1

TABLE OF CONTENT

S.NO. Chapter Page No.


1. Introduction 2

History of Telecom Sector
Introduction of Cellular Operators

2. Review of Literature 23

3. Rationale of study and objectives 26

4. Methodology 28

Research Design
Data Collection
Data Analysis Tools
Sampling Plan

5. Data Analysis 29

6. Result 42

7. Conclusion 44

8. Limitations 45

9. References 46

10. Bibliography 47

11. Annexure 48


2















INTRODUCTION











3
Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200
million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA.
With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world.
- Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by
the growth in demand in countries like India and China.
- Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.
- China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total
subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that India s share in Asia Pacific Mobile
Phone
market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable
populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.


History of Indian Telecommunications

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta
(seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone
services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed
in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were
nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the
government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service
and the government considered it best to bring under state's control.

The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private
sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of
Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long-
distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two
wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)
for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for
service in metropolitan areas.
4

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also,
examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service
and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening
up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the
first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997,
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a
regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted
in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year.

Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider
(FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic
long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL),
account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are
presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of
subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable,
high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is
dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by
Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony
services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial
revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along
with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long
distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.





5
Classification of Telecommunication services
1. Basic services
2. Cellular services
3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Cellular Service

Overview
1. There are five private service operators in each area, and an incumbent state operator.
Almost 80% of the cellular subscriber base belongs to the pre-paid segment.
2. The DoT has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the same operating circle
provided their combined market share did not exceed 67 per cent. Previously, they were
only allowed to buy companies outside their circle.

Growth Drivers
Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are growth
drivers in the industry. Cellular operators now get substantial revenue from these
services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with
rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long
distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.




6

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India
Cellular Service provider:
1. BSNL
2. Airtel
3. Vodafone
4. Reliance
5. Tata indicom
6. Idea
7. Aircel

Subscribers

Wireless subscribers crosses 200 million mark
Tele density reaches 21.20%


The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 341.02 million at the end of August 2010 as
compared to 302.87 million in July 2009. The overall teledensity
has increased to 13.20% in August 2010 as compared to 10.52% in July 2009.
In the wireless segment, 8.31 million subscribers have been added in August 2010 while 8.06
million subscribers were added in July 2010. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA &
WLL(F)) base reaches 201.29 million at the end of August 2010.

The wireline segment subscriber base stood at 39.73 million with a decrease of 0.16 million at the
end of August 2010.




7
Companys Profile


INTRODUCTION

Bharti Airtel Limited (NSE: BHARTIARTL, BSE: 532454), commonly known as airtel, is an
Indian telecommunications company that operates in 19 countries across South Asia, Africa and
the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services
depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world
with over 207.8 million subscribers across 19 countries at the end of 2010. It is the largest cellular
service provider in India, with over 152.5 million subscribers at the end of 2010. Airtel is the 3rd
largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom..
Airtel also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its telecom services under the
Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service
provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification, Bharti Airtel had to
meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set
forth by Cisco. The company also provides land-line telephone services and broadband Internet
access (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long
distance communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai,
which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore.
It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource everything except
marketing and sales and finance. Its network (base stations, microwave links, etc.) are maintained
by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei., business support by IBM and transmission
8
towers by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time, to be
paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up
front. This enabled the company to provide pan-India phone call rates of Rs. 1/minute
(U$0.02/minute). Call rates have come down much further. During the last financial year [2009-
10], Bharti has roped in a strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for
the Telemedia Business.

History
Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Sunil Mittal was into an agreement with
Germany's Siemens to manufacture the company's push-button telephone models for the Indian
market. In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and his company
became the first in India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti
Enterprises. This first-mover advantage allowed Sunil Mittal to expand his manufacturing capacity
elsewhere in the telecommunications market. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched
the country's first fax machines and its first cordless telephones. In 1992, Sunil Mittal won a bid to
build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Sunil Mittal incorporated the cellular operations
as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to
Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended
cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell
Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta.
Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange
and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded
under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan.
In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar.
In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel began
operating in Bangladesh and 16 African countries.
Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and fifth largest in the world.

