A

SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

“COMPARISON OF AIRTEL WITH RELIANCE INFO COMM”

“SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION” (BBA)

SUBMITTED BY:

PALKEET SINGHBBA Final Yr

Regd. No. : 2007.GIM/A.143

GURU NANAK INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & ITROAD NO-73, PUNJABI BAGH,

NEW DELHI- 110026(2007-2010)

Guru Nanak Dev UniversityAMRITSAR

1

Date: 15th June, 2009

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Palkeet Singh, student of Bachelor of

Business Administration, Guru Nanak Institute Of Management & IT

and has completed Summer Training for the period of from training

from 15th June 2009 to 30 July 2009 in our organization.

We find him very sincere and hardworking. We

wish him all the success in life.

for Airtel Ltd.

Akhilesh KumarMarketing Manager

159, Phase-1, Industrial Area,

,

Chandigarh160002

1

Ph No. 09915134909Email: nurajbr@delsco.iobnet.co.in

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is indeed of great moment to pleasure to express my senses of per found

gratitude & indebt ness to all the people who have been instrumental in making

my project a rich experience. I got the opportunity to do a challenging project

with AIRTEL. The project is the important part of our study and gives us a

real practical exposure to the corporate world and it is almost impossible to do

the same without the guidance of peoples in and around us.

I am thankful to my project guide Ms. Manpreet Kaur & Ms Riti Passi for her

guidance during my project. I am also thankful to my College Director Prof.

J.S. Gujral for giving me chance to get such an experience and giving me

chance to get an industrial experience.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the

managing member of ICICI. The entire experience has been very encouraging

and will certainly help me stand in good stead throughout my Career in Future.

Signature

PALKEET SINGH

BBA – Final Yr

GUIDE CERTIFICATE

3

This is to certify that the project titled “COMPARISON OF AIRTEL WITH RELIANCE INFO COMM” is an original work of Mr. PALKEET SINGH, Enrollment student of Guru Nanak Institute of Management & IT , New Delhi submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (2007-2010) under the guidance of the committee.

.

Signature of committee members Signature of H.O.D

Ms. Riti Passi Mrs. Maninder Kaur

Ms. Manpreet Kaur Signature of Director

Prof. J.S Gujral

CONTENTS

4

S.No TOPICS PAGE No.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

CHAPTER -1

Introduction :-

CHAPTER -2

Research Methodology :-

♦ Objective of the study

♦ Data Collection Method

♦ Scope of the study

CHAPTER -3

History of Tele sector in INDIA -:

CHAPTER -4

Company profile -:

♦ Vision

♦ Strategic Objective

CHAPTER -5

Data Analysis and Interpretation:-

♦ Comparison

♦ Swot Analysis

CONCLUSION:-

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-

ANNEXURE -:

♦ QUESTIONNAIR:-

6-8

9-16

17-32

33-58

59-86

87-88

89

90-92

5

CHAPTER -1CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION -:

6

The project title “Comparison of AIRTEL with Reliance

InfoComm.” is the analysis of the big scale sector of

communication. This project involves the big scale level provided

by Airtel to its customers. The survey was conducted so as to

analyze the big scale sector prevailing in the current industry

and the improvement that can be made upon it.

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company

markets its strategies and how the company has been able in

tackling the present tough competition and how it is cooping up

by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report

begins with the history of the products and the introduction of the

Airtel Company. This report also contains the basic strategies

that are used by the Airtel Company of manufacturing process,

technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export

scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report

includes some of the key salient features of market trend issues.

1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel

industry and Reliance InfoComm.

7

2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Reliance InfoComm. On

big scale sector.

3. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies,

manufacturing process, technology adopted production policy,

advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect for

the two companies and government policies.

4. To study the level of customer satisfaction in Airtel & Reliance Info.

5. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the

purchase decision process.

6. To study consumer preferences.

7. To study the consumer trend in telecommunication sector.

8. To study competitive marketing strategies adopted by Airtel and

Reliance InfoComm.

8

CHAPTER -2

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY -:

9

Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding

the subject. As the prime objective of the project is to compare Airtel

with the existing competitor(reliance infocomm.) in the market and

the impact of WLL on Airtel,

The research methodology adopted is basically based on primary

data via which the most recent and accurate piece of first hand

information could be collected. Secondary data has been used to

support primary data wherever needed.

Primary data was collected using the following techniques

Questionnaire Method

Direct Interview Method and

Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct

interview method, where a face-to-face formal interview was taken.

Lastly observation method has been continuous with the questionnaire

method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he

works in.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

10

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very

essential for an organization to know about the view of consumers and their

competitive products. This survey research may be also aimed as to estimate

potential buyer for the product. The objective of the study is as under:-

. To know about customer acceptance of the product

. To suggest the steps for the sales promotion of the product

. To study the requirement regarding to the future of the product

. To analysis the consumer perception about the quality of the services

. To find out solution of customers problems.

. To know how the company has been successful in encountering the

aggressive marketing strategies of competitors.

11

DATA COLLECTIONDATA COLLECTION METHODMETHOD

THERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATA COLLECTIONTHERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION..

•• PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA

•• SECONDARY DATASECONDARY DATA

DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY INDATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY IN

NATURE. NATURE.

PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA: :

PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE

COLLECTED FOR THE FIST TIME AND THUS HAPPENCOLLECTED FOR THE FIST TIME AND THUS HAPPEN

TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.

•• QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYQUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY ::

IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THEIN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THE

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 20 QUESTIONS.QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 20 QUESTIONS.

