia' by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study2007.
Idea acquires Spice Telecom Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company, along with Telecom Malaysia International (TMI) announced the acquisition of 40.8 per cent stake in Spice Communications Limited (Spice) at a price of Rs. 77.30 per share. TMI is an emerging leader in Asian telecommunications with over 44 million subscribers and a presence in 10 countries. The operational synergies emerging out of this merger would augur well for both the telecom players.
The acquisition of Spice gives Idea the much needed headway in Punjab and Karnataka states that account for more than 10 per cent of India¶s wireless subscribers. The entire process of the merger between both the companies would take six to eight months to complete. Post merger, Idea is looking at a pan-India presence. The deal also gives Idea the opportunity to leverage. Idea Cellular, the leading GSM mobile services operator has licenses to operate in all 22 service areas of India with commercial operations in 11 service areas. With a customer base of over 26 million, it runs operations in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) & Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, holds spectrum for Mumbai, Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), and Karnataka, and licenses for the remaining six service areas. With the planned launch of services in Mumbai, Bihar and Jharkhand, Orissa and Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) towards the end of the calendar year, Idea's footprint will soon cover approximately 90 per cent of India's telephony potential. Idea has acquired Spice Telecom and the deal consists of 4 transactions: y Idea will acquire the Modi¶s 40.8% stake in Spice (for Rs 2,720 crore). y Idea will launch the mandatory 20% open offer for the Spice shareholders, jointly with Telecom Malaysia International (TMI). y Idea will merge Spice with itself and offer a 14.99% stake to TMI through a preferential allotment. y The Idea-TM combine will launch the open offer at Rs 77.30 jointly with TMI, which now holds 39.2%in Spice
INTRODUCTION
A DREAM COME TRUE The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India ² an India where the common man would have access to affordable means of information and communication. Dhirubhai, who single-handedly built India¶s largest private sector company virtually from scratch, had stated as early as 1999: ³Make the tools of information and communication available to people at an affordable cost. They will overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility.´
It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a pan- India fibre optic backbone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasion of Dhirubhai¶s 70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.
Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is capable of delivering a range of services spanning the entire infocomm (information and communication) value chain, including infrastructure and services ² for enterprises as well as individuals, applications, and consulting.
Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). According to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billion shares of the company. Reliance Infocomm is an Indian telecommunications company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance- Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Reliance ADA Group. Reliance Infocomm is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.It uses CDMA2000 1x technology.
HISTORY Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to 2002 Reliance Infocomm built 60,000 km of fiber optic backbone in India. This network was commissioned on December 28, 2002.
FOOTPRINT At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are available in 340 towns within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are available in 19 states and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. Reliance Infocomm also offered for the first time in India, mobile data services through its R-World mobile portal. This portal leverages the data capability of the CDMA 1X network.
BUSINESS REVIEW
Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs. 2,250 crore (US$ 522 million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%. EBITDA of the Global business increased by 98% during the twelve months ended March 31, 2007 to Rs. 1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA margins increased to 24% from 12% last year.
In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of 123% to Rs. 1,144 crore (US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by more than 6 times, to Rs. 519 crore (US$ 120 million). The EBITDA margin crossed 45% in the twelve months ended March 31, 2007, from 15% in the corresponding period in the previous year.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Survey design:
The study is a cross sectional study because the data were collected at a single point of time. For the purpose of present study a related sample of population was selected on the basis of census.
Sample Size and Design:
A sample size of 100 students was taken on the basis of census.
Research Instrument:
This work is carried out through self-administered questionnaires. The questions included were open ended, dichotomous and offered multiple choices.
Data Collection:
The data, which is collected for the purpose of study, is divided into 2 bases:
Primary Source: The primary data comprises information survey of target students. The data has been collected directly from respondent with the help of structured Questionnaires.
Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from internet and References from Library.
Data Analysis:
The data is analyzed on the basis of suitable tables by using mathematical techniques. It was also based on observation of the feedback collected through the questionnaires provided to the samples, as well as the general trend being followed by the students in selecting any network (observing the people around.)
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1. Do you have any mobile Connection?
Particulars Number %
Yes 99 99
No 1 1
yes no
2. How many mobile connections do you have?
Particulars Number % One 58 58 Two 33 33 Three 7 7
>three 2 2
one two three more than three
3. Which service are you using?
Particulars Number % Prepaid 74 74 Postpaid 22 22 both 4 4
prepaid postpaid both
4. Which Mobile connection are you currently using?(including 2 or more services)
Particulars Number % BSNL 12 12
Airtel 34 34 Vodafone 30 30 Reliance 58 58 Tata Indicom 25 25
Idea 24 24
BSNL Airtel Vodafone Reliance Tata Indicom Idea
5. Are you satisfied with the services?
Particulars Number % Yes 68 68 No 22 22
yas no
6. Which factor do you give the highest preference?
Particulars Number %
Coverage 49 49 Call charges 32 32 Promotional 5 5 Schemes
GPRS 14 14
OTHERS 0 0
coverage call charges promotional schemes GPRS others
7. What is the basic purpose for using your preferred connection?
Particulars No. % Calling 20 20 Texting 75 75
Internet 5 5
calling texting internet
8. Does advertisement play important role in your preference making?
Particulars Number % Yes 78 78 No 22 22
yes no
9. Which Advt. media puts more impact on your preference making?
Particulars Number % TV 64 64 Newspapers 9 9 Magazines 8 8 Internet 18 18 Others 1 1
TV Newspaper Magazines Internet Others
10. Would you like to change your current service provider in near future?
Particulars Number % Yes 38 38 No 72 72
yes no
11. Which service would you like to go for, if you want to change?
Particulars Number % BSNL 4 4 Airtel 36 36 Vodafone 20 20 Reliance 20 20 Tata Indicom 12 12 Idea 8 8
BSNL Airtel Vodafone Reliance Tata Indicom Idea
Findings and conclusions:
Findings:
Major preferences are given to the following factors, in selection of particular connection, which is currently in use.
1. Coverage holds the maximum preference in selecting any network. 2. Call charges has been preferred after call rates (among students). 3. Thereafter comes other factors like texting , internet, GPRS service(as in order of preference)
CONCLUSIONS Vodafone and Airtel provides the highest coverage area.
T.V. is the best media advertisement media that put more impact on the INC students buying behavior.
One interesting analyses found out is that students using BSNL services say that any type of advertisement media has no impact on their preference while buying.
Reliance is preferred most as basic or alternate network with 58%.
Overall airtel has been placed at the highest priority as to coverage call rate etc.
68% of the students are not satisfied by the service they are currently using.they either carry an alternate no. with them or are planning to change their current service.
78% of the students are attracted towards advertisements in selecting any serice.( Vodafone in this case is the main prefernce)
Texting is yet the other purpose (major one) among students to choose any network. E.g. reliance..(lowest sms charges)
TV has the major impact as an advertising media an prefring any service.
If the students switch over to other network, then Airtel is their major preference.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
Principles of Marketing ± Philip Kotler Marketing Management ± ICFAI Publications Business Research Methods ± ICFAI Publications
Web Resources: www.google.com www.trai.gov.in www.bsnl.co.in
www.goaedu.org