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Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), known by its brand name CityCell, is the first mobile phone service provider in Bangladesh. It was founded as a joint venture between Pacific Group Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited. PBTL has grown to become the largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, achieving several industry firsts including introducing GSM technology and prepaid services. PBTL has over 500 employees organized into key divisions including Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Billing & IT, and Network Operations. The company aims to become the leading telecom provider in the region through strategies focused on quality, innovation, and customer service.
Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), known by its brand name CityCell, is the first mobile phone service provider in Bangladesh. It was founded as a joint venture between Pacific Group Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited. PBTL has grown to become the largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, achieving several industry firsts including introducing GSM technology and prepaid services. PBTL has over 500 employees organized into key divisions including Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Billing & IT, and Network Operations. The company aims to become the leading telecom provider in the region through strategies focused on quality, innovation, and customer service.
Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), known by its brand name CityCell, is the first mobile phone service provider in Bangladesh. It was founded as a joint venture between Pacific Group Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited. PBTL has grown to become the largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, achieving several industry firsts including introducing GSM technology and prepaid services. PBTL has over 500 employees organized into key divisions including Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Billing & IT, and Network Operations. The company aims to become the leading telecom provider in the region through strategies focused on quality, innovation, and customer service.
1.1 The Company Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) is the first mobile phone service provider in the Indian subcontinent. The address of the Head office is: Pacific entre! "#$ %oha&hali '( )ha&a "*"*. PBTL +as founded b, Pacific -roup Limited and Hutchison .hampoa Limited. CityCell is the brand name under +hich Pacific Bangladesh Telecom provides +ireless telecom or mobile phone service and products to the general and other customers. 1.2 Pacific Group Ltd. The Pacific -roup is a group of companies under common o+nership. The group has interests in automobile service (Pacific %otors Ltd.)$ consumer electronics (Pacific Industries Ltd.)$ fisheries (Bengal /isheries Ltd.)$ tea (0o,apara Tea ompan, Ltd.) and telecommunications (Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd.). This group of industries +as founded b, reno+ned industrialist and current honorable foreign minister 1 %r. %. %orshed 2han. 1.3 Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Hutchison .hampoa Limited (H.L) is a Hong 2ong3based diversified$ multinational compan, +ith its origins dating bac& to the "455s. (s part of the Li 2a36hing group of companies$ H.L7s ultimate shareholder is heung 2ong (Holdings) Limited$ +hich has a #8.8 9 interest in the ompan,. In terms of mar&et capitali:ation$ H.L is one of the largest companies listed on the Hong 2ong stoc& e;change. .ith over "<5$555 emplo,ees +orld+ide$ the -roup operates five core businesses in #" countries. 1.4 The Company History In =ctober "885$ Hutchison Bangladesh Telecom Limited (HBTL) +as formed as a >oint venture bet+een Bangladesh Telecom Limited (BTL) and Hutchison .hampoa Limited of Hong 2ong. In %arch of that ,ear BTL had been issued a license b, Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) for operating cellular$ paging and other +ireless communication net+or&s. Ho+ever$ soon there +as legal dispute bet+een BTTB and BTL regarding the refusal of BTTB to provide Public 6+itch Telecommunication 0et+or& (P6T0) channels for connectivit, to the BTTB net+or&. The 6upreme ourt then ruled in (pril "88? that BTTB +ould have to provide P6T0 connections to HBTL$ and that BTL +ould have to transfer the cellular portion to the license of HBTL. BTTB gave HBTL the P6T0 connections in (ugust "88? and HBTL began commercial operation of the first cellular telephone service in Bangladesh in the same month. The o+ners of HBTL decided to sell their sta&es in the compan, due to the legal +ar. HBTL@s shares +ere divided " into t+o parts: T,pe ($ +hich +as held b, BTL and T,pe B$ held b, Hutchison. Aach t,pe of share represented <59 title of HBTL. Pacific %otors Limited bought the t,pe ( shares +hile Hong 2ong based financial investors /ar Aast Telecom Limited bought the T,pe B shares. =n "*th /ebruar, "88B$ HBTL +as renamed Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited. PBTL uses the brand name it,ell to mar&et its cellular products. In order to boost the financial and also the managerial strength of PBTL$ the shareholders of PBTL has completed the transaction under the agreements in +hich /u>itsu Limited$ Capan and (sian Infrastructure )evelopment ompan, ((I)A)$ established in a,man Islands$ +ould acDuire "59 and *59 eDuit, shares in PBTL$ respectivel, on Cune *555. .ith this acDuisition of "59 shares in PBTL b, /u>itsu Limited$ a -lobal /ortune <55 compan,$ the, have further strengthened their presence in Bangladesh and also have demonstrated confidence as +ell as their commitment to the Bangladesh mar&et. /u>itsu has long been suppl,ing %icro+ave lin&s and telecommunications eDuipment to BTTB and is clearl, a leading mar&et pla,er in providing telecommunication solutions in Bangladesh. Being "59 eDuit, shareholder of the compan, /u>itsu is in a position to nominate " (one) )irector to the Board of PBTL. Fig 1: Ownership structure of PBTL (CityCell) Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) Pacific Motors Ltd. (PML) (4!) "u#itsu Ltd. ("L) (1!) "ar $ast Telecom. Ltd. ("$TL) (%!) &sian Inf. 'e(. Co. Ltd. (&I'$C) ()!) * 1.5 History in rief Ta*le 1+ Chronology of CityCell,s &chie(ements 'ate $(ent 1989 Bangladesh Telecom Limited (BTL) was awarded a license to operate cellular, paging, and other wireless communication networks. Apr-90 Hutchison Bangladesh Telecom Limited (HBTL) was incorporated in Bangladesh as a joint venture between BTL and Hutchison Telecommunications (Bangladesh) Limited. Aug-93 1st cellular operation in the outh !sian sub"continent Aug-93 HBTL began commercial operation in #haka using the !$% mobile technolog&. Dec-93 %aci'ic $otors Limited ac(uired the entire )*+ share holding o' HBTL. Feb-96 HBTL was renamed as %aci'ic Bangladesh Telecom Limited (%BTL) and launched the brand name ,-it&-ell #igital. to market its cellular products. Mar-97 1st to e/tend coverage to -hittagong. Apr-97 -it&-ell began commercial operation in -hittagong. Mar-99 1st to adopt -#$! technolog&. -#$! technolog& was 'irst introduced b& -it&-ell. Jan-01 1st to set"up a communications backbone to -hittagong. Apr-01 #haka"-hittagong microwave is launched. Nov-01 -it&-ell introduced the 1)"second pulse rate in the cellular industr& o' Bangladesh. Jan-02 -it&-ell commences operations in the &lhet 0one. Jan-02 1alue !dded ervices (1!), such as 23 hour billing in'ormation, news, services, sports, etc., are introduced. Mar-02 4irst operator in Bangladesh to o''er o''"peak rates. July-02 4irst operator in Bangladesh to o''er prepaid services with two"wa& %T5 (BTTB) connectivit&. Sep-02 -it&-ell e/tends coverage to 6angpur, #inajpur, 7 &edpur, the northern districts o' Bangladesh. Oct-02 hort $essage ervice ($) is introduced. Jan-03 -it&-ell launched its services in the major northern business cit& o' Bogra. Feb-03 4irst operator in Bangladesh to introduce the 8ne28ne post"paid package. Jun-03 -it&-ell reaches a coverage level o' 3* districts out o' a total o' 93 (91 districts eligible). Jun-03 5etwork capacit& is increased to 23*,***. Aug-03 -it&-ell introduces ,!mar %hone., a postpaid mobile"to"mobile package o''ering the lowest outgoing rate per minute in Bangladesh. Sep-03 4irst operator in Bangladesh to introduce :## and 5;# 'or prepaid subscribers. Oct-03 -it&-ell reaches a coverage level o' )1 districts out o' a total o' 93 (91 districts eligible). Nov-03 -it&-ell<s 23"hour customer call center opens. 5etwork capacit& is increased to 2=*,***. Mar-0! -it&-ell opens its customer service centres > da&s a week countr&wide. June-0! -it&-ell launches 6:$ based handsets. Mar-0" -it&-ell introduces, ,!laap -all me., a pre"paid BTTB both"wa& connectivit& package with the uni(ue ,-all2-ash. 'eature to earn (talk"time) credits upon receiving -it&-ell calls. June-0" ingtel ac(uires 3)+ e(uit& stake o' -it&-ell. Has a call option to ac(uire another 1)+ b& 2**>. ). Mission- .ision- /*#ecti(es- 0trategies ? 2.1 !ission PBTL@s mission statement is "To e the most successful cellular# pa$in$ and other %ireless ser&ice pro&ider in 'an$ladesh y &irtue of ha&in$ $reater operatin$ e(pertise.) it,ell@s inherent emphasis is on Dualit,$ not cheapness of service. The first priorit, is to provide a high end service that can be used for both commercial and personal use. 2.2 *ision The Eision of the compan, is "To to e the leader in the Telecom industry in the re$ion and pro&ide a complete communication solution to the customers %ith a smile.) There is an emphasis on strong customer relations. This is important to it,ell especiall, as$ until recentl,$ the, positioned their pac&ages as high end pac&ages (corporate and business users). 6uch customers +ill reDuire strong support for brand lo,alt, to develop. 2.3 +,ecti&es 2.3.1 -ualitati&e +,ecti&es. Increasing service offerings. A;panding the net+or&. reating innovative$ uniDue$ and cost3effective various products to customers. Increasing loyalty by focuse custo!er retention progra!" 2.3.2 -uantifiale o,ecti&es. Increase subscriber base to " million b, )ec ?"$ *55< 88.<9 overall net+or& availabilit, b, the end of *55< 0et+or& coverage in B" districts (out of eligible B") b, the end of *55< 2.4 /trate$ies 2.4.1 0unctional Le&el /trate$y PBTL@s focus is on efficienc,$ Dualit,$ innovation$ and customer responsiveness. 2.4.2 'usiness Le&el /trate$y PBTL applies cost leadership and differentiation strategies as its business level strategies. 2.4.3 Corporate Le&el /trate$y PBTL follo+s related diversification as their corporate level strategies. # %. /rgani1ational 0tructure PBTL has a total of about <55 emplo,ees:
Fig #: Organogra! of Pacific Banglaesh Teleco! Li!ite 3.1 /ales 1 !ar2etin$. (s the name implies$ this division@s >ob is to conduct mar&eting promotion of it,ell. The >ob of its emplo,ees is to maintain relationship distribution channel$ media$ and corporate clients. This division also deals +ith value added services$ brand and product design. In the 6ales )ivision there are hannel 6ales$ orporate 6ales and )irect 6ales. In the %ar&eting )ivision$ there are %ar&et ommunications$ Brand$ E(6$ Product )evelopment and /.T F Bac&bone )epartments. The 6enior Eice President is the hief %ar&eting =fficer of this 6ales F %ar&eting )ivision. )etails about the departments have been discussed in the follo+ing chapter. < 3.2 Customer /er&ice +peration# 'illin$ and 3T. This department deals +ith customer after the sale occurs. %ain activities of this department includes maintaining data base of the customers$ preparing$ distributing$ and collecting the bills$ activating ne+ connections$ deactivating connections$ helpline service$ interchanging of the )%( sets$ collecting the fault, and repairable sets$ returning repaired sets$ changing )%( sets and so on. This department is divided into three divisions. a4 'illin$ and 3T 4 /er&ice 5eli&ery Fig $: Billing an IT Fig %: &er'ice (eli'ery 3.3 0inance and Commercial. This department is divided into t+o divisions$ a) L preparation and Purchase$ and b) /und %anagement. Here L is opened for purchasing of sets and eDuipment$ and all the funds collected are used and controlled for the ma;imum benefit of the compan,. This department is also responsible for the budgeting +hich ta&es place once a ,ear for the ne;t three ,ears. Fig ): Finance an Co!!ercial 'illin$ and 3T 6is2 !ana$ement 6e&enue Generation /er&ice 5eli&ery 0ront +ffice 7ccount *erification Collections Wor2shop 0inance and Commercial Commercial LC 1 Purchasin$ 0und !ana$ement B 3.4 8n$ineerin$. This department is responsible for the setting up and maintenance of the heav, eDuipment and the ma>or telecom channels reDuired for providing services to customers. This department is divided into G divisions. The, are 6+itch$ entral Base station$ %icro+ave$ Hadio /reDuenc,$ Base Transceiver 6tation$ Po+er$ Planning and development. Fig *: +ngineering 3.5 7ccounts. This department is responsible for collecting direct cash or chec& or charging credit cards from the customers +ho are pa,ing for the service and eDuipment. This department is also responsible to maintain the balance of store +here sets and eDuipments are gathered for future purpose and present operation.