12

SECONDARY DATASECONDARY DATA::

SECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATA SECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATA

THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY COLLECTED .THETHAT HAS BEEN ALREADY COLLECTED .THE

SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TOSECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TO

CARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW: CARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:

•• BOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERSBOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS

•• INDUSTRY REPORTSINDUSTRY REPORTS

•• COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE

•• OTHER RELEVANT STUDIES MATERIAL ANDOTHER RELEVANT STUDIES MATERIAL AND

WEBSITES.WEBSITES.

SAMPLE UNITSAMPLE UNIT: - NEW DELHI: - NEW DELHI

THE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTINGTHE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTING

WITH NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIESWITH NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIES

PERFORMED, WHICH INCLUDED, MARKETS, COLDPERFORMED, WHICH INCLUDED, MARKETS, COLD

CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC. SAMPLE DESIGN CONSISTS OFCALLING, CANOPIES, ETC. SAMPLE DESIGN CONSISTS OF

RANDOM SAMPLING.RANDOM SAMPLING.

SAMPLE SIZESAMPLE SIZE :: - 50 PEOPLE - 50 PEOPLE

13

METHOD OF COLLECTIONMETHOD OF COLLECTION:: - -

FIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY DATAFIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY DATA

INCLUDED OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ININCLUDED OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEW SCHEDULE IN

WHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILED BY THEWHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILED BY THE

INTERVIEWER. INTERVIEWER.

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS THROUGH SELF ADMINISTEREDPERSONAL INTERVIEWS THROUGH SELF ADMINISTERED

SURVEY WAS DONE TO COLLECT THE DATA, MARKETSURVEY WAS DONE TO COLLECT THE DATA, MARKET

RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN, THAT WASRESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN, THAT WAS

ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMING VARIOUS ACTIVITIESACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMING VARIOUS ACTIVITIES

DESIGNED.DESIGNED.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTRESEARCH INSTRUMENT ::

QUESTIONNAIREQUESTIONNAIRE

THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BY KEEP INTHE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BY KEEP IN

MIND THE FOLLOWING POINTSMIND THE FOLLOWING POINTS: -: -

•• GIVING THE RESPONDENTS CLEARGIVING THE RESPONDENTS CLEAR

COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.

•• INDUCING THE RESPONDENTS TO CO-OPERATE.INDUCING THE RESPONDENTS TO CO-OPERATE.

•• GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED.GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED.

IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.

14

Scope of the study

# To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users,

Who are using GSM technology.

# Target geographic area. Sample size of 50 was taken.

# To these 50 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire

was a combination of both open ended and closed ended questions.

# The date during which questionnaires were filled.

# Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective.

Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also

conducted.

# Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and

compiled to arrive at the conclusion and recommendations given.

Sources of secondary data

Used to obtain information on, Bharti’s history, current issues, policies,

procedures etc, wherever required.

# Internet

# Magazines

# Newspapers

# Journals # Bharti Circulars # Bharti News Letters

15

LIMITATIONS:LIMITATIONS:

The following were the limitations that were there during the course of the

study:

1. Limited time period.

2. Less number of respondents.

Primary data was collected using the following techniques

1. Questionnaire Method

2. Direct Interview Method and

3. Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct

interview method, where a face-to-face formal interview was taken.

Lastly observation method has been continuous with the questionnaire

method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he

works in.

16

CHAPTER -3

History of tele sector in India

17

HISTORY -;

In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic

policy aimed at improving India's competitiveness in the global markets

and the rapid growth of exports. Key to achieving these goals was a

world-class telecom infrastructure.

In India, the telecom service areas are divided into four metros (New

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta) and 20 circles, which roughly

correspond to the states in India. The circles are further classified

under "A," "B" and "C," with the "A" circle being the most attractive and

"C" being the least attractive. The regulatory body at that time — the

Department of Telecommunications (DOT) — allocated two cellular

licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900

cellular services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular

service was provided by, Modi Telstra in Kolkatta in August 1995. For

the auction, it was stipulated that no firm can win in more than one

metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu and Kashmir and

Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and Assam

had only one bidder each.

18

In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was

introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the president officially announced the

TRAI ordinance on 25 January 1997. The government decided to set

up TRAI to separate regulatory functions from policy formulation,

licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the creation of TRAI, these

functions were the sole responsibility of the DOT.

High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put

tremendous financial burden on the operators, diverting funds away

from network development and enhancements. As a result, by 1999

many operators failed to pay their license fees and were in danger of

having their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new telecom policy

was put in place (New Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new

policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be replaced by a revenue-

sharing scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue

were to be paid to the government.

19

3.1 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER

ROADBLOCKS AND THEIR RESOLUTION

Indian Cellular market immediately after the first round of licensing in

1994-96 was beset by several problems for 3 - 4 years till the New

Telecom Policy of 1999 was announced. Some of these roadblocks /

current position is tabulated below:

20

High license fees

Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund

requirements for payment of license fees.

Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters

Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over

60% per annum, while businesses with weak promoters continuing to

languish - spate of acquisitions / mergers, with 4/5 major groups

emerging in the last one/two years.

Regulatory authority not in place

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its

role being accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommunications

(DOT) restructured, with operations and policy making roles vested in

different bodies.

21

Issues relating to unfavorable interconnect terms for private operators,

pass through income, intra circle long distance, spectrum availability

and allocation and the like remained unresolved for long periods.

Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through income to

DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the

satisfaction of all parties with changes in methodology / revenue

sharing, intra circle long distance allowed, spectrum availability cleared

with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM operators.

Problems in Financial closures due to:

Licensing tenure of 10 years

Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy

license fee burden in initial stages of deployment Asset based

financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.

Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years

Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments

mitigated with migration to revenue sharing mode allowing

promoters to deploy more capital for capital expenditure; project

financing being considered by most financial institutions.

22

Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations

Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as

a matter of routine allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full

control of businesses by foreign companies.

Inadequate growth of market / subscribers

Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth,

but with corrective measures taken, market / subscriber base expected

to zoom

3.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY

The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line

operators is still biased against the former.

Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy.

The cellular penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation

of over one billion people.

23

In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their

cellular joint ventures in India due to the difficult operating environment

and bureaucracy. In 1999 alone, Swiss COM pulled out from Sterling

Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the

Telecom Organization of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT

Mobile. In 2000, Telecom Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin

Telecom, and both Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from

Fascel. In June 2001, British Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell

South International has also indicated its intention to pull out from Sky

cell Communications, and Hong Kong-based Distacom is seeking to

sell its stake in Spice Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong

Kong) continued commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is

reviewing various options.

The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and

acquisition wave sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent

years. Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, via Hutchison

Telecommunications (HK), acquired major stakes in Sterling Cellular

(December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid-2000) and Fiscal

(September 2000). Through a partnership with local company, Kotak

Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa practically controls Fiscal and

24

Usha Martin Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit on

foreign ownership in Indian cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is

also the controlling

Shareholder of Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be outdone, Bharti

Enterprises — another major cellular player — acquired control of

JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti Mobile (December 1999),

and Sky cell Communications renamed Bharti Mobinet (August 2000).

Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of Essar and started

operations, giving competition to the lone operator there, Spice

Communications. Going forward, Bharti is likely to merge all its cellular

companies into one entity.

Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the

fourth operator slots in four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as

the No. 1 bidder with eight new licenses, followed by Escotel with four,

Hutchison with three, and Reliance and Idea cellular with one each.

Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced operations in all the

circles while Idea is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and Reliance have

not made any headway.

BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started

services in March 2001. BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular

25

operator, launched services in Kolkatta and Bihar in January 2002.

This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002. A nationwide launch

was scheduled for 2 October 2002. However, this has been postponed

until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out its service,

most telecom circles will have four cellular operators. There will be

tremendous competitive pressure, which will result in lower tariffs.

Future rate cuts are expected, which will drive demand, together with

falling handset prices and the introduction of prepaid services.

In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out

with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002.

Leveraging on the success of its cellular service, the company got a

very good response from the primary market. The total size of the IPO

was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue was

oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will

be used to fuel its investment in long-distance, basic and cellular

services.

As of October 2002, only BPL Mobile has launched commercial

general packet radio service (GPRS) in Mumbai. However, large-scale

uptake remains elusive. While both Bharti and Idea have GPRS-

enabled networks, there is caution on their part to launch the service.

26

With hardly any applications, the success of GPRS remains a

question.

Building visibility and awareness

Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are

actively promoting their brand and service portfolio through high-

visibility advertising and promotional campaigns. Cellular operators like

Bharti, Orange and BPL Mobile have been advertising aggressively on

hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the city

rail system and cabs are used widely to carry the message of mobility.

Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular

operators with the establishment of longstanding consumer benefit

programs. Orange in Mumbai offers "Orange Holidays" and "Orange

Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added benefits like

discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer

special privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops.

Enterprise mobile applications — promising revenue stream

27

All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus.

Few operators have concentrated on offering differentiated services for

businesses. However, as operators realize that offering basic voice

and Short Message Service (SMS) will get them the numbers but not

the margins, some are now seriously looking at the enterprise segment

for provisioning superior services.

Cost-centered solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like

unified messaging and instant alerts are being offered.

A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise

segment. Bharti is in the process of introducing a facility to fleet

management companies so that they can improve the efficiency of

trucks or buses by tracking movement and ensuring higher-use,

accurate route planning. Premium automakers are also installing a

global system for mobile communications inside a vehicle to help trace

lost vehicles and track down stolen cars.

Corporations can choose enhanced services like user-defined call

routing to prevent misuse. Calls can be barred, limiting access to

select numbers and diverting calls to one single number. Broadcasting

services are also quite popular, especially among fast food centers that

have a central number. Group SMS is quite popular, especially among

28

enterprises both in the service as well as the fast-moving consumer

goods (FMCG) segment that have a large field force and need to

provide regular updates on inventory status, discount schemes and

movement of goods from warehouse to the retail outlet. Banks too find

bulk SMS service very useful to forward transactional alerts to their

customers.

1.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT

There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus

on differentiations to maintain their lead.

• The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable

operators to offer data services. This is an opportunity to

customize and differentiate better.

• The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means

that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there is less chance

of a cartel being formed.

• Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of

coverage is crucial especially for the business subscriber.

• The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it

is for businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with a

national operator is advantageous.

29

• Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed network

service providers) will be a disadvantage for cellular operators in

the short term. Consequently, operators need to streamline their

customer relation activities and adopt aggressive subscriber

acquisition and retention strategies.

1.4 REGULATORY ISSUES

The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian

Telegraph Act of 1885. A document buried in the sands of time. The

next major policy document, which was produced, was the National

Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of the on going process of

liberalization.

Year Event

1851 First telephones in India

1943 Nationalization of telephone companies

1985 DoT was created

1986 Creation of BHARTI and VSNL

1991 Telecom equipment liberalized

1994 Licenses for paging

1994 Telecom policy announced

September 1994 Guidelines for private sector participation in basic

30

services

November 1994 Cellular licenses issued for metros

December 1994 Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apart from 4

metros

January 1995 Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services apart from

DoT on circle basis.

