GRAND PROJECT REPORT

ON
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED

SUBMITTED BY;Piyush Gaur

CONTENTS

Executive Summary
Introduction
History
Change in Brand Logo &
Taglines
Objectives
Mission
Company Overview
Subsidiary Company
Organisation Structure
Strategic Business Unit
Market Share of Airtel
Subscriber Trend & Growth
Competitors
Business Partners & Partners Role
Marketing Mix
Value Chain Strategy
Financial Analysis
Company's Revenue
Company's Working Capital
Analysis
Company's Advertisement
Expenditure
Revenue from Value Added
services
Marketing Analysis
Porters generic Strategy
BCG Matrix
5-Force Model
SWOT Analysis
Awards & Recognitions
Research Methodology

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report on Bharti Airtel is done to find out certain objective

regarding the strategic approach adopted by Airtel to stand
strongly in the competitive Telecom market. Airtel marketing
strategy analysis is done using various models like Porters generic
Strategy, BCG Matrix, 5-Force Model & SWOT Analysis of Airtel
etc.
Also the detailed study of Financial Position of Company is done to
find out its position in Market. The study includes Revenue
Analysis, Working Capital Analysis, Asset turnover ratio of Airtel, &
its expenditure on Advertisement as a percentage of Sales in
recent period.
The report gives information about how Airtel adjusted itself in
changing market conditions, what are the various strategies it
takes to become Indias 1st company by Subscriber & Revenue.

INTRODUCTION
Bharti Airtel Limited formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures LTD
(BTVL) is an Indian company offering telecommunication services
in 19 countries. It is the largest cellular service provider in India,
with more than 141 million subscriptions as of August 2010.
Bharti Airtel is the world's third largest, single-country mobile
operator and fifth largest telecom operator in the world with a
subscriber base of over 180 million. It also offers fixed line
services and broadband services. It offers its telecom services
under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti
Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve this
Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification, Bharti Airtel
had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency,
service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. The
company also provides land-line telephone services and
broadband Internet access (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also
acts as a carrier for national and international long distance
communication services. The company has a submarine cable
landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable
connecting Chennai and Singapore.

HISTORY OF AIRTEL

Bharti Cellular launched cellular services 'AIRTEL in Delhi in

1995,Himachal Pradesh in 1997, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles
in 1999

In 1998, Bharti Telenet obtained a license for providing fixed-line

services in Madhya Pradesh circle and in the same year, Bharti Telecom
and British Telecom formed a 51% : 49% joint venture

In 1999, New York Life Insurance Fund acquired a 3% equity interest in

Bharti Cellular.

In 2001, Bharti Cellular entered into a joint venture, Bharti Aqua net,
with SingTel for establishing a submarine cable landing station at
Chennai.

In 2002, Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide

cellular services in eight new circles.

In 2002, Bharti Cellular Ties up with Secondary School Certification

Board, Hyderabad, where Bharti will announce SSC results to its
customers on their mobile phones.

In the same year, 2002, ICICI Bank ties up with Bharti for pre-paid
mobile cards via ATMs.

In 2003, Bharti Group's cellular brand Airtel has unveiled free

multimedia messaging services (MMS) for its customers. The company
has also rolled out pan-India GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) for
its corporate subscribers.

Launches its `IndiaOne MeetXpress' audio-conferencing service(2003)

Airtel provides SMS facilities to hearing impaired in Chennai(2003)

In 2003, Airtel Subscribers exceed 3 million mark.

In 2004, Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide

cellular services in 6 new circles including Uttar Pradesh (East), West
Bengal & Andaman Nicobar, Orissa, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir.

Same year Airtel launches GPRS services for pre-paid customers.

Following are the reasons for change in Tagline of Airtel

'Power to keep in Touch
YEAR- 1995-1998
SIGNIFICANCE-- The tag line 'Power to keep in Touch' used in the brand promise
was designed to make the user feel 'in controlpowerful'
-- Positioned in premium category aimed at elite class of society.
-- Perception of aspiration and lifestyle brand
REASON FOR CHANGE-- Now, cellular service operators could drop their prices and
target new customer segments.
-- As the category developed with prices going down sharply,
Airtel began talking to a wider spectrum of potential users. This
gives the birth to the new Tagline.
'Touch tomorrow
YEAR- 1999-2001
SIGNIFICANCE
-- Airtel started talking to new segments by positively positioning
and establishing itself as a brand that improved the quality of life.
-- New look and the feel of the brand tagline indicated the core
values of the brand i.e. leadership, performance and dynamism.
REASON FOR CHANGE-- Airtel started to look from a regional level to pan India position