Fig ,: -ccounts 8n$ineerin$ /%itch Central 'ase /tation Control 'ase Transcei&er /tation Plannin$ 1 5e&elopment !icro%a&e 6adio 0re9uency Po%er 7ccounts 7ll type of payments collection /tore :/ets and e9uipments4 G 3.; 7dministration and Human 6esource. (s the name implies$ this department has three ma>or divisions. The (dministration division is responsible for ontract$ Legal and Protocol F -overnment affairs. The Purchase F -eneral %aintenances is responsible for Purchase F 6upport and Astate F Properties$ %aintenance F general securit,. The Human Hesource department is responsible for procuring future emplo,ees according. This department is also responsible for maintaining the database of all emplo,ees$ leaves$ attendance$ health care and related fields of emplo,ees. Fig .: -!inistration an /u!an 0esource 7dministration and Human 6esource Contract# Le$al and Protocol Procurement Purchase 1 General 7dmin 4 4. "unctions of the 0ales and Mar2eting 'i(ision The ma>or mar&eting goal of this division is to capture a significant mar&et segment that +ill ,ield ma;imum revenue b, means of passing on directl, or indirectl, high end cellular phone service. %an, clients provide telecom services to their localit, b, Tellular or /i;ed .ireless pac&age (/.T). The rates of this pac&age ma, be lo+ but this is offset b, the high freDuenc, of usage and the strong support claimed to be provided b, it,ell. Fig 1: &ales 2 3ar4eting (i'ision 4.1 /*P The office of the 6enior Eice President of 6ales and %ar&eting )ivision is responsible for coordination of mar&eting activities across the compan, and to provide top level management +ith an overall picture of the mar&et situation. 4.2 *P The Eice3President of the division oversees the product and business development scenario of the compan,. He is responsible to the 6EP of the division. 4.3 Product 5e&elopment This department is responsible for find out the innovative features that can attract the e;isting and potential customers. Product development is one of the &e, departments in the compan,. .hile developing ne+ pac&ages and tal& plans this department has to &eep in mind the profit and cost issue. Inder all these constraints the department has been producing e;citing and ne+ features +hich ultimatel, attract customers. 6EP EP %anager Product )evelopment %anager Brand %anager Ealue (dded 6ervice %anager %ar&eting ommunication %anager hannel 6ales %anager orporate 6ales %anager /.T and Bac&bone 6enior A;ecutive A;ecutive 8 4.4 *alue 7dded /er&ice :*7/4 This is another department +hich also deals +ith product development but this department is concerned onl, +ith the Ealue (dded 6ervices that the compan, offers. Ealue added services are those other than basic voice calls. it,ell@s E(6 department is one of leading E(6 providers in the countr, in terms of the number of +ide range services that it is providing. #.#." 6hort %essages 6ervice (6%6) #.#.* Eoice %ail 6ervice #.#.? all onferencing #.#.# 6%6 Based Information 6ervices /un (Co&es$ Duotations$ etc.) /inancial 6ervices Amergenc, 6ervices 6ports 6%6 Ban&ing F others Table 2: All of the Voice Based Information Services at a Glance Foo#Fone $locat%on ba&e#' J"5" F%reFone $locat%on ba&e#' J8"" (ol%ce()one $locat%on ba&e#' J888 Me#%()one $locat%on ba&e#' J<5< Auto*ob%le +or,&)op $locat%on ba&e#' JBBB Flo+er &)op $locat%on ba&e#' J#5# N-. Ne+&()one JGGG /)annel 0 Ne+&()one J### A-N 1angla Ne+&()one J??? 2eat)er()one J"** 3vent&()one J"*? A%r()one J"*# 4a%l()one J"*< 35c)ange 4ate()one J"*B 6oro&cope()one J"*G (rayer()one JG4B 4.5 'rand The brand department of the compan, deals +ith image o the brand to the customers. It basicall, helps the brand to portra, its intentioned image to the potential target group. This "5 department along +ith the %ar&eting ommunication department deals +ith the promotional activities. 4.; Corporate /ales There is a separate office of assistant vice3president for corporate sales +ho is also responsible for corporate customer relations. orporate customers are given high priorit, in terms of sales and also in terms of after sales service. =f course this is due to the high usage and need for good long term good+ill +ith such corporate clients. This department ho+ever deals mainl, +ith sales to corporate customers and maintenance of relations +ith both current clients as +ell as scouting out potential ne+ corporate clients$ +hereas the after sales service and other issues are dealt +ith b, the customer services operations section of the compan,. 4.< Channel /ales The assistant vice president responsible for channel management has the ver, important >ob of setting up mar&eting channels b, +hich pac&ages are distributed among clients and b, +hich feedbac& is obtained from customers. This department is responsible for the selection of ne+ dealers and motivating them and current dealers to promote it,ell pac&ages to their customers in their respective areas. This department is also responsible for seeing that there is an e;cellent support net+or& for each dealer and that the, are satisfied +ith their monetar, or other+ise remuneration. This department is also responsible for chec&ing that each dealer does not cut into the sales of another dealer in a ver, pro;imal region. 4.= !ar2etin$ Communications The chief responsibilit, of this department is logicall,$ promotion and communication of ne+ products and product ideas to customers both directl, through selection of advertising media$ then dissemination of information b, means of advertisementsK and indirectl, through dealers b, providing them +ith promotional material. This department is also responsible for public relations +hich do not include corporate relations. This is handled$ as +e have seen$ b, other departments. The responsibilit, of this department is immensel, important especiall, in the introduction stage of a pac&age for customers. The, also provide help for other departments such as the front office and services mar&eting in order to promote it,ell pac&ages to both current and ne+ customers. This helps ver, much in handling cases of dissatisfied customers and also in case of ad>usting customers +ith old pac&ages +ho have to be convinced to upgrade their pac&ages to the ne+ ones on offer. "" The compan, sub3contracts its promotional materials production to local companies. ( regular number of events are held to integrate promotional activities +ith public relation e;ercises to enhance the image of it,ell and better promote the pac&ages on offer. 4.> Product 1 Tariff desi$n This sub3department is under the Product )evelopment department and is responsible for the design of pac&ages and the fi;ing of tariff rates +hich are actuall, the rates of usage for each pac&age. This department is also responsible for the coordination of mar&et research for the +hole compan,. The, +ill integrate &no+ledge gleaned from e;tensive mar&et research into the design of ne+ pac&ages that fulfills the needs of customers. This is done ver, freDuentl, as the needs of even the most stable of customer segments change and the compan, has to change the tariff structure of its offered pac&ages accordingl,. 4.1? 0WT and 'ac2one This particular department loo&s after the /i;ed .ireless Terminal clients and the pac&ages. /.T has been one of the most profitable sectors for the compan,. (s a result this department has a great significance to the compan,. PBTL has underta&en a commercial program to e;pand its business activities to selling bac&3bone for data transfer to corporate clients. This net+or& stretches from hittagong to 6,lhet through )ha&a. It has immense potential and ma, generate significant revenues for the compan,. The overall structure of the sales F mar&eting department and its sections of it,ell has both advantages and disadvantages in terms of organi:ational structural and respective functionalit,. "* 3. Products and 0er(ice offered *y Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited 5.1 Post Paid Pac2a$es 5.1.1 @CityCell 1???A :6e$ular4. ommercial' Business' Personal use b, high income consumers. This product can reach the Local TFT$ 0.)$ I)) and all %obile service operators across the countr,. It is one of the old pac&ages of it,ell. 6till this pac&age is being provided to man, high income group consumers. Both small and large institutions and organi:ations subscribe the service as their needs. CityCell 1??? :Bormal /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e T2. 1??? +ut$oin$ 6ate Pea& (4(%34P%) =ff3Pea& (4P%1""P%) 63=3P (""P%14(%) To %obile (Lonal) ?.55 ?.55 ".<5 To %obile (Inter:onal) 4.55 4.55 4.55 To TFT ?.55 M BTTB ?.55 M BTTB ".<5 M BTTB 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT *.55'min *.55'min ".55'min CityCell 1??? :6oamin$ /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e T2. 1??? +ut$oin$ 6ate /lat Hate To %obile (Lonal) ?.55 To %obile (Inter:onal) 4.55 To TFT ?.55MBTTB 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT ?.55 5.1.2 @CityCell 5??A :6e$ular4. ommercial' Business' Personal use b, high income consumers. This product can reach the Local TFT$ 0.)$ I)) and all %obile service across the countr,. This is one of the regular pac&ages +hich have the most number of subscribers. This pac&age is &no+n and admired to all. The subscription fee and the tariff are affordable than the other mobile operators are offering. These da,s not onl, high income group but also high medium and medium income groups also use this service because of the lo+est billing rate offered b, it,ell. CityCell 5?? :Bormal /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e T2. 5?? +ut$oin$ 6ate Pea& (4(%34(%) =ff3Pea& (4P%3""P%) 6=P (""P%34(%) To %obile (ll %obiles #.55 ?.55 ".<5 To TFT$ 0.)$ I)) #.55 M BTTB ?.55 M BTTB ".<5 M BTTB "? 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT ?.55'min *.55'min ".55'min CityCell 5?? :6oamin$ /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e T2. 5?? +ut$oin$ 6ate Pea& (4(%34(%) =ff3Pea& (4P%3""P%) 6=P (""P%34(%) To %obile (ll %obiles #.55 ?.55 ".<5 To TFT$ 0.)$ I)) #.55 M BTTB ?.55 M BTTB ".<5 M BTTB 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT ?.55'min *.55'min ".55'min 5.1.3 @!oile 25?A :!oile to !oile %ith 'TT' 3ncomin$ and Limited +ut$oin$4. Personal use b, middle income consumers. 6ignificant number of customers is having this subscription. It is ver, popular among students and medium salaried servicemen and a good number people from different occupation are using this line. !oile 25? :Bormal /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e %ith CL3 T2. 25? +ut$oin$ 6ate Pea& =ff3Pea& 6=P To %obile (Lonal) #.55 ?.55 ".<5 To %obile (Inter:onal) B.55 <.55 <.55 To TFT 0'( ?.55 M BTTB ".<5 M BTTB 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT ?.55'min *.55'min ".55'min !oile 25? :6oamin$ /cenario4. !onthly /uscription char$e %ith CL3 T2. 25? +ut$oin$ 6ate Pea& =ff3Pea&M6=P To %obile (Lonal) #.55 ?.55 To %obile (Inter:onal) B.55 <.55 To TFT 0'( 0'( 3ncomin$ 6ate /rom TFT B.55 #.55 Incoming from an, mobile is free. " st minute from BTTB is free for all post paid cellular pac&ages. "# 5.1.4 @7maar PhoneA :!oile to !oile4. Personal use b, mainl, medium income consumers. Though not +idel, used but still this option is open for a group of people +ho >ust +ant mobile to mobile connection in lo+ rate. !oile to !oile :Bation Wide 6oamin$ /cenario4. !onthly /uscription %ith CL3 T2. 2?? Bation Wide 6oamin$ +ut$oin$ Pea& (4(%14P%) =ff3Pea& (4P%14(%) To %obile <.55 #.55 Pulse "< sec. applicable from *nd minute 5.1.5 @TellularA :0i(ed Wireless Telephone4. ommercial'Business use b, commercial institutions and business organi:ations. This pac&age has been mostl, used in village area$ but recentl, +e have seen that in cit, area man, people using this service for mobile to mobile business because of lo+ rate. High freDuenc, antenna help the /.T sets to reach signals be,ond the service area. Tellular :0i(ed Wireless Telephone4. !onthly /uscription 0ee T2. 25? +ut$oin$ 6ate Per !inute To %obile (.ithin Lone) *.<5 To %obile (=ther Lone) <.55 To TFT$ 0.)$ I)) *.<5 M BTTB 3ncomin$ /rom TFT$ 0.)$ I)) ".<5'min /rom (n, %obile /reeN Pac2a$e Tar$et mar2et se$ment (amar Phone Personal use b, mainl, medium income consumers 6habar Phone Personal use b, middle income consumers it,ell <55 ommercial'business'personal use b, middle'high income consumers it,ell Premium ommercial'business'personal use b, high income consumers /.T (Tellular) pac&ages ommercial'business use b, commercial institutions and business organi:ations Table $: Current Post5pai pac4ages: features an target seg!ent 5.2 Pre Paid Pac2a$es The ne+3generation subscribers are ver, interested +ith this service. It is also helpful for limited income group of people. O(alap@ pre3paid card is available ever,+here and this service provides flat rate and nation +ide roaming. ( ver, significant edge that it,ell pre3paid pac&ages have over other pre3paid pac&ages from other companies is the pac&age that features T F T incoming and outgoing. Ot)er bene7%t& 7or t)e &ub&cr%ber8 6%6 facilit, and other value added services "< 6cratch card in a variet, of denominations (e.g. T&. ?55$ T&. #55 and T&. <<5) 2no+ the balance b, dialing J4"" 5.2.1 @7alap 24A :!oile to !oile %ith T 1 T 0acilities4. (alap *# is mobile3to3mobile as +ell as mobile3to3BTTB pac&age. This plan gives subscribers 1 (ccess to an, mobile in Bangladesh *#3hour BTTB connectivit, *#3hour 0.) and I6) facilit, Eer, attractive and simple tariff plan /reedom to choose ? it,ell numbers and ma&e calls at <59 reduced tariff under =ne*=ne scheme9 "B &alap )4 (&lso 2no4n as &alap &) &alap )45&alap &