August 1995 VSNL launches Internet services

January 1996 TRAI formed

November 1998 Internet policy announced

The National Telecom Policy of 1994 document, which laid out broad

policy guidelines rather than a series of action points. Like other

policies, it sought to achieve the impossible in finite time like improve

quality of service and its availability, wide coverage (a phone in every

village), at reasonable rates, etc. The targets in quantifiable terms were

installation of 9.5mn additional lines, telephone on demand by 1997,

and a PCO pop of 500. The Eighth Plan had also allowed private

operators in value added services. To facilitate licensing, the nation

was divided into 20 circles (akin to a state) for basic and 21 circles for

cellular telephony. Mumbai falls in Maharashtra circle and Delhi in itself

a circle.

The basic premise on which competition has been introduced is that

every circle will have one private operator apart from Dot/ BHARTI for

31

basic and two operators for cellular. Dot/ BHARTI have the option to

become the third cellular operator in future.

Government did not achieve most of its stated targets. The basic

theme, which was broadening the reach of telephony in India, has not

been met. Even liberalization policies were not implemented properly.

The regulator TRAI was set up after delays and confusion and even

after its creation, Dot continued to fight with it in courts. It was also

affected by the resource crunch, and financing options like BOT,

BOOT and BOLT was not used at all. The major policy direction it

showed was to allow private sector entry in both basic and value

added services. The intention, though noble failed to achieve its goals

because of improper implementation, the economic costs are still

borne by the end user.

The telecom sector has witnessed some fundamental structural and

institutional reforms in the past decade. Telecom equipment

manufacturing was completely deregulated in 1991. Value-added

services (including cellular services) were thrown open to private

sector participation in 1992. Basic services were opened to private

participation in 1994 by dividing the country into 21 telecom Circles

and allowing one private operator per Circle to compete with Dot. An

independent telecom regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997.

A new Policy for Internet Service Policy Providers (ISPs) was

32

announced in 1998 allowing independent service providers to enter the

sector ending the earlier monopoly of VSNL. Reorganization of DOT,

separating policymaking function and service provision and

corporatization of DOT's operational network are two major institutional

reforms, which need to be implemented.

33

CHAPTER -4

COMPANY PROFILE

34

COMPANY PROFILE -:

Vision

"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new

horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best

technology in the world and put it at the service of our ultimate user:

our customer."

These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire

plan of action.

Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has

revolutionized telecommunications with its world-class products and

services.

Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom

sector. With many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from

being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone

service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide

comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first

private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance

Services in India.

35

Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers – nearly 2.88

million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers.

Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra

Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,

Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra

circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In

addition, it also has a fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya

Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.

Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering

data transmission services and voice transmission services for calls

originating and terminating on most of India's mobile networks.

The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project

connecting Chennai-Singapore for providing international bandwidth.

Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals

and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of

telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to export its

products to the USA.

36

Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is -:

“To capitalise on the growth opportunities that the Company believes

are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate

its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services

provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile

services”.

The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its

strategic objective:

• Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

• Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with

minimum geographical coverage;

• Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers

with a "one-stop shop" solution;

• Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer

advanced mobile data services;

• Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high

level of customer satisfaction;

• Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and

• Emphasize on human resource development to achieve

operational efficiencies.

37

Businesses

Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -

• Mobile services

• Fixed-line

• National and international long distance services

• VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Competitive Strengths

Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will

contribute to the Company's success as an integrated

telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the

Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy:

• Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile

subscribers resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles.

These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of

India's land mass;

• Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better

anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new

telecommunications-related business opportunities;

38

• The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering

high quality service to its customers;

• Quality management team with vision and proven execution

skills; and

• The Company's strong relationships with international strategic

and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus,

International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund

Group and New York Life Insurance.

Brand Architecture:

Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding

architecture — to:

• Create specific brands for each service,

• Build sub-brands within each of these services and

• Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its

corporate identity as well as defining its goal to become a national

builder of telecoms infrastructure.

39

AirTel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the

country.

Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.

India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD)

telephony

BHARTI

AIRTEL(CellularOperations)

TOUCHTEL(Basic Service Operations)

INDIA ONE(National Long

Distance)

40

Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group

wants to create “Distinct independent brands to address

different customers and profiles”.

Brand Strategy:

To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building

exercise associated with Airtel — a brand that had to be repositioned

recently to address new needs in the market.

When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony

wasn’t a mass market by any means. For the average consumer,

owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a

minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as much

as buying a second-hand car.

Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to

him the economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev

says that such a strategy would not have worked for the simple reason

41

that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate

with the cost.

“Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the

sensory benefit it gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The

idea was to become a badge value brand,” he explains.

So the Airtel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing

successful men with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the

mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant Airtel was positioned as an

aspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood

out in a crowd.

Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there

were three core benefits that were clearly associated with the brand —

leadership, dynamism and performance.

These were valuable qualities, but they only took Airtel far enough to

establish its presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it

became necessary for Airtel to appeal to a wider audience. And the

various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all these good

things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand — it was

perceived as cold, distant and efficient.

42

Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer

relationships were the core this could be a major weakness. The

reason? With tariffs identical to competitor Reliance InfoComm. and

roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had now become

important for Bharti to “humanize” Airtel and use that relationship as a

major differentiation.

The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient.

What they needed was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also

human. A change in tack was important because this was a time when

the cellular market was changing.

The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de

la crème of society. Once you reached them you had to expand the

market so there was need to address to new customers.

By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi

with a base of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.2 million customers). And with

tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell companies started cutting

prices — it was time to expand the market.