9



INTRODUCTION

A DREAM COME TRUE


The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India an India where the common man would
have access to affordable means of information and communication. Dhirubhai, who single-
handedly built Indias largest private sector company virtually from scratch, had stated as early as
1999: Make the tools of information and communication available to people at an affordable cost.
They will overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility.

It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm)
started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a pan-India fibre optic backbone. This backbone was
commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasion of Dhirubhais 70th birthday,
though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.

Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and wireline) and
convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is capable of delivering a range of services
spanning the entire infocomm (information and communication) value chain, including
infrastructure and services for enterprises as well as individuals, applications, and consulting.

Today, Reliance Communications is revolutionising the way India communicates and networks,
truly bringing about a new way of life.

10
Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom and Flag
Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). According to National Stock
Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the company, which accounts for more
than 1.36 billion shares of the company.[1]Reliance Infocomm is an Indian telecommunications
company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of
power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the
Reliance ADA Group. Reliance Infocomm is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.It uses
CDMA2000 1x technology



HISTORY

Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to 2002 Reliance
Infocomm built 60,000 km of fibre optic backbone in India. This network was commissioned on
December 28, 2002.

FOOTPRINT

At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are available in 340 towns within its eight-
circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are available in 19 states and cover about 65% of the
country, state wise. Reliance Infocomm also offered for the first time in India, mobile data services
through its R-World mobile portal. This portal leverages the data capability of the CDMA 1X
network.







11

BUSINESS REVIEW

During the twelve months ended March 31, 2007, revenues of the Wireless business increased by
46% to Rs. 10,728 crore (US$ 2,489 million) from Rs. 7,364 crore (US$ 1,709 million).

Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs. 2,250 crore (US$ 522
million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%.

EBITDA of the Global business increased by 98% during the twelve months ended March 31,
2007 to Rs. 1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA margins increased to 24% from 12% last
year.

In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of 123% to Rs. 1,144 crore
(US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by more than 6 times, to Rs. 519 crore (US$ 120
million). The EBITDA margin crossed 45% in the twelve months ended March 31, 2007, from
15% in the corresponding period in the previous year.














12



INTRODUCTION

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTLS) is a subsidiary of the Tata Group headquartered in Navi
Mumbai, an Indian conglomerate. It operates under the brand name Tata Indicom in various
telecom circles of India.
In Nov 2008, Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo picked up a 26 per cent equity stake in Tata
Teleservices for about Rs 13,070 crore ($2.7 billion) or an enterprise value of Rs 50,269 crore
($10.38 billion).
In Feb 2008, TTSL announced that it would provide CDMA mobile services targeted towards the
youth, in association with the Virgin Group on a Franchisee model basis.
Tata Teleservices Provides mobile services under 3 Brand names:
Tata Indicom (CDMA Mobile operator)
Tata DoCoMo (GSM Mobile operator)
Virgin Mobile (CDMA Mobile operator)
Virgin Mobile (GSM Mobile operator)

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) is part of the Tata Group of Companies, an Indian
Conglomerate. It runs the brand name Tata Indicom in India in various telecom circles of India.
The company forms part of the Tata Group's prescence in the Telecommunication Industry in
India, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML) and VSNL.



13

TTSL was incorporated in 1995 and was the first company to offer CDMA Mobile services in
India, specifically in the state of Andhra Pradesh.In December 2002, the company acquired the
erstwhile Hughes Telecom (India) Ltd. which was renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)
Limited. In September 2007, Tata Indicom launched the Talk World plan, an International Long
Distance Plan.
Tata is the direct competitor with Reliance, both CDMA operators in India. The company provides
unified telecommunication solutions including mobile, fixed wireless, fixed line and broadband.
Other competitors are Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel, Idea, MTNL, BSNL providing GSM based mobile
telephony. The company was first in India to provide free intra network calling within city limits.
They launched a unique scheme providing lifetime rental free connectivity on its mobile and fixed
wireless for a one time charge.

Tata Teleservices is part of the INR Rs. 119000 Crore (US$ 29 billion) Tata Group, that has over
87 companies, over 250,000 employees and more than 2.8 million shareholders. With a committed
investment of INR 36,000 Crore (US$ 7.5 billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a
formidable presence across the telecom value chain. Tata Teleservices spearheads the Groups
presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch
CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle.