Call Type Call Charge 1 /utgoing To !n& $obile Tk. 2.)* To BTTB 2 Tk. 2.)* Incoming 4rom !n& $obile 4ree 4rom BTTB Tk. 1.** Notes: 1 4or ever& ?* second pulse 'rom the 'irst ?* second 2 BTTB charges applicable @ 4or 8ne28ne calls to up to ? -it&-ell numbers, talk 'or as low as Tk. 1.2)Apulse 5.2.2 @7alap 'A :!oile to !oile4. In this option customer +ill have onl, mobile to mobile facilit,. This option is offering pre3paid mobile in a lo+ rate. This plan gives the subscriber 1 (ccess to an, mobile in Bangladesh Lo+er tariff especiall, at pea& period /reedom to choose " it,ell number and ma&e calls at <59 reduced tariff under =ne*=ne scheme. &alap B &alap B
Call Type Call Charge
%eak (=!$"=%$) 8'' %eak (=%$"11%$) uper 8'' %eak (11%$"=!$) /utgoing To !n& $obile Tk. ).**Amin Tk. 3.**Amin Tk. 2.**Amin Incoming 4rom !n& $obile 4ree 4ree 4ree Notes: @ 2* second pulse a'ter 'irst minute @ 4or 8ne28ne calls to 1 -it&-ell number, talk 'or )*+ o' the above tari''s @ 1!T applicable "G 5.2.3 7alap Call !e (alap all %e is a full BTTB connectivit, pac&age +ith the uniDue and innovative call*cash feature. This plan gives the subscriber 1 !ccess to an& mobile in Bangladesh *#3hour BTTB local'0.)'I6) connectivit, Inder the call*cash feature (alap all %e subscrivers +ill get T&. 5.*< added to their account ever, minute +hen the, receive calls from other it,ell phones /reedom to choose up to ? it,ells number and ma&e calls at <59 reduced tariff under =ne*=ne scheme it,ell to it,ell 6%6 at a reduced rate of T&. ".<5 (alap all %e &alap Call Me
Call Type Call Charge 1
/utgoing To !n& $obile Tk. 2.)*
To BTTB 2
Tk. 2.)* Incoming 4rom -it&-ell $obile Tk. *.2) credit per minute 4rom !n& $obile 4ree 4rom BTTB Tk. 1.** Notes: 1 4or ever& ?* second pulse 'rom the 'irst ?* second 2 BTTB charges applicable @ 4or 8ne28ne calls to up to ? -it&-ell numbers, talk 'or as low as Tk. 1.2)Apulse @ 1!T applicable @ -it&-ell to -it&-ell $ B Tk. 1.)* "4 4% 31% 29% 36% Citycell 1000 Citycell 500 Mobile 250 Others Fig 16: Post5pai 2 pre5pai pac4age share of CityCell 90% 10% Aalap A Aalap B "8 6. Technology Comparison+ &MP0- C'M& and 70M ;.1 7!P/. The most commonl, used cellular s,stem in 0orth (merica$ the (dvanced %obile Phone 6,stem ((%P6) had also gained +idespread acceptance in (sia (speciall, in 2orea$ Hong 2ong$ Capan$ 6ingapore$ etc). (n analogue s,stem$ this +as introduced in the mid 45s and used a techniDue &no+n as /reDuenc, )ivision %ultiple (ccess (/)%() to allocate hannels. Thus it divides its entire allocation in sections of ?5 2H: and uses each of these sections as channel. Thus (%P6 is able to provide ?5 channels per "%H: of freDuenc, allocated. The principal behind (%P6 is analogous to dividing up a large hall room (the entire freDuenc, allocated to the operator) into a number of smaller rooms (channel) once the first pair has completed their conversation and left the room (disconnected). ;.2 Code 5i&ision !ultiple 7ccess :C5!74. ode )ivision %ultiple (ccess is a s,stem in +hich a subscriber uses the entire freDuenc, for the entire period that his phone is active. Installing of segregating users b, freDuenc, (/)%() or time (T)%() this technolog, segregates customers b, coding the signals in such a manner that each customer decr,pts onl, one signal at an, one signal at an, given time. This +ould be similar to allo+ing a large number of people into the hall room$ but reDuiring each pair to converse in a different language. Thus +hile ever,one +ould hear ever,one else$ this +ould >ust be more of bac&ground noise rather than interference. =n the other hand$ each person +ould be able to understand this partner$ because the, +ould be spea&ing the same language. =ne of ma>or differences bet+een )%( and the other e;isting technologies is in terms of freDuenc, reuse. Ising )%( an operator +ould use the entire allocated freDuenc, in ever, cell. The reuse pattern$ therefore$ is in effect a Oone cell reuse pattern@. Therefore$ the operator can serve ma, more customers per unit of allocated band+idth compared to either (%P6 of -6%. In general$ )%( capacit, is rated to be "5 to *5 times higher then analogue techniDues such as (%P6$ and ? to < times higher than other digital cellular technologies such as -6%. ;.3 G/!. -6% stands for P-lobal 6,stem for %obile ommunications.P It is mostl, a Auropean s,stem and is largel, unused in the I6. Introduced in the mid345s$ the -lobal 6,stem for %obile (-6%) ommunications is a digital cellular used e;tensivel, in Aurope and (sia. -6% is interesting in that it uses a modified and far more efficient version of T)%(. -6% &eeps the idea of timeslots and freDuenc, channels$ but corrects several ma>or shortcomings. 6ince the -6% timeslots are smaller than T)%($ the, hold less data but allo+ for data rates starting at ?55 bits per second. Thus$ a call can use as man, timeslots as necessar, up to a limit of "? &ilobits per second. .hen a call is inactive (silence) or ma, be compressed more$ fe+er timeslots are used. To facilitate filling in gaps left b, unused timeslots$ calls do PfreDuenc, hoppingP in -6%. This means that calls +ill >ump bet+een channels and timeslots to ma;imi:e the s,stem@s usage. To compare +ith the other s,stems$ it should be noted that -6% reDuires " .att of output po+er from the phone. *5 ;.4 7d&anta$es of C5!7: There are numerous advantages of using )%( technolog,$ the most important of +hich are: :a4 Hi$her Capacity. /ince )%( ma&es more efficient use of the available spectrum$ it can provide greatl, increased capacit,. )%( capacit, is rated to be "5 to *5 times higher than other analogue techniDues such (%=P6$ and ? to < time higher that other digital cellular techniDues such as -6%. .ith higher capacit,$ )%( accommodates higher demands and supports ne+ digital services such as data transmission and mobile fi;ing. :4 /implified Plannin$. )%( allo+s s,stem planning to become much easier through the use of the same freDuenc, in ever, sector of ever, cell. (s the entire freDuenc, is used in each cell$ operators do not have to retune base stations$ thus capacit, e;pansion is Duic&er and simpler. :c4 'etter *oice and Call -uality. The uniDue encoding scheme used foe each different )%( conversation virtuall, eliminates cross3tal& and dramaticall, reduces the impact of interference from other sources. (lso$ The larger band+idth of )%( signals (the signals use the entire freDuenc, versus onl, a portion for competing technologies) means that the, are less prone to fading compared to the narro+er band+idths of (%P6 and -6%. :d4 8nhanced /ecurity and Pri&acy. 6ince the signals are coded$ it is ver, difficult to intercept and decode a )%( signal. This prevents eavesdropping and prohibits cloning and other t,pes of fraud. (lso$ due to the +ider band+idth$ such phones are difficult to >am. ;.5 C5!7 &s. G/!. 7 Technical Comparison ;.5.1 7d&anta$es of C5!7. Increased cellular communications securit, 6imultaneous conversations$ less call drops$ stronger net+or& Increased efficienc,$ meaning that the carrier can serve more subscribers Lo+ po+er reDuirements and little cell3to3cell coordination needed b, operators A;tended reach 1 beneficial to rural users situated far from cells 6maller phone sets ;.5.2 5isad&anta$es of C5!7. )ue to its proprietar, nature$ all of )%(7s fla+s are not &no+n to the engineering communit, for solving )%( is relativel, ne+$ and the net+or& is not as mature as -6% )%( cannot offer international roaming$ a large -6% advantage *" ;.5.3 7d&anta$es of G/!. -6% is alread, used +orld+ide +ith over <55 million subscribers International Hoaming permits subscribers to use one phone throughout .estern Aurope )%( +ill +or& in (sia$ but not popular Auropean destinations -6% is mature$ having started in the mid345s. This maturit, means a more stable net+or& +ith robust features. )%( is still building its net+or& The availabilit, of 6ubscriber Identit, %odules$ +hich are smart cards that provide secure data encr,ption give -6% e3commerce advantages ;.5.4 5isad&anta$es of G/!. Lo+er voice clarit, Less securit, for subscribers /reDuent call drops Higher number of carriers'base stations reDuired ** 1. Introduction to the Pro#ect The topic of m, internship pro>ect is "The prospect of discount ser&ices and loyalty pro$ram under the customer retention scheme of CityCell). I have +or&ed under the Ealue (dded 6ervice (E(6) division of the 6ales F %ar&eting )epartment for past three months. )uring this period I had been assigned to create as man, valued business partners as possible for the discount services to be offered to a certain section of the subscribers in order to retain customers of the telecom operator. %, other responsibilities included maintaining various documents including %emorandum of Inderstanding (%oI) papers$ creating amendments if and +hen necessar,$ regular update of relevant data and s,nchroni:ing information +ithin it,ell and its ne+ partners. ). 0ignificance of the 0tudy Though PBTL +as the compan, +hich first brought cellular service in this subcontinent$ it could not be the mar&et leader in the telecom industr,$ as of no+. The gro+th rate of the compan, is slo+. The subscriber base might suggest the compan, is alread, in the # th position among the # active mobile competitors. /rom m, point of vie+$ it is the technolog, +hich is not popular in this part of the +orld. )%( technolog, is the latest technolog, for mobile communication but ma,be too advanced for this mar&et. But apart from the technolog, if an operator provides Dualit, service (net+or&$ customer care$ E(6)$ offers some attractive pac&ages$ and ta&es %n%t%at%ve& for the subscribers$ it is possible to be the mar&et leader. This is +here the other mobile operators have started to +or& effectivel, in a greater e;tent. (fter the entr, of banglal%n, (=rascom Bangladesh Telecom Ltd.)$ the telecom mar&et has become volatile +ith e;isting subscribers are migrating vigorousl, at the reduction of call rates and introduction of attractive pac&ages. 6ome operators have been seeing their subscriber base increase e;ponentiall, +hile others are +istfull, +atching theirs decrease. In vie+ of these$ it,ell has decided to launch a customer retention plan for its lo,al and dedicated subscriber base. Therefore I have found it challenging to be involved in a +or& from +hich the compan, can benefit. Through m, surve, I have tried to find about the discount service acceptabilit, among respondents$ the customer s+itching pattern and the satisfaction'dissatisfaction criterions among the e;isting it,ell subscribers. I have also +or&ed on possible avenues on +hich it,ell can +or& further to offer attractive benefits to its lo,al subscribers. Through m, findings and anal,ses I believe it +ould be easier for the compan, to ta&e decisions about the areas the, have to reshape or develop regarding their customer retention plan. *? %. /*#ecti(es %.1 Broad /*#ecti(e To have an in3depth anal,sis into the prospect of the ustomer Hetention 6cheme of it,ell %.) 