How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value

chain? Surveys showed that the concept of leadership in the

customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean

43

directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team

to achieve common objectives — it was, again, a relationship game

that needed to be reflected in the Airtel brand.

Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a

mobile phone brand mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from

friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers were an

important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on building

closer relationships with them.

That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new

positioning under the Airtel “Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This

set of campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by caring family

members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign and positioning was

designed to highlight the relationship angle and make the brand softer

and more sensitive.”

As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new

circles apart from the seven in which it already operates — Bharti is

now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the Airtel

brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now,

44

the company is unwilling to discuss the new positioning in detail. But

broadly, the focus is on positioning Airtel as a power brand with

numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various

parts of the country.

If Airtel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand,

Bharti has also understood that one common brand for all cellular

operations might not always work in urban markets that are now getting

increasingly saturated.

To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to

segment the market. One such experiment, launched last year, is

Youtopia, a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and

for those who are “young at heart”. With its earlier positioning, Airtel

was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older customer; there

was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, Airtel hoped to reverse

that.

In order to deliver the concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25

paisa for 30 seconds) at night to Youtopia customers — a time when

they make the maximum number of calls. It also set up merchandising

exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for young people

to buy things or bid for goods.

45

The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable

prices to this segment which include music downloads on the mobile

and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it cheaper for young

people to use.

The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product

segmentation through the Tango brand name. The brand

was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what is

known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).

The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The

name was chosen from the popular movie title It Takes Two To

Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer

customers a new choice”, says Sachdev.

This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with

inefficiency of service (accusingly slow download speeds) and the

limited utility of WAP services.

Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated

that the branding exercise could be revived because Tango will be the

brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet connectivity on

the mobile phone — which Airtel is expected to launch soon.

46

T he Magic:

Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the

pre-paid card. The idea was to make the brand affordable, accessible

and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expanding the market

even faster.

PHASE I –

Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into

the market and assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a

call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly — mostly for

emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile

connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include

rental charges).

To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.

• One, the product was made available at prices ranging

from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple

to operate.

• Two, the product was made accessible and distributed

through small stores, telephone booths and even kirana shops so

that the offering was well within arms reach.

47

• Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the

customer, the company came with vernacular ad campaigns

like “Magic Daalo Se Hello” which appealed to local sensibilities.

This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh

Khan for a major ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the

number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 12 lakh today,

overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed, which was launched

much ahead of Magic. The company is now re-working its Magic

strategy even further.

Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested

customers — that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for

mobile services. But now, with basic service providers having been

allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers

could find themselves under threat again.

That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While

the exact strategy is under wraps, insiders say the new branding

strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they had not

perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card.

48

PHASE II -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and

accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card

TV brand campaign

• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV

• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium

designed to connect with the masses of India

• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value

proposition of Airtel Magic - ‘Mum kin Hai’ come alive

• All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to

connect the category to the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment –

the middle class non-mobile user.

• Airtel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for

emergency situations - increasing productivity as a part of everyday

life.

• Shahrukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing

pretty Kareena Kapoor with Airtel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid

mobile card.

49

Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch

of its new Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to

Mum kin hai’. The strategy is targeted at the non-user

Segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B &

C segment is aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value

proposition is centered around a person’s desire to make all his / her

dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign

for Airtel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top

of their lives.

The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to

make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just

Rs.300/- per month Airtel Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving

productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new

horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never

possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible

with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mum kin hai’

has been specially created to capture this effectively.

This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the

tone, manner & language of the masses. The “Mum kin hai”

value proposition will help us expand the market and gain a higher

percentage of market shares in the process.

50

The brand ambassadors Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody

this ‘can do’ or “Mumkin Hai” spirit (infact that is the reason they were

selected as brand ambassadors). Shahrukh rose from a TV actor to

become India’s top film star and national heartthrob. Kareena’s

success is due to her ‘attitude’, talent, hard work and the sheer ability

to make a mark in such a short time. Both these stars have said

‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves.

The genre of this new strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This

genre connects millions across India. The spirit of romance, dancing…

the Indian cinema, well known to most as Bollywood, holds millions of

Indians together as one.

The new TV campaign of Airtel Magic crafted in the Hindi film idiom,

magnifies the empowering optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the endearing

situation of a boy-girl romance. Where Shahrukh Khan, sets his eyes

on Kareena Kapoor and wins her love with the help of Airtel Magic.

(Poignantly conveying that special feeling we all get when a dream is

made possible and a victory of the heart is won).

The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped

base of intending mobile customers from Sec A, B & C.

51

The estimated addressable market of such customers in the next two

years is around 25 million in AirTel’s 16 states. The new strategy aims

at correcting the perception that the mobile category is useful mainly

for ‘business’ or ‘work’ related scenarios.

The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an

outcome of an extensive nationwide research and is an

integral part of Airtel Magic’s new multi-media campaign. The

campaign has been created by Percept Advertising.

PHASE III -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and

accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card

TV brand campaign

• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such

freedom to recharge any value

• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium

designed to connect with the masses of India

• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value

proposition of Airtel Magic - ‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive

52

• Shahrukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ Airtel today

unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of it’s new

Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin

hai’. . The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire

to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly

possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is all about

empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.

The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to

make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a

amount of your choice you can recharge your account with available

validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and

opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life

in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is

possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Aisi

azadi aur kahan has been specially created to capture this effectively.

53

Other Brand Building Initiatives:-

The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months.

Working on the above game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with

newer product offerings for the customers.

The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.

• To make the service simpler for customers using roaming

facilities, Airtel has devised common numbers for subscribers

across the country for services like customer care, food services

and cinema amongst others.