Starting with the major acquisition of Hughes Tele.com (India) Limited [now renamed Tata
Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002 the company swung into an expansion
mode. With the total Investment of Rs 19,924 Crore, Tata Teleservices has created a Pan India
presence spread across 20 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West
Bengal.



14
Having pioneered the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has
established a robust and reliable 3G ready telecom infrastructure that ensures quality in its
services. It has partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent and ECI Telecom for the deployment of
a reliable, technologically advanced network.
The company, which heralded convergence technologies in the Indian telecom sector, is today the
market leader in the fixed wireless telephony market with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.
Tata Teleservices bouquet of telephony services includes Mobile services, Wireless Desktop
Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline services. Other services include value added
services like voice portal, roaming, post-paid Internet services, 3-way conferencing, group calling,
Wi-Fi Internet, USB Modem, data cards, calling card services and enterprise services.

Some of the other products launched by the company include prepaid wireless desktop phones,
public phone booths, new mobile handsets and new voice & data services such as BREW games,
Voice Portal, picture messaging, polyphonic ring tones, interactive applications like news, cricket,
astrology, etc.

Tata Indicom redefined the existing prepaid mobile market in India, by unveiling their offering
Tata Indicom Non Stop Mobile which allows customers to receive free incoming calls. Tata
Teleservices today has Indias largest branded telecom retail chain and is the first service provider
in the country to offer an online channel www.ichoose.in to offer postpaid mobile connections in
the country.

Tata Teleservices has a strong workforce of 6000. In addition, TTSL has created more than 20,000
jobs, which will include 10,000 indirect jobs through outsourcing of its manpower needs.

Today, Tata Teleservices Limited along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited serves over
21 million customers in over 4000 towns. With an ambitious rollout plan
both within existing circles and across new circles, Tata Teleservices offers world-class technology
and user-friendly services in 20 circles.


15


INTRODUCTION

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (abbreviated BSNL; ) is a state-owned
telecommunications company headquartered in New Delhi, India. BSNL is one of the largest
Indian cellular service providers, with over 86.4 million subscribers as of March 2011, and the
largest land line telephone provider in India. However, in recent years the company's revenue and
market share plunged into heavy losses due to intense competition in Indian telecommunications
sector.
BSNL is India's oldest and largest communication service provider (CSP). It had a customer base
of 90 million as of June 2008. It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitan cities
of Mumbai and New Delhi, which are managed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
(MTNL). As of June 30, 2010, BSNL had a customer base of 27.45 million wireline and 72.69
million wireless subscribers.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest Telecommunications
Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wireline, CDMA mobile,
GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN
Services etc. Within a span of five years it has become one of the largest public sector unit in
India.

BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country and now focusing on improving it,
expanding the network, introducing new telecom services with ICT applications in villages and
wining customer's confidence. Today, it has about 47.3 million line basic telephone capacity, 4
million WLL capacity, 20.1 Million GSM Capacity, more than 37382 fixed exchanges, 18000
BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196 Rkm of OFC Cable, 63730 Rkm of Microwave Network
connecting 602 Districts, 7330 cities/towns and 5.5 Lakhs villages.
16


BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts and planned initiatives to bridge the
Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there is no telecom operator in the country to beat
its reach with its wide network giving services in every nook & corner of country and operates
across India except Delhi & Mumbai. Whether it is inaccessible areas of Siachen glacier and
North-eastern region of the country. BSNL serves its customers with its wide bouquet of telecom
services.

BSNL is numero uno operator of India in all services in its license area. The company offers vide
ranging & most transparent tariff schemes designed to suite every customer.
BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 17.8 million cellular customers, garnering 24
percent of all mobile users as its subscribers. That means that almost every fourth mobile user in
the country has a BSNL connection. In basic services, BSNL is miles ahead of its rivals, with 35.1
million Basic Phone subscribers i.e. 85 per cent share of the subscriber base and 92 percent share
in revenue terms.

BSNL has more than 2.5 million WLL subscribers and 2.5 million Internet Customers who access
Internet through various modes viz. Dial-up, Leased Line, DIAS, Account Less Internet(CLI).
BSNL has been adjudged as the NUMBER ONE ISP in the country.

BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IP infrastructure that
provides convergent services like voice, data and video through the same Backbone and
Broadband Access Network. At present there are 0.6 million DataOne broadband customers.
The company has vast experience in Planning, Installation, network integration and Maintenance
of Switching & Transmission Networks and also has a world class ISO 9000 certified Telecom
Training Institute.

Scaling new heights of success, the present turnover of BSNL is more than Rs.351,820 million
(US $ 8 billion) with net profit to the tune of Rs.99,390 million (US $ 2.26 billion) for last
financial year. The infrastructure asset on telephone alone is worth about Rs.630,000 million (US
17
$ 14.37 billion).

BSNL plans to expand its customer base from present 47 millions lines to 125 million lines by
December 2007 and infrastructure investment plan to the tune of Rs. 733 crores (US$ 16.67
million) in the next three years.

The turnover, nationwide coverage, reach, comprehensive range of telecom services and the desire
to excel has made BSNL the No. 1 Telecom Company of India.

History

The foundation of Telecom Network in India was laid by the British sometime in 19th
century. The history of BSNL is linked with the beginning of Telecom in India. In 19th century
and for almost entire 20th century, the Telecom in India was operated as a Government of India
wing. Earlier it was part of erstwhile Post & Telegraph Department (P&T). In 1975 the
Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from P&T. DoT was responsible for running of
Telecom services in entire country until 1985 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
(MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. It is a well
known fact that BSNL was carved out of Department of Telecom to provide level playing field to
private telecoms.Subsequently in 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for
Private investment, therefore it became necessary to separate the Government's policy wing from
Operations wing. The Government of India corporatised the operations wing of DoT on October
01, 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).BSNL operates as a public
sector.







18





INTRODUCTION


As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate
in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 17 million, IDEA Cellular has operations in
Delhi,Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. IDEA Cellular's footprint
currently covers approximately 45% of India's population and over 50% of the potential
telecom-market. As a leader in Value Added Services, Innovation is central to IDEA's VAS
Factory. It is the first cellular company to launch music messaging with 'Cellular Jockey',
'Background Tones', 'Group Talk', a voice portal with 'Say IDEA' and a complete suite of Mobile
Email Services.
Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states in India. It initially
started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tatas, Aditya Birla Group and AT&T by merging
Tata Cellular and Birla AT&T Communications. Initially having a very limited footprint in the
GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel in 2004 gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering
Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai), Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi (inclusive of NCR).The
company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company has also been the first to
offer flexible tarrif plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in urban areas.




19



Holding
Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the
company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004, Cingular
decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the Tatas and
Birlas at 16.45% each. Tata's foray into the cellular market with its own subsidiary, Tata Indicom,
a CDMAbased mobile provider, cropped differences between the Tatas and the Birlas. This dual
holding by the Tatas also became a major reason for the delay in Idea being granted a license to
operate in Mumbai. This was because as per Department of Telecom (DOT) license norms, one
promoter could not have more than 10% stake in two companies operating in the same circle and
Tata Indicom was already operating in Mumbai when Idea filed for its license.
The Birlas thus approached the DOT and sought its intervention, and the Tatas replied by saying
that they would exit Idea but only for a good price. On April 10, 2006, the Aditya Birla Group
announced its acquisition of the 48.18% stake held by the Tatas at Rs. 40.51 a share amounting to
Rs. 44.06 billion. While 15% of the 48.14% stake was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo, a company
in-charge of the Birlas' new business initiatives, the remaining stake was acquired by Birla TMT
holdings Private Ltd., an AV Birla family owned company.Currently, Birla Group holds 98.3% of
the total shares of the company.
Idea has successfully launched 3 more new circles (states) in India viz. Rajasthan, Himachal
Pradesh and UP (East) to make itself a pan-India player. Recently, Idea got licenses to operate in
Mumbai & Bihar. They are awaiting the spectrum from DoT.