0pecific /*#ecti(es To conduct a competitor and industr, anal,sis of the telecom mar&et and present its potentials To assess PBTL@s current state of operation and future direction To carr, out a 6.=T anal,sis of it,ell To find out the satisfaction level of the subscribers To trace the specific areas +here the subscribers are dissatisfied To identif, the customer s+itching pattern and +a,s to retain them To evaluate the lo,alt, program offered b, the operator under its customer retention scheme To loo& into the discrepancies of the discount service to be launched for its lo,al and high3 end users 4. 8ypothesis %, h,pothesis is$ (lthough PBTL brought Oit,ell@ as the first mobile telecommunication service in the subcontinent$ its customers are not full, satisfied +ith the service. If PBTL does not ta&e care of these dissatisfactions$ it +ill be difficult for PBTL to retain its subscribers$ thus maintain its position and increase its mar&et share.! 3. Methodology The topic of m, pro>ect is 7The prospect of iscount ser'ices an loyalty progra! uner the custo!er retention sche!e of CityCell89 5.1 5ata Collection !ethod. In m, stud, I have mainl, depended on primar, data$ +hich have been collected through direct and phone surve,. 5.2 -uestionnaire pattern. I have developed m, Duestionnaire (enclosed in the (ppendi;) mainl, focusing on the discount service acceptabilit, among respondents$ the customer s+itching pattern and the satisfaction'dissatisfaction criterions among the e;isting it,ell subscribers. I have also +or&ed on possible avenues on +hich it,ell can +or& further to offer attractive benefits to its lo,al subscribers. It is a mi;ed open F close3ended Duestionnaire that consists of "G3odd Duestions. *# 5.3 Population. 6ince I +as tr,ing to assess the satisfaction level of various factors of the compan,$ rate of acceptabilit, of various possible benefits and the discount service options$ I have surve,ed the it,ell subscribers onl,. 5.4 /ample /iCe. The sample si:e has been 45. 5.5 /amplin$ !ethod. )ata collection has been done based on convenient random sampling through means of telephone and in the premises of it,ell dealer outlets +here customers visit to bu, ne+ sets and connections. 5.; /econdary 6esearch. I have also collected data and necessar, information from the E(6 (Ealue (dded 6ervice) F the ustomer are department. 5.< 0indin$s 1 7nalysis. The results of the surve, have been represented through bar and pie charts. %, research findings came out through anal,:ing those data. 6. Limitations of the 0tudy 6ome limiting factors +ere faced +hile conducting the research and preparing the report. These factors are as follo+s: 0o prior research has been done on this particular issue. The lo,alt, pro>ect is an e;periment to retain customers +hich is in its initial phaseK the privilege service for high3end users has not ,et been launched. 6o the information presented and data collected is ver, ra+. The findings and anal,sis are based on the results conducted from 45 respondents onl,. )ue to the data collection method (random sampling) and non3availabilit, of lo,al'high3end subscribers$ their opinions have not been reflected in the surve,. Therefore it is not a perfectl, representative sample. The sample that used to conduct the surve, is mostl, from )ha&a division. 6o concerns on some issues such as net+or&$ ma, contain some biasness. %oreover$ it has not been possible to get all reDuired internal information of the compan, as these are treated as confidential compan, information. *< 9. Industry &nalysis *y means of the 3:forces model Integrating the various five forces$ +e get: <.1 'ar$ainin$ po%er of /uppliers. Bargaining po+er of suppliers is high because: ". 6uppliers provide )%( sets that cannot be found easil, from man, suppliers *. 6uppliers do not depend solel, on it,ell for significant portion of sales ?. Products are not differentiated. Ho+ever this has little effect on over3all supplier po+er #. PBTL cannot verticall, integrate bac&+ards as it does not have the capabilit, to produce hard+are +hereas the primar, suppliers ma, bu, a ma>orit, sta&e in PBTL <.2 'ar$ainin$ po%er of 'uyers. Bargaining po+er of bu,ers is comparativel, lo+ under certain conditions: ". Tellular customers have significantl, lo+ bargaining po+er because of the high cost of procurement of a Tellular set. The, have to rel, on PBTL for spare parts and other help. *. Isers of lo+ cost pac&ages ma, s+itch from it,ell to other pac&ages but onl, at a certain cost: that of cost of purchase. In man, cases it is seen that such customers run up bills eDuivalent to or above their credit limit then abandon their it,ell number. In such cases the bu,er@s bargaining po+er is higher. ?. In cases of pac&ages li&e it,ell <55'"555 bu,ers have significantl, less purchasing po+er because of the high deposits paid to PBTL (T& *$<55 for local TFT connections$ additional T& *$<55 for 0.) and T& "5$555 for I6) connections). This significant amount of investment means that customers cannot shift easil, from one compan, to another. <.3 Potential competitors. Let us loo& at the potential competitor@s scenario from the barriers to entr, perspective: ". Bran loyalty: )ue to decreasing performance and slo+ progress in e;pansion of net+or&$ it,ell pac&ages inspire less brand lo,alt, than before. Ho+ever potential ne+ entrants to the industr, +ill be deterred b, the high brand lo,alt, to -rameen pac&ages. Assentiall, it is believed that the total potential mar&et has been fulfilled b, as much as three fourths. Thus leaving a ver, small segment of customers for ne+ entrants to gain. High brand lo,alt, to -rameen and the die3hard users of the other three companies: =rascom$ it,ell F (&tel ensures that potential entrants +ill be strongl, discouraged b, the high brand lo,alt, in current mar&ets. *. -bsolute cost a'antages 2 econo!ies of scale: urrent pla,ers have a more or less absolute cost advantage because the, have alread, invested in telecom infrastructure and have recouped their investments. 0e+ companies +ill have to invest in eDuipment and +ill ta&e *B considerabl, greater time to cover initial eDuipment3purchase e;penses. onsidering the si:e of the four companies alread, operating and the si:e of their investments$ the, +ill not ta&e &indl, to an upstart in the industr, and ma, use as man, competitive options as possible 1 price strateg,$ Dualit, 1 to retain an upper hand. ?. (istribution channel: (nother ma>or barrier to entr, is the access to distribution channels. .ith four companies competing in the current mar&et environment$ the distributors of mobile phones are becoming ver, limited. %oreover$ man, retailers +ill not +ant to carr, more lines of mobile phone pac&ages as the, have to sell the ones the, alread, have. Thus an, increase in the number of companies +ill cannibali:e into current sales. #. 9o'ern!ental regulations: In Bangladesh$ the telecommunications mar&et is still o+n b, the state3o+ned BTTB. The, are thin&ing of entering the mobile phone mar&et. Thus the, +ill not ta&e &indl, to ne+ companies entering the industr,. This ma, ma&e them influence the government to introduce ne+ legislation designed to restrain the business activities of ne+ companies. <.4 Threat of sustitute products. /or it,ell the threat of substitute products is ver, real. %an, customers prefer to use -rameen Phone above that of it,ell primaril, for the net+or& reach. There are also a number of other factors that ma&e it,ell vulnerable to this aspect of the five forces method of anal,sis. Ho+ever +e should note that in case of pac&ages are used for commercial use$ it,ell has a significant hold over customers. In case of Tellular pac&ages$ the rates being so lo+$ man, clients prefer to stic& +ith their it,ell Tellular sets even after e;periencing technical and net+or& problems. %oreover as the initial purchase of a it,ell Tellular set constitutes a significant investment 1 around T& <5$555 all inclusive 1 an o+ner of a Tellular set cannot easil, substitute his or her product. <.5 Threat of Be% 8ntrants. The entr, barriers to this industr, are ver, high as the government controls the licensing arrangements$ and also the e;isting operators has made sufficient inroads into the mar&et. This +ill strongl, discourage ne+ entrants into the mar&et although the government has decided to give a fe+ ne+ licenses. ;. Competitor &nalysis *G
The mobile telecommunications industr, in Bangladesh is no+ in its rapid gro+th stage. 6ince the technolog, is e;pensive$ there are onl, four companies operating activel, the mobile service. The other three companies are$ -rameen Phone$ (2Tel$ and =rascom Telecom. BTTB +ith its brand$ OTele3tal&@ has also ver, recentl, entered this competitive scenario. (s operators of mobile cellular services$ (&tel$ -rameen Phone and Banglalin& are direct competitors of it,ell. The PBTL license +as issued in "848. The three other license +ere a+arded during 0ovember "88B$ and are identical to each other$ ho+ever the licenses a+arded to (&tel$ -rameen and 6heba (no+ Banglalin&) for their mobile cellular net+or&s differ in some aspects from the license that PBTL holds. The most significant differences are: GrameenD'an$lalin2D7ET8L P'TL :CityCell4 Cellular mobile or fixed communications %ust be digital technolog,. an be digital or analogue technolog,. License Duration Licenses valid for "< ,ears thereafter rene+able annuall, based on performance. License valid for *5 ,ears. Frequency (ssigned "5 %H:. (ssigned a total of #5 %H:. Operator fee obligations =perator pa,s "<9 of line rental revenues to %inistr, of Post F Telecommunications and call charges at actual to BTTB. (dditionall,$ operators pa, T& "5 million annuall, as license fees. PBTL has to pa, "59 of line rental revenues and call charges at accruals to BTTB. 0o license fees are pa,able. Coverage of cell sites overage of each cell ma, not be greater than G &m in urban and "G.< &m in rural areas. overage is not restricted. Rollout Obligation =perators must performance obligations or pa, fines. 0o such obligations. =.1 Grameen Phone Limited. -rameen Phone Ltd. (-P) is the current mar&et leader in terms of mar&et share$ +hich is o+ned b, a consortium of investors comprising of -rameen Telecom and Telenor (0or+egian state o+ned telecommunication compan,$ o+ning nearl, B<9 of total shares). -P is using the -6% *4 technolog, to provide mobile cellular services to about ?.# million subscribers in Bangladesh. The compan, started its service in %arch *B$ "88G. -rameen Phone@s basic strateg, is coverage of both urban and rural areas. In contrast to the island! strateg, follo+ed b, some companies$ +hich involves connecting isolated islands of urban coverage through transmission lin&s$ the compan, has been building continuous coverage$ cell after cell. 6o far$ -P has installed more than *555 BT6@s around the countr, for cell to cell coverage. -rameen Phone has the +idest coverage in Bangladesh. The compan, is planning to increase the net+or& coverage to 459 of the population from the current <G9 +ithin this ,ear. =.2 7ETel :T!3'4. Telecom %ala,sia International (Bangladesh) is a >oint venture bet+een Telecom %ala,sia and ( 2 2han F co. T%IB also began operations in "88G using the -6% technolog,. T%IB offers its mobile services under the brand name (2TAL. It operates as a Limited Liabilit, ompan,$ +here the ma>orit, shareholder$ Tele&om %ala,sia$ o+n G59 shares$ +hile minorit, shares of ?59 are o+ned b, (. 2. 