• It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so,

customers moving from one place to another do not have to close

and then again open new accounts at another place.

• To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber

queries, a storehouse of 40,000 frequently asked questions and

their answers have been stored on the computers.

• Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one

estimate is that it would be 60 to 70 per cent of the total new

subscriber

54

• base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So,

they must be given value-added products and services which

competitors don’t provide.

• Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided

to offer roaming services even to its pre-paid customers, but the

facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card.

To ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing

services (which is known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per

cent of the customer base every month), the company is also

working on a loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible

cash benefits depending upon their usage of the phone.

• The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it

will provide real benefits to customers. The idea is to create an

Airtel community.

• Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention

upon is a new roaming service launched in Delhi under which

calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed

directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network.

• The company also offers multi-media messaging systems

under which customers having a specialized phone with a in-built

55

camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the

phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7.

• Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-

use cellular service much easier than it is today. A key area is to

increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250

Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its

services) and about 250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger

shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only

by Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison,

the competition takes two to four hours.

• Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in

alliance with Mumbai-based Company Venture InfoTech which

will enable a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just

swiping a card. The system will not only save users the hassle of

going out and buying a card every time it expires but also enable

mobile companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing

cards.

• Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a

company delivering food at home, to reach its Magic pre-paid

cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also joining

hands with local grocery shops which will enable users to

56

recharge their cards by just making a phone call to the shop.

Apart from improving the convenience of recharging, mobile

operators are beefing up their distribution channels. The

company is constantly innovating to enhance the value

proposition for its pre-paid service. They are leveraging

technology to expand their distribution network and deliver round-

the-clock recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile On the Spot)

subscribers.

• Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service,

CareTouch, for high-value, corporate customers, providing them

with instant, single-point access for any assistance they require.

Customers can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which

includes easier payment of bills, service on priority basis, and

value-added services without any additional paper work. Bharti

Cellular is offering a range of services without going through an

interactive voice recorder ensuring that they save time. Dedicated

‘Care Touch’ executives are expected to assist customers with

any service on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive

reminder calls for bill payment, customers can also call Care

Touch for bill payments at free of cost.

57

Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-

First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a

more holistic manner. Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps

the most potent key to build a brand that lasts.

Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success

factor. Customers (be it for industrial products or consumer goods and

services) across the world are more informed and, at the same time,

becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more demanding

with the passage of time.

Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating

redefined or emerging customer needs, and then reacting in “real-time”

are essential to attract and retain customer loyalty — a key element of

creating brand equity in the present situation.

Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the

specific needs of various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third

element in creating brand appreciation.

As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too

many companies mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on

mere advertising and promotion. This is not to say that

58

advertising and promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more

choices and higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for an

increasingly higher spend on their brand promotion but this has to be

undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide “reengineering” of the

business philosophy and core design, production, and delivery

operations for the product itself.

The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the

fundamentals, the enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This can

be the beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand equity continues to

increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an appropriate product

or service at an ever increasing value.

It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the

cost of building a regional or a national (or an international) brand will

continue to rise but also the time taken to do so will be longer and will

need sustained and focused efforts.

59

CHAPTER -5

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

60

DATA ANAYSIS -:

Comparison of AIRTEL with Reliance InfoComm.

The sub main purpose of this report is to compare the Airtel with its rival Reliance InfoComm.

The comparison shows how both of the companies have been Challenging each other to gain market shares.

Why comparison with Reliance Infocomm?

■Bharti Airtel is the leader in telecommunication sector.

■Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of market of communication sector.

■However, Reliance has been giving tough competition to Bharti Airtel.

■Reliance Infocomm is the second largest player and share holder in

Communication sector.

■Since its launch Reliance info. has been adopting aggressive marketing Strategies.

61

■The comparison shows how reliance info. Captured 22% market share in

One month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.

■With a different technology cdma Reliance creates it own market.

■Reliance Info. today deals in every business of communication sector. making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares

62

Brand positioning by Bharti Airtel

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

People age group of 20 to 28 year

Target marketing

People living cities and towns.

Poor and middle income groups.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

Positioning

Creating brands (Shahrukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)

Ads and promotions

Marketing mix

Price : low price strategy

Place : maximum outlets and service centers

Product : verities available for various groups

Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

63

STRATEGIES OF RELIANCE INDIA MOBILE .

Rim target the rural India

The main targeted customers of Rim are from rural India.

By offering cheap and light mobile sets Rim attracts most of the customersOf small villages and towns.

Offering cheap handsets

Rim offers cheap and free connections to all costumers.

The cost for Rs-700\set and onward.

Free support and services

In every district and big towns rim opens its service centers to provide better support and services.

Strong logistics and supply chain

Rim has a strong logistict and supply all over India.In every small town the potential costumers can easily purchase the rim sets.

Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

Rim attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset at very low prices.

64

Brand positioning by Rim

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (rural India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

Target marketing

People living in small towns and villages.

Poor and middle income groups.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

Positioning

Creating brands

Ads and promotions

Marketing mix

Price : low price strategy

Place : maximum outlets and service centers

Product : varities available for various groups

Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

65

Schemes started by RIM

Plan name Plan 1000 Plan 1500 Plan 2000

Monthly Plan Charge (Rs.) 1000 1500 2000

Free Calls Worth (Rs.) 1000 1500 2000

Rate per Call Unit # (Rs./Pulse) 1.00 0.90 0.85

Refundable Deposit for ILD (Rs.) 1000 1000 1000

66

Effective Rate/Min is indicative. Charging would be done on the basis of Call Unit Length (Pulse). Call Unit Length (Pulse) is the duration of a call after the expiry of which, a new call starts. E.g. in Plan 1000 , a call to a local fixed line will be charged at Re. 1.00 for a 180 second call (or part thereof). Once you cross the 180 second Call Unit Length (Pulse), you will be charged another Re.1.00 which will allow you to talk for another 180 seconds.