-- Rediffussion DY&R, which is the ad agency that took charge of

revamping Airtel's brand image thought, To become a Indian
leader, Airtel need to change its tagline
'Live Every Moment'
YEAR 2002-2003
SIGNIFICANCE
-- This was the first time A R Rehman had agreed to work for any
brand, anywhere in the world. The music from the commercial
became the most downloaded ring tone in the history of
telecommunications.
-- Tagline denotes that each and every person in India live every
moment (emotions, feelings etc.) of the life with Airtel.
REASONS FOR CHANGE
-- Rediffussion DY&R, which is the ad agency that took charge of
revamping Airtel's brand image again changed the tagline to give
better tagline to Airtel which catches some emotional appeal.

'Express yourself
YEAR- 2003-2008.
SIGNIFICANCE
-- Express yourself' was successfully launched taking the
ownership of the entire space of communication and
strengthening the emotional bond Airtel enjoys with its customers
-- The masterminds behind the 'Express Yourself' campaign are
the joint vice-presidents: Mr. Prashant Godbole and Zarwan Patel.

-- Airtel is a market leader in the cellular network and they wanted

a very fresh and contemporary idea to build a brand image which
their customers could identify".

Vision- By end of 2010 to be loved by more customers &

Benchmark by more businesses.

Mission-To provides Error free & cost effective service delivery

with Innovative products & Services to the customers.

Values- We will always put our customers first. We will always

trust and respect each other. We will respect our associates as we
respect each other. We will work together through a process of
continuous improvement.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Globally, Bharti Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile

operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China
Unicom.
In India Airtel is No. 1 by subscriber base and revenue.
Bharti Airtel formerly known as Bharti Tele-ventures Limited
(BTVL) is a JV between Singtel and Bharti Telecom.

 Indias First Telecom Company that provides telecom

services in all the circles.
The company also has a submarine cable landing station at
Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting
Chennai and Singapore.

SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES
Bharti Hexacom
Bharti Comtel
Bharti Aquanet
Bharti Broadband
Bharti Infratel
Bharti Telemedia
Bharti Airtel (UK, USA, Canada, Hongkong, USA, Lanka)

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

CMDs (Founder) Profile: Sunil Bharti Mittal

He started his career at a young age of 18 after graduating
from Punjab University in India and then he founded Bharti.
Chairman & Managing Director
since October 2001
Age: 49 years

 Today, at 49, he heads a successful enterprise, amongst the

top 5 in India, with a market capitalization of over US$ 40
billion and employing over 30,000 people.
He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, USA.
He has been conferred one of the highest civilian award
Padma Bhushan.
He has been conferred the degree of Doctor of Science by
the G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology.

FIGURES & FACTS

Total Wireless subscribers in India In June 09 & July 09 are
102,367,881 &
1, 05,177,635 respectively.
Total Wire line subscribers in India In June 09 & July 09 are
2,827,882 & 2,861,822 respectively.

STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT OF AIRTEL

MARKET SHARE

SUBSCRIBER GROWTH

PREPAID & POSTPAID USERS

COMPETITORS
National Long Distance

BSNL, RELIANCE, VSNL, VODAPHONE, TATA, IDEA

International Long Distance

VSNL, RELIANCE , BSNL

BUSINESS PARTNERS
Outsourcing Deals

Vendors/Partners

Features/Advanta
ges

Network outsourcing
& maintenance

Ericssion

Ease in network
planning

Nokia siemens
network

Payments Linked to
-Usage & Network
quality
- Service level
agreement

Informational
technology

IBM

Pricing & payment

as a % of Revenue

Passive
infrastructure

Bharti Infratel

Reduced capex
spend

Indus Towers

Increase focus on
sharing passive
Infrastructure
Call center
outsourcing

IBM Daksh
Mphasis

Enhanced &
Consistent customer
experience

Hinduja TMT
Aegis BPO

Common platform
across the group

Nortel

Partners Role
Service

Partners/Vendors

Role

Mobile services

Ericission & Nokia

Network Equipments
partners

IBM Daksh
Mphasis

Call center
operations

Hinduja TMT
Tele tech
Telemedia &
Enterprise services

Siemens

IT requirements

IBM

Nortel

Nortel

Equipments
suppliers
Group wide
technology
requirements
Call center
technology
requirements