2han F o. Bangladesh Limited. The compan, is no+ servicing around ".4 million customers all over the countr,. (&tel has been distinctl, ahead in offering the ?5 6econds Pulse! from the first minute of tal& time. Toda,$ The compan, boasts the +idest International Hoaming service in the mar&et connecting ?"< operators across "G5 countries. In addition$ (&tel is the first mobile operator to connect Tetulia and Te&naf$ the northern and southern most points of Bangladesh. (&tel +as also the first to provide seamless coverage along the )ha&a3hittagong high+a,. .ith a net+or& covering all B" (allo+able) districts of Bangladesh$ coupled +ith the first Intelligent 0et+or& (I0) Prepaid Platform in the countr,$ (&tel is geared to provide a +ide range of products and services to customers all over Bangladesh. =.3 'an$lalin2 :+rascom Telecom4. =rascom Telecom Bangladesh$ an Ag,ptian multinational compan, +ith mar&et presence in "" countries (and mar&et leader in 8 of them) launched their -6% net+or& on the "5th of /ebruar, *55<. This compan, is the last addition to the -6% famil, of the local mar&et +hen on =ctober *5th$ *55#$ =rascom Telecom announced the purchase of 6heba Telecom +ith a cost of I6Q B5 million. The compan,@s re3 branding has been under the name of Banglalin& +ith the leveraging promise to provide the mar&et +ith Dualit, service at the most affordable prices fitting to their communications needs. It is also +orth mentioning that an unprecedented success of sales results follo+ed the commercial launch of Banglalin& in earl, this ,ear. =rascom is currentl, serving around #55$555 subscribers. *8 !ar2et share of the moile phone operators in 'an$ladesh <G9 *89 G9 B9 "9 -rameenPhone (&tel Banglalin& it,ell Teletal& =.4 TeleFtal2 :'TT'4. 6tate3run Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) operates basic telecom services$ national transmission net+or& and overseas communication. It has a monopol, over interconnections and the international gate+a,$ in +hich all other telecommunications operators depend on to connect to the fi;ed telephone lines and international calls. (ll phone operators are also sub>ected to a monopolistic control b, BTTB that limits revenue sharing " arrangements. Cust t+o and a half months bac&$ BTTB had launched their much3a+aited mobile phone$ Tele3tal& +hich has generated h,pe among the potential subscribers. (s of no+$ Tele3tal& has a small customer base of #5$555 +ith onl, TFT connectivit,. But the ma>or feature of this pac&age is absolutel, 7ree incoming from BTTB +hich has strongl, s+a,ed the mar&et in favor of the ne+ pac&age. " 4evenue S)ar%ng refers to sharing of revenue collected b, one compan, for a service co3produced b, t+o. ?5 <. Company and Industry life:cycle stage (lthough revenues appear to be stead,$ PBTL is losing customers steadil, (declining mar&et share) and$ thus is predicted that +ithin the ne;t fe+ months$ revenues +ill also start to decline. This has happened in an industr, +hich ma, be relativel, lo+3gro+th currentl, but in +hich man, believe that should prices of usage be decreased slightl, and the telecom sector further liberali:ed$ it could gro+ significantl, further. Thus +e ma, state the compan, to be having ODuestion mar&@ or Oproblem child@ status +ithin the B- matri;. Figure 11: BC9 !atri: If +e consider the situation in terms of the life c,cle scenario$ +e are forced to sa, that$ under current conditions$ it,ell of PBTL is under the decline stage. =n the other hand$ the industr, life3c,cle stage ma, be defined as a sha&e3out stage. The rate of gro+th has slo+ed as demand has approached saturation level under current conditions. %uch of the demand for sets and pac&ages are limited to replacement demand 1 both in terms of pac&ages and also in terms of sets. This e;plains +h, PBTL is losing such a ma>or portion of its customers man, of them are leaving for more versatile and cheaper pac&ages from other companies. ?" 1. The Telecom Mar2et Potential Bangladesh has one of the lo+est tele3densit, in the +orld: lo+est tele3densit, means huge potential to be tapped /i;ed .ired lines less viable option$ +ireless to drive gro+th Potential demand of cellular is estimated to be "593"#9 of population Potential demand ranges from "#3*5 % ()ec *55#) urrent subscriber number is appro; # % Intapped mar&et is "53"B % subscribers no+ Ruic& F successful implementation of net+or& capacit, is the best strateg, for gro+th F profitabilit, -)%& re:u%re& - Sub&tant%al 0nve&t*ent; 0nnovat%on < 35per%ence Figure 1#: Current state of the Teleco! Inustry in Banglaesh ?* Pro#ected 0u*scri*ers 7ro4th ()4:)<) " ),***,*** 1*,***,*** 1),***,*** 2*,***,*** 2),***,*** 2**3 2**) 2**9 2**> 2**= 2**C 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 U K A u s t r a lia U S A B r a z il C h in a S r i L a n k a I n d o n e s ia I n d ia P a k is t a n N e p a l B a n g la d e s h "#?."? 8.<G 3.25 Figure 1$: Future irection of the Teleco! Inustry in Banglaesh 11. 0=/T &nalysis of CityCell 6.=T (nal,sis is a ver, important tool for a compan, for a compan, to anal,:e its internal e;ternal environment. 0o+$ +e +ill see a 6.=T anal,sis of it,ell. 11.1 /tren$ths. ". Competiti&e tariff structure. Price is a big competitive advantage for it,ell. it,ell is the onl, organi:ation +hich is selling )%( mobile phones +ith both +a, TFT facilities at the lo+est rate. /or e;ample$ the lo+est pac&age rate of it,ell is T& #$888'S +ith TFT incoming and outgoing facilities (O(laap all %e@$ pre-pa%#). .ith TFT facilities the other competitors are no +here near it,ell. This pac&age has a fantastic and a ver, innovative feature$ all*ash$ in +hich an, subscriber of this pac&age can Oearn@ or collect 5.*< ta&as per minute in his'her pre3paid account upon receiving a call from an, it,ell mobile. *. Bo @'usy Bet%or2A. Because of enormous number of channels$ e;cess to it,ell mobile phones is ver, eas,. The rate of call drops is ver, lo+. It possesses high Dualit, voice and data transmissions. ?. 7d&anced technolo$y. )%( technolog, is the best technolog, for telecommunication. .orld class mobile operators and +orld class mobile phone manufacturers are advancing to this ne+ technolog,. it,ell is one of the fe+ mobile service providers +hich are using )%( technolog,. .here as other -6% mobile service provider has to ma&e huge invest or +ill need time for transformation. urrent )%( "T platform paves the +a, for easier migration to ?- technolog, #. Lo% Cost. it,ell follo+s lo+ cost strategies that enables greater profit margin for shareholders. It tries to cut cost in ever, possible +a, to ma;imi:e the strengths for future battle. <. 5edicated 1 professional mana$ement team. )edicated core staffs +ho are +illing to provide significant labor hours to accomplish targets. 11.2 Wea2ness. ". 0e%er staff. The number of staffs +or&ing for it,ell is not enough at all. /ar fe+er staff than actuall, reDuired in terms of tas&s to be completed. ?? *. Be% technolo$y. )%( is the latest technolog, but it is not +idel, used. ( still more popular option is -6%. It is more difficult for it,ell to provide international roaming because of fe+ number of )%( operators around the globe. ?. Lo% net%or2 co&era$e. Though it,ell started to provide mobile telecommunication ten ,ears bac&$ it is still in behind the other operators from the point of nation+ide coverage. -rameen phone +as able to use the optical fiber net+or& of Bangladesh Hail+a, through strong lobb,ing +ith the past government for the ne;t t+ent, five ,ears. That@s +h, -rameen Phone@s e;pansion has been huge$ +hereas it,ell has covered roughl, <4 districts all over the countr, +ith a poor infrastructure. #. Lac2 of education. The subscribers are not educated enough to handle sophisticated )%( mobile handsets effectivel,. That@s +h, proper &no+ledge is essential to handle these mobile sets. 11.3 +pportunities. ". 7d&anced technolo$y. 6ince )%( technolog, is the latest in the +ireless telecommunication industr,$ it is ,et to find ne+ potential in the short future. *. /ecured data transfer. 6ecured data transfer means it,ell has the potential to be the leading pla,er once e3commerce ta&es off. ?. +&erseas e(pansion plan. The gro+ing need for across border telecom services at lesser cost (e.g. +ith neighboring India$ Burma$ then onto Thailand$ etc) can be an opportunit, for it,ell. #. 7c9uisition of /in$tel. The acDuisition of #<9 eDuit, sta&e of it,ell brings more opportunit, for it,ell. The compan, no+ has greater capital and more budget to invest on its net+or& facilities. In fact$ of the Q""4 million investment of 6ingtel in PBTL$ Q85 million +ould be spent in net+or& e;pansion plans * . <. Leadership in telecommunication ser&ices. Bangladesh government has alread, started to provide license to private sectors to set up land phone. PBTL is the onl, mobile phone operator +ith nation+ide mobile F fi;ed license. .ith full nation+ide coverage and a huge capital investment from 6ingtel$ it is possible to become the mar&et leader for it,ell. 11.4 Threats. ". Technolo$y factor. There is a high degree of acceptance of -6% technolog, over )%( in local mar&et. *. Le$al prolems. Tough legislation against eas, e;pansion into regional and international mar&ets b,passing the state o+ned BTTB. * -)e Da%ly Star; June !; 200" ?# ?. Be%ly imposed ta(. In the fiscal budget proposed last +ee&$ the government has imposed a T&. "*55 ta; on each and ever, 6I%'HII% card +hich +ould hurt the regional e;pansion plans$ increase of customer base in the lo+er segment and the profit motive for ever, operator including it,ell. #. Be% competitors. If ne+$ international competitors li&e O(irtel@ of India enters the local mar&et +ith full coverage and lo+ price$ then not onl, it,ell but also other mobile operators +ould be in great trouble. (lread, =rascom (Banglalin&) is giving it,ell a run for its mone, and mar&et share. <. Gloal companies. In India global companies li&e O(TFT@ of the Inited 6tates and in Aastern (sia OEodaphone@ of the Inited 2ingdom is +or&ing +ell. The, might thin& to enter Bangladesh +ith higher capital. If so$ it +ill be a huge threat for it,ell. B. 'TT' moile phone. BTTB has alread, entered the mobile telecommunications industr, (-ele-tal,). It might carr, unfair -overnment advantages and cause severe problems to all other mobile phone operators. ?