Note: Calls between Mumbai-Maharashtra, Chennai-Tamilnadu, Kolkata-West Bengal, UP(East) - UP (West) will be treated as Intra-Circle calls.

Call unit

Length(Pulse)(Sec.)

Plan 1000 @ Re. 1.00 /

Pulse

Plan 1500 @ Rs. 0.90 /

Pulse

Plan 2000 @ Rs. 0.85 /

Pulse

Calls to Fixed lines

Local Calls (including Intra- circle < 50 kms)

180 0.33 0.30 0.28

Intra-circle > 50 kms

60 1.00 0.90 0.85

Inter-circle

0 - 50 kms

90 0.67 0.60 0.57

> 50 kms

30 2.00 1.80 1.70

Calls to RIM

Intra-circle

120 0.50 0.45 0.43

Inter-circle

60 1.00 0.90 0.85

Calls to other mobiles

Intra-circle

60 1.00 0.90 0.85

Inter-circle

30 2.00 1.80 1.70

67

Call Rates to Satellite Phones by RIM

Internet Usage Rates

Depicted for Plan 1000

ISP Charges (Rs./Min.)

Call Charges

Total Charges Rs/ Hr.

Call Unit

length (Pulse) (Sec.)

Rate / Call Unit

(Rs.)

Effective Rate /

Min (Rs.)

Peak Hour Rates on all days(06:30 - 22:30)

0.10 450 1.00 0.13 14

Off-Peak Hour Rates on all days(22:30 - 06:30)

0.10 900 1.00 0.07 10

RegionCall Unit

Length (Pulse) (Sec.)Rate (Rs.)

Atlantic Ocean - East 1 5.83

Pacific Ocean 1 5.83

Indian Ocean 1 5.83

68

Schemes and plans by Bharti Airtel

Amount Service Processing Talk Time Validity

(Rs.)

Tax

(8%) Fees(Rs.) (Rs.) (Days)54 4 25 25 560 4.44 25 30.56 575 5.56 25 44.44 5

100 7.41 25 67.59 5125 9.26 50 65.74 10150 11.11 50 88.89 10175 12.96 50 112.04 10200 14.81 50 135.19 10216 16 85 115 20225 16.67 85 123.33 20250 18.52 85 146.48 20275 20.37 85 169.63 20300 22.22 85 183.78 20

Amount Service Processing Talk Time Validity

(Rs.)

Tax

(8%) Fees(Rs.) (Rs.) (Days)324 24 150 150 30350 25.93 150 174.07 30360 26.67 150 183.33 30375 27.78 150 197.22 30400 29.63 150 220.37 30425 31.48 150 243.52 30475 35.19 150 289.81 30500 37.04 150 312.96 30525 38.89 150 336.11 30540 40 150 350 30600 44.44 150 405.56 30650 48.15 150 451.56 30700 51.85 150 498.15 30775 57.41 150 567.59 30800 50.36 150 580.74 30

69

( Rs.)

Tax

(8%) Fees(Rs.) (Rs.) (Days)850 62.96 150 637.04 60900 66.67 150 683.33 60

1000 74.07 150 775.93 601080 80 150 850 601200 88.89 150 961.11 601300 96.3 150 1053.7 601400 103.7 150 1146.3 601500 111.11 150 1238.89 601800 133.33 150 1516.67 602000 148.15 150 1701.85 602160 160 150 1850 603000 222.22 150 2627.78 605000 370.37 300 4329.63 3666000 444.44 300 5255.56 3667000 518.52 300 6181.48 3668000 592.59 300 7107.41 3669000 666.67 300 8033.33 3669999 740.67 300 8958.33 366

70

Services provided by Bharti Airtel

• Mobile services with GSM technology

• Fixed-line connections

• National and international long distance services

• VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

• Broadband services

Services provided by Reliance Infocomm.

●mobile services with CDMA technology

●fixed-line telephone services

●Universal Internetworking

●VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

●Interactive Television

●Visual Communication

●Broadband Portal

●Telecommuting

71

Subscriber numbers in (mn) held by Reliance and AIRTEL

Serviceprovider

June-05 sep-05 Dec-05 Mar-06 Mar-07 Mar-08

Airtel 3.19 4.62 5.50 6.50 10.98 14.07

Reliance 1.82 4.20 6.24 7.26 10.45 12.99

72

Source.TRAI

73

74

MARKET PLAYERS IN TELE

COMMUNICATION

Operator Market share Mar''04

Market share Mar''07

Bharti Airtel 19.06 22.49

Reliance Infocom

21.81 16.96

Vodafone 17.03 16.01

Idea Cellular 10.45 8.49

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M A R K E T S H A R E

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

L a n d l i n eB r o a d b a n d

R e l i a n c e

A i r t e l

T a t a

B S N L

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T im e t o p r o v id e s e r v i c e in d a y s

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

R F SA r e a

R e l i a n c e

A i r t e l

T a t a

B S N L

R e li a n c e T a k e m o r e t i m e i n c o m p a r i s o n to A i r te l& T a tat h a t ’ s w h y c o m p a n y lo o s i n g t h e i r c u s to m e r , a n d m a r k e t p o s i t i o n

77

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Age Group Graph

As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age

group of 21-28 years are the ones who are the maximum users of

mobile phones. This segment is the one which gives maximum

business to the mobile operators.