OTHER ALLIANCE
In 2007, Bharti Airtel has entered into following major agreements
and alliances:

 With Microsoft to offer software and services for the Small

and Medium Business (SMB) market in India.
As part of the agreement, Airtel will bring Google search to
the Airtel Live mobile WAP portal. Google will also
incorporate advertising through its Mobile Ads product on
the Airtel Live mobile portal;
A three-year contract with Nokia at an estimated value
of US$ 400 mn to expand its managed GSM/ GPRS/EDGE
networks in eight Airtel circles and deploy a pan India WAP
solution across its networks;
The company has a strategic alliance with SingTel. The
investment made by SingTel is one of the largest
investments made in the world outside Singapore, in the
company.

MARKETING MIX

PRODUCTS
Airtel Connections Postpaid
Airtel Connections Prepaid
Airtel Data Cards
Airtel Blackberry phones
* On 19 October 2004 Airtel announced the launch of a
Blackberry Wireless Solution in India. The launch is a result of a
tie-up between Bharti TeleVentures Limited and Research In
Motion (RIM).

 Airtel I Phones
* As of 22 August 2008, the Apple iPhone 3G is available in
India on Airtel and Vodafone.
Airtel Digital TV
* On 9 October 2008, Airtel joined the DTH bandwagon in India
with Airtel Digital TV, a Direct-to-Home Television service
SUBSCRIBER BASE
The Airtel subscriber base according to TRAI - Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India as of February 2009 was:

Delhi - 4,671,177
Mumbai - 2,791,963
Madhya Pradesh - 7,690,609
Gujarat - 3,981,660
Andhra Pradesh - 8,892,353
Karnataka - 9,820,812
Tamil Nadu - 6,003,040

PRICE
Customer based pricing strategies.
Flexible pricing mechanism
Controlled by TRAI.

PLACE
It has wide and extensive presence even in the remotest
areas
Airtel Customer Care Touch Points
Distributors like
E.g. Paan shops, grocery stores, chemists, outlet etc.
PROMOTION
Large scale print and video advertising.
Big celebrities like SRK and Sachin are roped in to endorse
the product because it .
In 2002 Airtel got its Signature tune from A.R. Rehman, this
signature tune is the most downloaded tune in India.
Provides innovations such as Bollywood movie premiers,
music services such as ring back tones & many more.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

INNOVATION

VALUE CHAIN PROCESS

Telecom process Detail
Customer Importance- First they find the customer
requirements.

Technology- Latest change in telecom technology.

Competitive position-

Conduct SWOT Analysis of

competitors

Capable Suppliers-

Suppliers capable of component design

Start-

Decide which service we are going to provide using

which technology, who is our customers, Vendors & partners.

CORPORATE CUSTOMERS
Hathway Internet gateway. National Long distance services.
EFD Corporation Raymond
Bajaj Allianz
Mphasis
Wipro
IBM Daksh
Large Stock Broking Company

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
Wireless Customer market share leadership at 24.7 %.
Total minutes on network carried in Q3 143 billion.
Total employee strength 25,553.
Balance sheet strength :

Assets - $ 12 billion

Net Debt - $ 677 million

Net Debt to EBITDA 0.21 times

Economies of scale and efficient working capital

management helped boost profit margin

Companys policy of retaining entire profits helps in

keeping the D/E low despite surging loan book

Better controls helped check bad debt losses

Economies of scale help reduce the percentage cost of

advertisement expenditure

AIRTEL REVENUE TELECOM SECTOR 2007-08

MARKETING ANALYSIS
TARGET CUSTOMERS
Up market professionals
Entrepreneur with business plans
Low income mass category
Youth
Women and senior citizens by post paid connection
PORTER GENERIC STRATEGY
NARROW
MARKET
BROAD MARKET

E.g.: VERGIN MOBILE

E.g.: VODAFONE

E.g.: AIRTEL

UNIQUENESS
COMPETENCY

LOW COST
COMPETENCY

BCG Matrix of Bharti AIRTEL

MARKET GROWTH
HIGH

STAR- DTH & IPTV,

BROADBAND

?- RETAIL
INSURANCE

MARKET GROWTH
LOW

5-FORCE MODEL

COW- MOBILE
SERVICES

DOGS- FIXED LINE

SERVICES

MARKET SHARE
HIGH

MARKET SHARE
LOW

Bibliography
www.trai.gov.in
www.airtel.in
www.wikipedia.com/airtel/
www.airtel-broadband.com
www.google.com