< 1). &ssessment of CityCell>s current state and future direction 12.1 Current /tate of operations. it,ell pac&ages are focused to follo+ the compan,@s differentiation strateg,. There area number of mar&et segments into +hich it,ell@s potential and current customers can be divided. PBTL al+a,s strives to ma&e each it,ell pac&age released to be uniDue and noticed above that of the competition. The, also tr, to attain distinctness in their sales and mar&eting strateg, to ma&e them seem li&e a uniDue$ Oblue3blooded@ mobile phone compan,. In order to do this$ the, have made a number of strategic choices +hich ma, set them as being different from other companiesK the, also handicap them in a significant manner. The primar, strategic choice that has affected them is such a manner is their choice of technolog,. (lthough )%( technolog, is far in advance from other technologies$ it has ,et to gain a significant acceptabilit, in Bangladesh. Thus +hat has happened is that there is a serious shortage of )%( sets and$ as &noc&3on$ effect higher price of the sets that are available. .orse$ man, sets are simpl, l,ing around due to lac& of spare3parts. ustomers have to pa, line rent for fault, or dead sets. %an, customers are disconnecting their it,ell lines and bu,ing cheaper pac&ages from other companies. The detrimental effect this has had on operations is that PBTL is finding increasingl, less room to maneuver and introduce ne+ features in their service +hich +ill help them combat competition. This also means that the, have to fight for survival rather than for dominance. Inherentl,$ PBTL@s strategies appear to be more reactive than proactive. ( ver, important aspect of current operations is the severe effect that centrali:ation of organi:ation has on operations. The regional offices are responsible for handling phones onl, in that :one. There is a severe lac& of coordination bet+een the various regional offices +hich has a detrimental effect on customer satisfaction. .orse$ the entries for each :one are done all on one floor in the head office at the vast ma>orit, of customers bu,ing their sets directl, from PBTL$ it means that the, are also dependent on PBTL for repairs and spare part needs. Thus the current staffs +ho +or& at repairs and servicing are severel, over+or&ed. This affects morale and emplo,ee satisfaction$ reducing the efficienc, of set3servicing process and thus has results in dissatisfied customers. In all PBTL is a compan, +ith immense potential$ but it remains to be seen +hether management can full, harness this potential. The potential is present in all the factors of operations: ") The technolog, is ver, advanced and has immense potential *) The labor factor is strong +ith some ver, capable staff ?) PBTL has sufficient capital to underta&e infrastructure investments #) There is still a significant portion of good+ill to+ards the compan, from its sta&eholders ?B .hat PBTL needs to do no+ is to harness all these positive factors$ negate the detrimental ones and move for+ard. ?G 12.2 0uture 5irection of the Company. it,ell appears to be moving to+ards a more customer oriented approach to its overall customer polic,. -one are the da,s +hen PBTL could dictate terms to its clients. These da,s PBTL has to spend an increasing amount of time covering its shortfalls and persuading customers to sta, +ith them. This is especiall, +orr,ing after +hat is perceived to be b, man, industr, insiders a concerted effort b, -rameen Phone to ma&e head+a, into the corporate mar&et 1 a domain that +as once almost e;clusivel, under PBTL. .hat PBTL is reall, loo&ing for is a +a, b, +hich it can seriousl, bounce bac& into dominant position. The primar, reason for choosing )%( is that the, hope to be able to implement the ne;t generation (?- or )%( ";) mobile phone features such as voice conferencing$ Internet$ sending visual data$ etc into their services. It remains to be seen ho+ successful the, are in harnessing the full po+er of )%( technolog,. There is also a proposal to decentrali:e their organi:ation in order to be able to better serve their customers in the far reaching regions of the countr,. This means that man, ma>or functions +ill be spread out throughout the countr, divided according to customer regions. It is ,et to be seen ho+ much decentrali:ation ma, occur$ but it is a ma>or issue under consideration. Then there is the sale of data lin& to corporate clients. This +ill gather significant revenue for the compan, as +ell as solidif, its position +ith its corporate clients as their primar, information transfer and telecom provider. The incongruities bet+een the various tariff plans of the various pac&ages are to be removed both to ma&e it much easier for customers to budget usage and also to increase the value for mone, of each pac&age. 12.2.1 Gpcomin$ features of CityCell. IT2 (Iser Tool 2it) International Hoaming' 6%6 %%6 (%ultimedia %essage 6ervice) %HBT (%ultimedia olor Hing Bac& Tone) Infotainment Internet (ccessU"## &bps PTT (Push to Tal&) Alectronic Top Ip ?4 12.2.2 7c9uisition of /in$Tel. 6ingapore Telecommunications Limited (6ingTel) recentl, announced that it has invested I6Q""4 million for a #< per cent eDuit, sta&e in Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL). In addition$ 6ingTel has a call option to increase its eDuit, interest in PBTL to B5 per cent for an additional I6QB< million. The option can be e;ercised bet+een " (pril and ?5 Cune *55G. The recent investment made b, 6ingTel has created a lot of options for the compan,. Aver,one is e;pecting that net+or& e;pansion and technolog, up gradation +ill occur at a fast pace. This is especiall, important if +e consider the fact that slo+l, boundaries are opening and technologies are improving. -6% +ill give +a, to more advanced technologies li&e )%( and there +ill soon be no national boundaries as defined in the telecom industr,. If that happens and the telecom sector is further liberali:ed$ then PBTL can loo& for+ard to increased gro+th and revenue. Figure 1,: &ingTel: 9roup &tructure Temasek 62.71% Public 37.29% SingTel Mobile SingNet SingTel !tus "#us$ National %om!ute& S's #ssociates Singa!o&e (e&seas #PT Satellite) *ong +ong 20.3% #,S) T-ailan. 21./% 0-a&ti) ,n.ia 28./% N%,%) Tai1an 24./% 2lobe) P-ili!!ines 40.1% Telkomsel) ,n.onesia 3/.0% SingPost ,n(estment in P0T3 4/4 60% ?8 /hareholder Present Phase 1 Phase 2 H H H Pacific %otors #5 ?" ?" /ATL ?5 *# 8 (I)A *5 3 3 /u>itsu Ltd "5 3 3 &ingTel 5 %) *6 Total 1?? 1?? 1?? Figure 1.: &hare/oling of PBTL: Present 2 Future 12.2.3 /tren$ths 1 +pportunities from /in$Tel. ". ADuit, in>ection of Q85% (in phase ") +ill give necessar, thrust in aggressive e;pansion strateg, of PBTL. *. ( multinational corporate li&e 6ingTel as a ma>or sta&eholder +ill give enhanced access to funding. ?. 6ingTel$ as an international pla,er$ +ill provide incremental leverage over vendors (handsets$ eDuipment). #. 6ingTel brings in "*5 ,ears of e;pertise 1 innovation$ Dualit,$ efficienc,$ and corporate governance. <. PBTL +ith 6ingTel is better poised to capture the mar&et potential F become the mar&et leader. B. Benefit from seamless coverage across 6ingTel net+or& in (sia and international access across the +orld for international roaming through its submarine F satellite net+or&. #5 1%. Presenting the 0ur(ey ?esults 13.1 7out the 6espondents cvo_n _@c o: vmon ccmo_ *# ?59 < B9 "* "<9 ?8 #89 5 59 6tudent House+ife Business 6ervice' Cob =thers 7$e $roup of 6espondents 6eries" 4 "* "8 "" "? "5 G "B3*5 *"3*< *B3?5 ?"3?< ?B3#5 #"3#< #<M This bar chart represents more3or3less a normal distribution curve. 0earl, G59 of the sample is bet+een *"3#5 ,ears of age. Hespondents are largel, in service (as represented in the pie chart) or students. This means a good ?59 of the sample fall into the ,outh segment. #" ?89 B"9 Pre3paid subscriber Post3paid subscriber *?9 GG9 %ale /emale 13.2 6e$ardin$ CityCell suscriers @ =hich is your first mo*ile phone A it,ell #G -rameen *< (&tel B 6heba *
<49 ?"9 49 ?9 it,ell -rameen (&tel 6heba Hesults sho+ that #*9 of the respondents have s+itched from other operators to it,ell in the past 4 ,ears or so. This Duestion has tried to find out the level of dissatisfaction among the users of mobile phone in the mar&et at present. (bout a half of the respondents have found other operators as not upto Ostandard@ or upto e;pectation. The ne;t fe+ Duestions aims at finding out about their (#*9 of the respondents@) s+itching pattern and +h, the,@ve chosen it,ell or +h, the other <49 are still using it,ell. #* @ 8o4 long ha(e you *een using A a. ( mobile b. it,ell
&ns a. " m 1 " ,r "* b. " m 1 " ,r *? a. " 1 ? ,rs *" b. " 1 ? ,rs ?" a. ? 1 < ,rs "B b. ? 1 < ,rs "4 a. < 1 4 ,rs *? b. < 1 4 ,rs 4 a. %ore than 4 ,rs 4 b. %ore than 4 ,rs 5 5 < "5 "< *5 *< ?5 ?< " m 1 " ,r " m 1 " ,r " 1 ? ,rs " 1 ? ,rs ? 1 < ,rs ? 1 < ,rs < 1 4 ,rs < 1 4 ,rs %ore than 4 ,rs %ore than 4 ,rs
This graph reveals an interesting picture. The light3colored bars represent number of mobile3users +hile the corresponding dar&3colored bars represent number of it,ell users. There are fe+er mobile users from " month to < ,ears$ +hile more are using the mobile (other operators) for more than < ,ears. =n the contrar,$ more people are it,ell users from " month to < ,ears +hile less people have been +ith it,ell for more than < ,ears. Interestingl,$ there are no it,ell subscribers using this operator for more than 4 ,earsN V-rammen Phone has been in the mar&et for a little more than 4 ,ears$ +hile oddl, enough it,ell has been operating for "* ,earsN 6o$ even though a sample$ +here are the long3 time usersW X. This trend ma, represent that it,ell users for more than B3G ,ears have started to s+itch to other operators and'or that brand lo,alt, is lo+ among users of this operator. Its about time that it,ell should be loo&ing into its customer retention plans and lo,alt, programs in an effective manner. #? @ =hy do you li2e5still use CityCellB /?- 4hy ha(e you s4itched to this operatorB 6easons for s%itchin$ toD still usin$ CityCell "9 #9 ??9 <9 G9 <9 <9 "9 #9 *49 G9 Better net+or& 6mart handsets Lo+er call rates -ood customer care 6uperior technolog, ()%() (ttractive advertisements -ood communication from the operator Iseful Ealue (dded 6ervices (E(6) -ood connectivit, to other mobiles -ood connectivit, to BTTB I >ust li&e it,ell ' Lo,al to it,ell' 0o e;act reason This Duestion has been put for+ard to the #*9 of respondents +ho have s+itched to it,ell in the past 4 ,ears or so and to that <49 of the sample +ho are still using it,ell. It is to be noted$ out of this <49$ about ?49 are it,ell users from " month to ? ,ears ? onl,. 6o$ basicall, this pie3chart represents a good opinion of the #*9 s+itchers and of *59 of the it,ell Olo,alists@$ +ho have been using the brand for more than < ,ears. The sample has clearl, mentioned as lo+er call rates being the most important reason (??9) of s+itching to Vand also still usingX it,ell. (ccording to the data and trend$ these s+itchings have ta&en place predominantl, bet+een the last ? ,ears or so. (t that time$ it,ell rates +ere the cheapest in the mar&et$ as suggested b, the press advertisements. (s of the present$ the scenario +ould be revealed and discussed later on. The second most important reason (*49) has been VgoodX connectivit, to BTTB. (gain$ ,ears bac&$ it,ell has been the pioneer operator to offer both3+a, BTTB connectivit,. This factor is still considered as a ma>or feature of it,ell mobiles. (ll the other reasons of this Duestion go unheeded as belo+ G9 of the sample have responded to them. ? Information anal,:ed from the previous table. ## Co 3<! Des 41! This is Duite alarming for an, operator +hose sample subscribers reveal that the, are using another connection besides it,ell. .h, is thatW In +hich +a, is it,ell not being able to provide it all for its valued customersW .hat is it that other operators are providing more for +hich it,ell@s profits are being divided upW The follo+ing Duestion ma, give an idea 1 @ If yes- 4hich connection do you use and 4hyB ?easons -rameen "8 0et+or& "B (&tel G 0et+or& B 6heba'Banglalin& < /ree 6%6 < Tele3tal& * TFT i'c free * (mong the ?? of the 45 respondents +ho sa, the, use another connection$ "8 use -P for the single most important reason being strong'available net+or&. The same features for (&tel$ the second largest mobile operator no+ in the countr,. In other +ords$ BG9 of the respondents +ho use another connection besides it,ell do so because of the net+or&. @ 'o you use any other connection *esides CityCellB 0o #G Yes ?? #< (lthough findings later on +ill sho+ that it,ell has satisfied its customers +ith access to BTTB and arguabl, the lo+est billing rate$ the previous findings has demonstrated that it has not been performing +ell to retain its subscribers in terms of providing a strong net+or& solution. #B 13.3 Customer 6etention /cheme. Loyalty Pro$ram 6atin$s :on a scale of 1?4 y respondents re$ardin$ &arious enefits intended to e offered to loyal suscriers 4.* 4.5G< G.8 G.BG< G.