78

This segment constitutes the young executives and other office going

people. They are 65% of the total people who were interviewed. The

next age group are the people who are 28-35 years old. They are 20%

of the total. They are those who are at home or have small business

units etc. And the next age group is the youngest generation who are

15-21 years old. They are school and college going students and carry

mobile phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total interviewed people.

79

Occupation Graph

As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are

working. So, these people are the ones who are the maximum users of

mobile phones. They are the young executives, managers, Tele -

callers etc. who require mobile for their official purposes. The next

category is the households, who are either housewife, small units

which operate from their homes etc. They are 20% of the whole. The

next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of

the whole is categories who are the professionals.

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OCCUPATION

15%

55%

20%

10%

STUDENTS EXECUTIVES HOUSEHOLDS OTHERS

Service Provider Graph

The above graph shows a slice of 50%. These are the total no. of

people who are using Airtel. It seems that people are more aware of

Airtel than any other brand. The next popular brand is Hutch. 305 of

the people interviewed had Hutch connections. The next popular brand

was Idea. 15% people had Idea connections. As it came very late in

the market when Airtel had established it self very well. So, that could

be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The remaining 5%

had trump connections.

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Customer Service At Airtel Graph

As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel

seems poor. 60% of the people are dissatisfied with the customer

services provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the maximum

share in the market but they are lagging behind in the customer

services. 10% of the people were fully dissatisfied with the customer

services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of the

consumer. He can even switch over his brand. 20% of the people

seemed partially satisfied with the customer services and only 10%

seem to be fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer services, which is a

very small amount.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL

20%

10%

60%

10%

FULLY PARTIALLY

DISSATISFIED FULLY DISSATISFIED

Type Of Card Graph

Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85% of the

total mobile users were having cash card connections. This means that the

cash cards should be easily and readily available in the local markets. Airtel

should make sure that Magic is available in each and every nook and corner of

the market. 15% of the people were having sim connections which is the

regular bill.

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Monthly expense graph

People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone

expense. 64% people spend this amount. 24% people spend RS 300

per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the remaining 12%

had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim

connections or having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on

their mobiles.

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Monthly Expense

12%

64%

24%

Rs 600

Rs 450

Rs 200

SUGGESTIONS

Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market

share and image of the products concerned.

1. PRODUCT

*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of

quality. Its demand should be increased.

2. PLACE

* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general

stores.

3. PROMOTION

*Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like

advertisements must be released in different Medias to create

brand awareness.

*Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales

promotion tools like gifts, contests and coupons must be given to

retailers as well as customers and prospects.

* Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Being one of the largest companies in India the company has

achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its

products.

• It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an

enviable distribution network.

• It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and

limits of financial authority.

• Increase in advertisement spends affect the company’s

margins.

• The company‘s bottom line falls victim to the bloated and

highly paid workforce, which affects its margins.

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Weakness:

• Little efforts over the Advertising of products.

• Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.

• Premium priced products, hence can’t compete in low price

segment.

• No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities:

• The company's financial performance can receive a major

boost from its cost reduction efforts.

• There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.

• Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming

years.

• Airtel’s business has ample scope for gaining market share

from the unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast

potential to bring about growth.

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Threats

• The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of

most FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to

maintain historical growth rates in such a depressed scenario.

• Company’s major raw materials are influenced by government

policies / controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons.

Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials would have

significant impact on costs and margins of the company.

Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would

also increases company’s production and distribution cost.

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CONCLUSION

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel

lagged behind its competitors as far as customer service and

availability is concerned. The maximum no. of people who use the

mobile is in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most

popular type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly and

recharging the connection is not a problem.

Maximum no. of people spends RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel

is the only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so

it must seriously look into the loop holes of the existing customer

service department.

As we know that now Airtel has already launched its product with logo

“’ Aisi azaadi aur kahan”’ has already became popular in market. So

we can say that in spite of so many competitor in the market Airtel is

having a good position just because every time, it tries its best to

understand the need of its important customers.

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From the comparison and deep analysis of every aspect of business of

both the companies we can conclude that bharti Airtel has to more

work in every field of communication business.

It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long

time. For this Airtel has to work on its all marketing strategies,

marketing, promotion, brand image.etc.

Airtel has to take Reliance info. Very seriously and update its own

strategies from time to time and when the need arises.

With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as

70% of population of India live in these areas.

The other segment may be costumers of all age groups.

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BIBILIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:-

MARKETING MANAGEMENT, Dr. S.L Varshney and

R.L Gupta, Third Revised Edition,

Sultan Chand and Sons.

NEWSPAPER:-

Times Of INDIA.

WEBSITES

WWW.GOOGLE .CO.IN

WWW.AIRTEL .COM

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ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE OF CUSTOMER

1. Why do you use a mobile phone?

Commercial Use Personal Use

2. Which according to you is the best company?

Airtel Reliance InfoComm

3. Why do you prefer the above company?

Better Services Coverage

Speed of connectivity Economical

All the above

4. Which connection do you use?

Post-paid Pre-paid

5. Why do you use the above connection?

Cheaper Less Usage Both

6. How much is your monthly usage?

Less Average High

7. Do you use your connection when you are on roaming?

Yes No

8. If yes, are you satisfied with roaming facilities?

Yes No

9. If No, why?

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Expensive Less Visits Both

10. What prompted you to opt for Airtel/Reliance InfoComm?

Advertisements Company Agent

Influence from people Experience of friends

Others

11. Except calling, which other services do you often use?

SMS Call Wait Voice Mail

E-mail Call Hold All above

None of them

12. Are you satisfied with the billing structure of your mobile

phone?

Yes No

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