20



Vodafone Essar, commonly referred to as Vodafone, is a cellular operator in India that covers 23
telecom circles in India. It was formerly known as Hutchison Essar. It is based in Mumbai.
Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group. Formerly, 33% share in the firm was
owned by Essar Group. Vodafone Group bought out the 33% stake of Essar Group for $5 billion to
became the sole owner of the firm. It is the second largest mobile phone operator in terms of
revenue behind Bharti Airtel, and third largest in terms of customers. Vodafone had about 134.5
million customers as of February 2011.
On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka
Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications, Hinduja
Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was
valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007. Despite the official name
being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and
postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metros.
Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology. Vodafone Essar will launch 3G services in the country in the January-March quarter of
2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks.


Vodafone acquires Essar's Stake

On March 31, 2011, Vodafone Group Plc announced that it would buy an additional 33% stake in
its Indian joint venture for $5 billion after partner Essar Group exercised an option to sell the
holding in the mobile-phone operator. The deal will raise Vodafones stake to 75%. Essar will exit
21
the company after it implemented a put option over 22% of the venture. Vodafone exercised
its call option to buy an 11% stake.
In 2007, Vodafone granted options to Essar that would enable the conglomerate to sell its entire
stake for $5bn, or to dispose of part of the 33 per cent shareholding at an independently appraised
fair market value. In January 2011, Vodafone objected to Essars plans to place part of its 33%
stake in India Securities, a small public company. Vodafone feared the move would give an
inflated market value to Vodafone Essar. It had approached the market regulator SEBI and also
filed a petition in the Madras High Court.
The final shareholding pattern post this deal was not provided by the company as it was not clear
whether Vodafone's stake would exceed the 74 per cent FDI limit. Indian laws don't allow foreign
companies to own more than 74% in a local mobile-phone operator. Vodafone has assured it will
comply with local rules. Vodafone will have to sell that 1% to some Indian entity, or theyll have
to consider an initial public offering. Vodafone also said that final settlement is anticipated to be
completed by November 2011. The completion of the deal would be subject to meeting certain
conditions which include Reserve Bank of India's permission as well as valuation of the deal.
Timeline

1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group establish Hutchison Max
2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations and entry into Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Gujarat markets
through Essar acquisition
2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Chennai
2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL ESSAR Subsidiary) which operated in Rajastan, Uttar
Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and rebranded it 'Hutch'.
2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (West)
and West Bengal.
2005: Acquired BPL Mobile operations in 3 circles. This left BPL with operations only in
Mumbai, where it still operates under the brand 'Loop Mobile'.
22
2008: Vodafone acquires the licences in remaining 7 circles and has starts its pending operations in
Madhya Pradesh circle, as well as in Orissa, Assam, North East and Bihar.




Aircel group is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM
cellular phone coverage throughout India. Aircel is a joint venture between Maxis
Communications of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India. UTSB has a 74% stake
in Aircel and the remaining 26% is with Apollo Hospitals. It is Indias Seventh largest GSM
mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 51.83 million, as of January 31, 2011. It has
a market share of 6.72% among the GSM operators in the country. As on date, Aircel is present in
all 23 telecom circles (including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar & Jharkhand, Chennai, Delhi &
NCR, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata,
Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, North East, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Rest of Maharashtra & Goa,
Rest of Tamil Nadu, Rest of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West) as per the
company plans to become a pan-India operator by 2010. Additionally, Aircel has also obtained
permission from Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide International Long
Distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) telephony services. It also has the largest
service in Tamil Nadu.




23










REVIEW OF LITERATURE








24




Service
A service is any act of performance that one-party can offer to another that is essentially intangible
and does not result in the ownership of anything. It may or may not the tied to a physical product
(Kotler 2003 p466). Products can be copied easily by competitors but not services. This is due to
the fact that service depends on the culture of the organization and the training and attitude of its
employees, it is more difficult to build and sustain successfully, but is more difficult to copy
(Albrecht and Zemke, 1985).

Service Experience: The Concept
Customer oriented conceptualisation of service was initiated by Zeithaml (1981). According to her
on two parameters of experience and credence qualities service is more inclined upon than
products. As per Edward Bruner (1985, p3) experience "refers to an active self, to a human being
who not only engages in but shapes an action."
Another dimension has been recently added to this concept. Now researchers have begun to
recognise the experiential and symbolic nature of service consumption. Otto and Ritchie (1995)
suggest that customers are capable of distinguishing functional quality from the quality of
experience, which they define as affective, symbolic reactions to the service encounter. In sum
those researchers point out a prominent point that for many services the experience itself is the key
perceptual event from the customer's point of view. It can be deduced from this that many services
are experiential, as result service experience can be used as a consumer-oriented concept for
addressing service brand image issues.