<< B.G< B.B*< 5 " * ? # < B G 4 8 )iscount call rates A;clusive customer care )iscount line rent Alite privilege' membership card 6pecial discounts to be en>o,ed from various stores' shops' eating places 6pecial events organi:ed for ,ou ( number of free 6%6 These are some of the benefits that ma, be offered to lo,al'high3end users of it,ell. This is a feedbac& from the respondents +ho opine that discount call rate'line rent and e;clusive customer care are three of the most elusive benefits that can be en>o,ed. The privilege service to be introduced to the lo,al'high3end users under the customer retention scheme$ includes 1 e;clusive customer care$ an elite privilege card and special discounts to be en>o,ed from various stores'shops'eating places$ etc. (ll these benefits have received good appreciation from the respondents scoring above average for ever, case. @ 'o you plan to stay 4ith CityCell in the neEt 6 months to 1 year despite the presence of other operatorsB Ies 44 55H BoD 3 mi$ht not stay %ith CityCell 3; 45H #G (nother alarming data +hich sa,s #<9 of the it,ell subscribers ma, not continue +ith the operator and has a good possibilit, of s+itching. (gain$ this calls for rigorous customer retention plans. ?easons Ies 44 Image'Lo,alt, "8 Lo+er call rates "# BTTB connectivit, or i'c facilities G Hassle to change # BoD3 mi$ht not stay %ith CityCell 3; 0et+or& *# Handset fle;ibilit, 8 (ttractive pac&age'benefits B ( good point in this ma, be that about #<9 of the respondents +ho sa, that the, are going to sta, +ith it,ell (<49) for the ne;t " ,ear or so$ state the reason of image'being lo,al +ith the operator. it,ell can certainl, cash in on this customer behavior to+ards the operator and tr, its best to retain the other #<9. =nce again the issue of net+or& boils in as a good B<9 of this #<9 complains of this as the primar, reason of not sta,ing on +ith it,ell. @ 3f BoDmi$ht not stay# %ould the mentioned enefits ma2e you thin2 not to s%itch to other operatorsJ Yes *" 0o "? %a,be * This Duestion is in vie+ of the benefits discussed one Duestion earlier. In a surprise reaction$ B59 of the respondents decided to change their minds to s+itch in the ne;t " ,ear or so if the mentioned benefits +ere to ta&e effect. In realit,$ these benefits +ould not be for the general subscribers but for those +ho are it,ell@s long3term or high3end customers. But this response ma, suggest that the same ma, be applicable for those target subscribers. But #*9 replied the, +ould still s+itch to other operators. The ne;t Duestion is targeted to+ards these "< respondents. @ If Co5may*e- 4hat 4ould ma2e you refrain from s4itching to other operatorsB 0et+or& "5 onnectivit, to mobile * A;tent of discounts in outlets " 0othing +ouldJ * J No co**ent&== 459 of these "< respondents cite the problems of net+or&'connectivit, as the factor of s+itching. #4 13.4 Customer 6etention /cheme. 5iscount ser&ices for suscriers Types of outlets as e(pected y the suscriers to en,oy discounts on Billiard' pool centres ,ber afZ Beaut,parlors (both genders) 6+eetmeat shops /urniture house -ift' flo+er shop Boo&stores lothes 6tore' /ashion House /ast food shops %usicF %ovie stores Hestaurants Hospitals 6hopping malls 5 < "5 "< *5 *< ?5 ?< #5 Type 1 numer of outlets rou$ht under discount for suscriers Hospitals 6+eetmeat 6hops ,ber afZ Boo&stores %usicF %ovie 6tores /urniture House Billiard F Pool entres Beaut,Parlours 6hopping %alls -ift' /lo+er 6hops lothes' /ashion House /ast /ood 6hops Hestaurants If one follo+s each of the colors carefull,$ one +ould notice Duite some disparities among the e;pected and actual figures. /or instance$ shopping mall is the highest e;pected t,pe of outlet to be en>o,ed discount from$ +hereas$ there has been onl, # of them covered under the discount scheme +hich is placed at no. < in the second table. The same goes for music F movie store (light blue)$ and gift'flo+er shops (dar& bro+n) and hospitals (placed at no. * in the first table$ but la&t in the second tableN). Hestaurants F fast food shops have +ell been ta&en care of. #8 13.5 Concernin$ CityCell @m _o@oc on _ m@: _ oc m n o: m cvo_n _@c "5 <9 "< 49 #G *#9 "G 89 "? G9 4 #9 4 #9 "B 49 <8 ?"9 Better net+or& 6mart handsets Lo+er call rates -ood ustomer care (ttractive advertisements -ood communication from the operator Iseful Ealue (dded 6ervices (E(6) -ood connectivit, to other mobiles -ood connectivit, to T0T
om_ cc c on _ m@: _ oc m n o: m cvo_n _@c <4 *B9 #G *59 ** 89 *< ""9 " 59 "4 49 "* <9 #< "89 # *9 .orse net+or& 0ot standard handsets Higher call rates 0ot Dualit, ustomer care Inattractive advertisements Poor communication from the operator 0ot useful' enough Ealue (dded 6ervices (E(6) Bad connectivit, to other mobiles Bad connectivit, to T0T Hespondents have cited good connectivit, to BTTB (?"9) and lo+er call rates (*#9) as t+o of the ma>or strengths of the compan,. =n the other hand$ +orse net+or& (*B9)$ not standard handsets (*59) and bad connectivit, to other mobiles ("89$ +hich is again a representation of a +ea& net+or& infrastructure)$ have been suggested as the three ma>or +ea&nesses of it,ell. There is a mi;ed opinion regarding ustomer care as 89 thin& of it as strength$ +hile ""9 terms it as a +ea&ness for the compan,. 6ame goes for Ealue (dded 6ervices (E(6). ( good ** persons of 45 respondents have complained higher call rates as a +ea&ness factor. This is a point to be concerned$ as all along$ call rates have been a strong case for the compan,. <5 B.8< B.G <.8 <.4*< <.< <.*< <.*< <." <.5< 5 " * ? # < B G 6atin$s :on a scale of 1?4 y respondents re$ardin$ the present situation of &arious factors of CityCell onnectivit, to BTTB all rates ustomer care Ealue (dded 6ervices (E(6) -ood communication from the operator Initiatives for the valued clients' customers onnectivit, to other mobiles Handsets 0et+or&
This is another +a, of loo&ing at the strengths'+ea&nesses of it,ell. Hespondents here have been as&ed to rate the various factors of the compan,. <.4* is the average score for these factors. E(6 falls >u&t above this score$ meaning respondents do not thin& there are enough'useful value added services in store for them. Ruite far belo+ this score is the factor$ OInitiatives ta&en b, the operator for the valued subscribers@. 2eeping e;actl, this in mind$ the ustomer are F E(6 department of it,ell has planned to launch a privilege service for a certain portion of its valued customers for the ustomer Hetention Plan of it,ell. <" 14. The Customer ?etention 0cheme for CityCell 0u*scri*ers 14.1 Prologue it,ell has planned to introduce Trump ard! 1 a Privilege 6ervice for its valued customers. This service +ould allo+ it,ell subscribers to avail different products and services at a reasonable discounted price from various reno+ned outlets Vshops$ restaurants$ department stores$ and other &ind of service providersX all around the ma>or cities of Bangladesh. The discount card service has been divided into four3tiers$ depending on the monthl, usage histor, of its valued customers. D Platinum ard D -old ard D Yo7 ard D Eirtual )iscount ard (6%6 oupon) 14.) /*#ecti(es of the Pri(ilege 0er(ice The Privilege 6ervice is aimed to have a profound effect on the compan, and its subscribers. The main ob>ectives of this service are 1 To retain customers and create lo,alt, To create high3end users among e;isting subscribers To give recognition to high revenue3generating F lo,al users of it,ell To increase revenue F (HPI # through possible increased bills and 6%6 activities To provide an e;tra value to it,ell@s premium users built on the Because .e are! theme. 14.% Target &udience Bet+een post3paid and pre3paid pac&ages it,ell has segregated its customers into t+o ma>or categories according to their t%*e per%o# and b%ll%ng &tatu&: Long3term ustomer High3end ustomer Lon$Fterm Customer. These are lo,al post3paid subscribers +ho have been active +ith it,ell for a period of < ,ears and above. # (HPI VAverage 4evenue per un%tX <* [ (ctive 6ince "88? S ?5* subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "88# S *#" subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "88< S ?88 subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "88B S G5B subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "88G S "$8B? subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "884 S "$5?< subscribers [ (ctive 6ince "888 S *$#<# subscribers 6ubscribers +ho have never been deactivated since "88< or before that$ have completed a decade or more ("53"* ,ears) +ith it,ell. In vie+ +ith this$ these customers +ould be en>o,ing the Platinum privilege. This card is entitled to get the highest amount of discount among the tier. V(ppro;. 8<5 subscribers entitled according to dataX (ctive subscribers +ith it,ell since "88B388$ shall be en>o,ing the -old privilege. Ipon completion of their "5 th ,ear$ subscribers in ever, tier shall be re+arded +ith -old ard. /or e;ample$ active subscribers since "88G shall be completing their "5 th ,ear +ith it,ell on *55G. V(ppro; . B$*55 subscribers to be entitled from *55B upto *558X Hi$hFend Customer. Post3paid subscribers pa,ing a monthl, bill of over <$555 Ta&a +ould be en>o,ing the Platinum privilege. Post3paid subscribers pa,ing a monthl, bill bet+een *$<55 and <$555 Ta&a +ould be en>o,ing -old privilege. Post3paid'pre3paid subscribers +ho are among the ,outh segment of the population +ould be provided +ith the Yo card$ coming free +ith a ne+ pac&age called O(alap all %e@. VThis pac&age is a full BTTB connectivit, pac&age +ith the uniDue and innovative Oall*ash@ feature$ +here subscribers +ill get T&. 5.*< added to their account ever, minute +hen the, receive calls from other it,ell phonesX Post3paid'pre3paid subscribers pa,ing a monthl, bill of less than *$<55 and not among the ,outh segment$ can avail the pioneering 6%6 )iscount oupon service. The Eirtual )iscount ard is a completel, ne+ discount idea through SMS D%&count /oupon!. This Ovirtual@ discount coupon can be availed b, the subscriber upon t,ping the name of the shop'restaurant'hospital and sending the 6%6 to a designated number of it,ell. Ipon receiving this$ an 6%6 oupon +ill be sent to the sender (both Post3paid and Pre3paid subscribers) through 6%6 +ith a te;t containing the validit, period of the coupon. The Ooupon@ ma, have the follo+ing message to the sender and the participating outlet: ?2elco*e to @ Ana*e o7 ouletB; you can en>oy @C #%&count9 -)%& %& val%# 7or to#ay A@#ateB only9 -)an, you9D <? 14.4 Competition There are similar privilege discount cards li&e$ )>uice Ttra 2hatir ard b, -rameen Phone and another discount card b, (&tel (0ot ,et launched). 14.3 IMC (Integrated Mar2eting Communications) /ptions The main role of the Trump card advertising +ould be to give the customer a feeling of being e;clusive. Earious promotional activities +ould be underta&en a fe+ da,s'+ee&s from the date of launch (date of launching ,et to be decided). Personali:ed letters mailed to the targeted subscribers along +ith the Trump ard. 0e+spaper advertisements in ma>or dailies +ould be a medium to a+are the possibilities of the Trump ard as +ell as to promote the partners. ( boo&let3st,led or a ?'#3fold brochure +ould also be distributed to the target mar&et. Earious Branding'Promotional materials +ould be placed in different outlets for ma;imum visibilit, and clarification to subscribers3cum3shoppers. 14.6 Branding5Promotional Materials ards /l,ers 6tands Posters 6tic&ers )anglers Brochures atalogues )ispla, Items 14.9 'esign Theme The Platinum card +ill get the highest amount of discount from the merchants. The card +ould reflect the idea of being the most e;clusive and precious. The -old card +ill get slightl, less discount than the platinum card$ but it should not give the customer the impression of being less important. The Yo card +ould have a fun&, loo& +ith lot of colors to appeal to the ,outh generation. <# 14.; Benefits 14.;.1 Benefit to Customer5Cardholder+ /eeling of being honored and privileged )iscounts from various outlets: reduced e;penses in purchasing goods and services Participation in different activities'events organi:ed b, it,ell A;clusive service at it,ell /ront )es& F ustomer are (/or Platinum F -old ard3holders onl,) 14.;.) Benefit to outlets5(alued *usiness partners+ 6uch introduction of discount cards +ould have a direct positive impact on the sales of it,ell@s participating product and service partners. The decision of the amount of discount provided rests solel, on the outlets. The attractive discount offers are sure to increase visit freDuenc, of the subscribers to the participant@s outlets. (n obvious point to mention is that it,ell has a rich portfolio of #$<5$555 eligible subscribers to be registered for these privilege card'coupon services. This is also an opportunit, to enhance the participant@s business revenue b, ensuring a higher sales volume through participating in the Privilege ard 6ervices of it,ell. )irect Promotion Increased ustomer /lo+ Higher 6ales Eolume (ffiliation effect +ith a larger and a more +idel,3branded organi:ation &cti(ities from CityCell>s end for the outlets+ Press campaign Press advertisements in leading national dailies 6eparate promotional brochure to be delivered to all the it,ell subscribers 6uppl, of Branding'Promotional materials to the participant@s outlet(s) )ispla, of outlets@ logo in the 6%6 coupon 14.;.