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 “A 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 “A 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.

 India‘s 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

 Telephone Services

 NSD/ISD Services

 Computerized Trunk Services

 Pay Phones

 National & International Leased Lines Circuits

 Telex

 Telegraph Services (Manual & Automatic)

 X-25 based Packet Switched Data Network (INET)

 Gateway Packet Switched Data Services (GPSS)

 Gateway Electronic Data Interchange Service (GEDIS)

 Gateway E-Mail and Store & Forward FAX Service (GEMS-400)

 Concert Packet Service (CPS)

 Satellite-based Remote Area Business Message Network

 Electronic Mail

 Voice Mail

 Audio-Text
 Radio Paging

 Cellular Mobile Telephone

 Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service

 Video-Tex

 Video Conferencing

 V-SAT

 Internet

 ISDN

 INMARSAT Mobile Service

 INMARSAT Data Service

 Home Country Direct Service

 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 ‘s
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:
 Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services

 Enterprise services
 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

Sir John Bond, Chairman
Key people
John Buchanan, Deputy Chairman
Andy Halford, CFO

Industry Mobile telecommunications

Mobile networks, Telecom services,

Products
Etc.

Revenue ▲ £31.104 billion GBP (2007)

Net income ▼ £-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.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Broadband.PNG

 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:
 Idea will acquire the Modi’s 40.8% stake in Spice (for Rs 2,720
crore).
 Idea will launch the mandatory 20% open offer for the Spice
shareholders, jointly with Telecom Malaysia International (TMI).
 Idea will merge Spice with itself and offer a 14.99% stake to TMI
through a preferential allotment.
 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 — 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: “Make 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 — 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