Service Quality
Service quality differs from quality of goods, in that services are intangible. This presents a
challenge to marketers; services cannot easily be communicated to customers, and hence quality
may be difficult for customers to assess. Services are characterized as being intangible, perishable,
25
produced and consumed simultaneously, and heterogeneous. A major challenge for companies is
to deliver service quality consistently (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000).

Brand Image

Literature of brand image dates back to 1950s. The word brand has been derived from the old
Norse word Brandr, which means to burn, as brands were and still other means by which owner
supplier to mark their animals to identify them. Interbrand group worlds greatest brands: an
international review (New York: John Wiley, 1992). Both broad as well as specific definitions of
brand image exist in the available literature. Brand image has been equated with the idea that
brands of personality like meanings associated with them. (See Dobni and Zinkhan 1990 for a
review).
The respondents evaluate brands on the basis of attributes perceived by them in making
purchase decision. Analysis of the brand association represent the basis of the brand equity
measurement, as models of brand equity usually give emphasis to brand knowledge and brand
associations (Aaker, 1991;Green et.al, 1988; Sharma & Ojha, 2004).













26




Rational of Study

This study has done to know the perceptions of the consumers for various cellular operators in
GWALIOR in terms of different factors like coverage, call rates, roaming facility, internet facility,
night tarrif, customer care services etc.
Because above factors play a vital role in the comparison of cellular service providers and also
gives the information about as which is/are the critical factor/s which are required to sustain in the
hard core competitive era and about those factors which are required to get the competitive edge.
















27





OBJECTIVES

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential for an
organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive products/services.

1. To compare the services provided by the various cellular service operators.

2. To know the consumer perception about various cellular service operators.


3. To know the consumer satisfaction regarding Brand Value of the cellular service operators.

4. To know the consumer satisfaction regarding Value Added Services of the cellular service
operators.

5. To compare cellular service operators on the basis of occurrence of problems in services.

6. To know which services are important to maintain and increase customer base and which
services will give competitive edge.


28






RESEARCH METHODOLOGY




























29

Research Design
The design is the structure of any scientific work. It gives direction and systematizes the research.
This is a non probability judgmental research and aims to study the responses of consumers.
For the consumer perception study a questionnaire was formulated containing 08 questions. The
questionnaires were filled by the respondents of various age groups and income levels.
This data was later analyzed through mean and percentage analysis graph.

Tools of Data Collection:

Primary Data Collection: The primary data for this research is collected through
questionnaires. A structured questionnaire was designed to find out responses for
various factors affecting customers perception for cellular service operators.

Questionnaire: The questionnaire was formulated by keeping in mind the following
points: - : -
Giving the respondents clear comprehension of the question.
Giving instructions as to what is needed.

Secondary Data Collection: The sources of secondary data include Internet,
magazines and books referred from the library.


Data analysis tool :
Data analysis is an important function to find out true result so right tools were used to analysis the
data. To know the customers perception about cellular operator for various services provided by
them we use mean calculation and percentage analysis graph.







30

Sampling Plan:

Universe Population: The respondents living in the city of GWALIOR and availing
cellular services have been considered as the population for data collection in this study.

Sampling Unit: The element or unit being studied in this case is an individual availing
cellular service.

Extent: The extent of Universe in this study is the GWALIOR city.

Sampling Method: The sampling method is Judgmental or Purposive sampling.

Sample Size: Sample size of one hundred responses has been taken for conducting the
research.


SAMPLING: Sampling is the use of a subset of the population to represent the whole population.


Probability sampling, or random sampling, is a sampling technique in which the probability of
getting any particular sample may be calculated.
Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique where the samples are gathered in a process that
does not give all the individuals in the population equal chances of being selected.