% Benefit to CityCell Hetention of customers Lo+er Oustomer )iscontinuation Hate@ Increased lo,alt, among e;isting customers Improved customer relationship F corporate image Increased Brand3visibilit, through P=6 materials at outlets << High self e;posure through it,ell@s high3end F lo,al users Increased revenue through possible increased bills and 6%6 activities ?elation of Trump Card 4ith Customer ?etention F Loyalty+ A;isting customers +ould prefer to continue their subscription for the added benefits )iscontinued customers can be pushed to restore their subscription ustomer Hetention Team can use the ard as an added tool ardholders +ill be able to participate in various programs'events using their cards Increased re(enue 4ith Trump Card+ ardholders +ill tr, to &eep up their usage to maintain eligibilit, 6ubscribers +ho lac& eligibilit, for a nominal amount (*%n%*u* -a,a 2;"00 per *ont)) +ill tr, to increase usage to achieve eligibilit, of holding a card$ resulting an increase in revenue Ne+ subscribers +ill be tempted to achieve eligibilit, of holding a card$ resulting another increase in revenue 0on3card holders shall be availing the Eirtual )iscount oupon through 6%6 usage thus increasing revenue collection through E(6 (Ealue (dded 6ervice) Issues 4ith 0trategic Partners+ omplementar, Trump ards can be distributed to strengthen relationship +ith &e, strategic partners of it,ell. Benefit to employees of CityCell+ Amplo,ees of it,ell shall be provided +ith a Trump ard (Platinum or -old$ depends on management hierarch,)$ through +hich the, +ould be able to en>o, similar benefits as the high3end subscribers. This +ould also add to their >ob satisfaction and motivation. 14.< $Etent of Co(erage of Trump Card Business Partners 'ha2a. Hestaurant ?8 /ast /ood 6hop *# lothes'/ashion House "< Hotels F Hest House "" -ift'/lo+er 6hop < 6hopping %all # 6aree F -old House # Beaut, are entre # Billiard F Pool entre ? 6ports 6tore * /urniture House * Boo& 6tores F %usic * )igital 6ecurit, " Aducation VoachingX " %anufacturing " )r, leaner " <B Ba&er, " ,ber afZ " 6+eetmeat 6hop " Hospital F linic " Total "*? <G Chittagong+ Hestaurant "< Hotel G /ashion F %usic ? /urniture House * /itness F 6+imming * ,ber afZ " )iagnostic enter " 6uper 6hop " Total ?* 0ylhet+ Hotel$ Hestaurant F /ast /ood G )ress$ Handicraft F 6aree G 6port ? Alectronics$ ,ber afZ F omputer * )epartmental F 6uper 6tore * Ce+elr, F -ift 6hop * Travel (genc, " =thers " Total *< Ghulna+ Hotel$ Hestaurant F /ast /ood G /ashion ? 6hopping %all " Total "" ?a#shahi+ Hotel$ Hestaurant F /ast /ood # Hospital F linic " 6hopping %all " Beaut, are " Total G 7rand Total 1<; <4 $8E ignup with $erchants $erchant List with respective discount rates will be given to the !genc&. !genc& will develop all -ommunication and #eliverable $aterials as per !pproval o' 1! Team. 5ew $erchants -ollection -ontinues. List will be updated (uarterl&. !genc& will provide #eliverable :tems to the 1! Team to deliver to the $erchants. %BTL Bill %rinting Team will deliver the Trump -ards to the ubscribers. $arketing #epartment will launch Trump -ard with proper -ommunication through applicable media. -ustomers will use the -ard till the 1alidit& %eriod. !'terwards, the& will be delivered with a new card as per the process. ! 1alid -ard ensures discount during bill pa&ment. $erchant saves a log o' card usage. $erchant sends the log to %BTL. This log will be used to introduce and calculate Esage %oints and 6ewards (similar to 6ed 6ewards) -it&-ell -all -enter will receive an& complain on 5on"Fntertainment o' Trump -ard b& $erchant. Figure 1%: 0lo% Chart of acti&ities for the Platinum 1 Gold Card for the hi$hFend suscriers of CityCell <8 end Go< card through #$ package to veri'ied registrants. %rovide complimentar& cards to outlet owners that are promotional partners #istribute cards at events 1eri'ication o' registrants through e"mail and outbound team. Go< card can be used b& users o' other mobile operator services. Track usage through Log Book. !ward points to Best -ard Eser (to be limited to -it&-ell users onl&). $erchants to check 'or validit& o' card when card is shown b& customer to avail discount. %romote to customers through press ads and venue signage Figure 1): 0lo% Chart of acti&ities for the Io Card for the youth se$ment of the suscriers of CityCell B5 5ew merchant collection continues. List will be updated (uarterl& -it&-ell -all -enter will receive an& complain on 5on"Fntertainment o' Trump -ard b& $erchant. !'ter purchasing, customer will show the 1alid 1irtual #iscount -ard ($ -oupon) while pa&ment. 1! Team will deliver promotional items to the participating merchants $erchants will maintain a sheet o' the users to be provided b& -it&-ell to declare the Best #iscount -ard user. $arketing dept will o''iciall& launch the service b& giving newspaper ads and other customer communications. 1! (7$) team also checks 7 approves the items to ensure compliance with participants<. .re(uirements. .&0 Team signs agreement with interested companies 1! (Fngg.) team develops the Te/t and He&words o' the $ with speci'ic validit& period 6e(uired materialsAitems 7 other promotional items will be developed b& the !genc& and checked b& the 1! (7$) Team !genc& will communicate the 1irtual #iscount -ard ($ -oupon) service to the -it&-ell ubscribers. -ustomers will send $ %ush to get the 1irtual #iscount -ard ($ -oupon) :n repl&, heAshe will receive an $ with the #iscount 6ate and 1alidit& period. B" 14.1 0=/T &nalysis of the Pri(ilege 0er(ices of CityCell /tren$ths Previousl, launched in Cul, *55* so the brand name is +ell3established =nl, lo,alt, card in the industr, that covers all classes of customers Launching +ith "84 6igned %erchants o E( )a& launc)e# F-4A /ar# +%t) 1" *erc)ant& only %erchants in < ma>or cities # Tier )iscount ards A;clusive ards for Post3paid 6ubscribers ontinuous Affort to increase %erchants Wea2nesses Less than ?<$555 (lo+est subscriber base) eligible Post3paid Privilege card holders in launching phase 0o full3time dedicated emplo,ee to maintain and run the program +pportunities. Introduction of Points! 6,stem on card usage Introduction of Branding (ctivit, through the signed %erchants'participants =ther merchants ma, and +ill be interested in carr,ing the card once the, see ho+ it attracts traffic 0ation+ide coverage (future) Threats Introduction of ompetitor@s Privilege ard o E( alrea#y launc)e# F-4A /ar# t)roug) G#>u%ceH; *ay go 7or %ncrea&%ng *erc)ant& an# *erc)ant loyalty by o77er%ng e5tra-pr%v%lege& to t)e*9 o AI-3J %& act%vely +or,%ng on launc)%ng (r%v%lege /ar#& +)%c) +oul# be launc)e# any t%*e &oon9 %erchants@ non3cooperation in entertaining the discount cards can result in a bad impact on the brand and organi:ation Figure 1*: 0lo% Chart of acti&ities for the *irtual 5iscount Card :/!/ Coupon4 for the suscriers B* 13. ?ecommendations I have designed m, recommendations concerning the Oustomer Hetention 6cheme@$ aiming to help improve it,ell in retaining its customers. I have also tried to present recommendations about current +ea&nesses of the compan, and about various factors of dissatisfaction among the e;isting subscribers. %, recommendations are: The Privilege 6ervices of the ustomer Hetention 6cheme of it,ell should be launched as soon as possible as Od>uice@ of -rameen Phone has alread, started to saturate a certain segment of the mar&et through its OT3tra 2hatir ard@. (s first3movers advantage$ -P has alread, secured a confident berth ahead of it,ell. The t,pes and numbers of discount outlets brought under the )iscount 6ervice scheme should seriousl, be reconsidered and restructured follo+ing a more e;tensive surve,. %, research clearl, sho+s a gap bet+een customers@ e;pectations and outlets alread, brought under the discount service. There are a fe+ benefits mentioned in the Duestionnaire$ such as discount call rates$ discount line rents$ etc. +hich have received Duite an applause from the respondents. ( fe+ more creative and +orth, benefits Vappreciated b, the lo,al subscribers and cost3effective for it,ellX can be brought into the pipeline and introduced as benefits for the lo,al customer faction. Privilege 6ervices for the subscribers is not the onl, means b, +hich it,ell can afford to retain its lo,al customers. Immediate and effective solutions should be ta&en in terms of its +ea& areas as pointed out b, the respondents. it,ell needs Duic& e;pansion in net+or& development all over Bangladesh if it +ants to &eep its customers to sta, +ith it. If there is an, other provider +ith same options +ith countr, +ide net+or& (an# t)ere %&=)$ it +ill be a disaster for it,ell. (lread, customers have been s+itching to other operators as their second option as a result of their poor net+or& infrastructure. (lthough it,ell has Olo+er call rates@ associated +ith its brand name$ other operators have alread, come up +ith various attractive pac&ages and options such as$ %, Time$ %, hoice$ V-rameenPhoneX$ "5 B? second pulse and BTTB incoming free for the " st minute for all pre3paid subscribers V(&telX$ double tal&3 time for a single prepaid card VBanglalin&X. 6o there should be more initiatives and stri&ing benefits for their subscribers a la its lo,al F high3end users. The Ealue (dded 6ervice (E(6) department should be coming up +ith more ideas to entertain its customers. This department has its potential but should be using it to the fullest to provide even more useful services to cater to customers@ needs and +ants. ustomer are has turned out to be one of the most focused points in the telecom industr,. 6urve, results sho+ subscribers e;pect a lot out of it and +ould appreciate special care facilities. Therefore the Oall enter@ should be open to all &inds of Dueries of the customers. The number of helpline officers should be appropriate in order to reduce the Dueue +here the customers +ould be +aiting on line. it,ell can initiate a number training programs or ps,chological courses to train the officers and e;ecutives of the O/ront office@ and O)irect 6ales@. (vailabilit, of Dualit, handsets is a ma>or and gro+ing concern among it,ell subscribers. ma, go for strategic alliance +ith %obile phone manufacturer li&e L- Alectronics$ %otorola$ 0o&ia$ 6amsung$ (udiovo; orporation or H,undai or other )%( phone manufacturer to have technical support and for availabilit, of various )%( sets. B# V 16. Conclusion I +ould li&e to start the conclusion part b, restating the h,pothesis of m, stud,. %, h,pothesis +as (lthough PBTL brought Oit,ell@ as the first mobile telecommunication service in the subcontinent but its customers are not full, satisfied +ith the service. If PBTL does not ta&e care of these dissatisfactions and another compan, enters the mar&et +ith similar offers$ it +ill be difficult for PBTL to retain its subscribers$ thus maintain its position and increase its mar&et share!. /rom the anal,sis of the surve, results$ it is clear that it,ell@s subscribers are dissatisfied about different services of the compan,. %oreover$ the anal,sis indicated that the subscribers are not Duite lo,al to the compan,. 6ome of the respondents have clearl, pointed that if it,ell does not +or& on its +ea&nesses$ the, +ill not hesitate to s+itch. 6o$ m, h,pothesis proves to be a valid one. I firml, believe that if it,ell follo+s m, recommendations$ it +ill be able to achieve a sustainable distinctive competitive advantage and to run smoothl, +ith lo,al subscribers F mar&et leadership. B<
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