31


JUDGMENTAL SAMPLING
Judgmental sampling is more commonly known as purposive sampling. In this type of sampling,
subjects are chosen to be part of the sample with a specific purpose in mind. With judgmental
sampling, the researcher believes that some subjects are more fit for the research compared to
other individuals. This is the reason why they are purposively chosen as subjects.


















32








Finding and Analysis


















33
Analysis through graph

1. Monthly expense of respondents on mobile phone.



2. Market share of cellular operators.





20%
35%
18%
18%
9%
less than 150 150-300 300-500 500-1000 1000 and above
22%
15%
23%
17%
4%
4%
13%
2%
Market Share of Various Cellular Service
Providers
Airtel Idea BSNL Reliance Tata Aircel Vodafone Others
34

3. Market Share of cellular operators for consumers under 35 year of age.





4. Market Share of cellular operators for consumers of 35 or above age group.






Airtel
20%
Idea
12%
BSNL
26%
Reliance
20%
Tata
4%
Aircel
4%
Vodafone
12%
Others
2%
Airtel
24%
Idea
18%
BSNL
20%
Reliance
14%
Tata
4%
Aircel
4%
Vodafone
14%
Others
2%
Chart Title
35

5. Respondents having number of cellular connections.





6. Rating on the basis of coverage of cellular operators:
(5 Excellent, 1 Inferior)







0
1
2
3
4
5
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 4.6 4.5 4.3 3.6 3.8 3.9
Coverage
36

7. Rating on the basis of call rates and roaming of cellular operators:
(5 Excellent, 1 Inferior)














0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Airtel BSNL Idea Relianc
e
Vodafo
ne
Tata
Series1 3.5 3.7 3.2 3.8 4.1 4.3
A
x
i
s

T
i
t
l
e

Call Rate
3.05
3.1
3.15
3.2
3.25
3.3
3.35
3.4
3.45
3.5
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.2
Roaming
37

8. Rating on the basis of internet facility and Multimedia services of cellular
operators:
(5 Excellent, 1 Inferior)











0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Airtel BSNL Idea Relianc
e
Vodafo
ne
Tata
Series1 4 3.5 3.2 3 3.8 3.5
A
x
i
s

T
i
t
l
e

Internet Facility
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 3.6 3.1 3.5 3.1 2.7 3.25
MMS
38
9. Rating on the basis of automatic call drop and connectivity problems during
peak hours:
(5 Very Frequent, 4 frequent, 3 Neutral, 2 Sometimes, 1 Never)













0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 2.3 4 2.5 3.6 3 3.25
Automatic Call Drop
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 2.7 3.6 2.8 3.1 3.4 3
Connectivity Problem
39

10. Rating on the basis of Promotional Calls:
(5 Very Frequent, 1 Never)




























0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 2.2 3.4 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.3
Promotional Calls
40


11. Rating on the basis of brand value and value added services of cellular
operators: (5 Highly Satisfied, 1 Highly Dissatisfied)










Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafone Tata
Series1 4 4 4.3 3.9 4 3.8
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Brand Value
3.8
3.5
3.5
3.2
4.1
3.9
Vale added Services
41



12. Rating on the basis of occasional offers and endorsement of cellular operators:
(5 Highly Satisfied, 1 Highly Dissatisfied)









2.9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafon
e
Tata
Series1 3.5 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.8 3.7
Occasional Offers
Airtel BSNL Idea Reliance Vodafone Tata
3.3
3.4
3.7
3
4.5
3.9
Endorsement
42











RESULT AND CONCLUSION












43

RESULT:
1. On the basis of graph analysis of age groups of below 35 years and 35 and above we
analyze that in first case Airtel, BSNL and Reliance holds majority of the market share
whereas in the latter case Airtel and BSNL holds majorty of the market stake.
2. On the basis of graphical analysis of questionnaires filled by the respondents, we can
compare cellular services providers on the basis of following services provided by them:
Coverage : Airtel and BSNL have better coverage than other operators.
Call Rate : Vodafone and Tata leads in call rates. They charge relatively less rate than other
operator.
Internet Facility: Airtel and Vodafone provide better internet facility.
Value Added Services: Vodafone and Tata are better than others in this parameter.
Occasion Offer: Vodafone, Idea and BSNL provides better occasional offers to the
customers.

3. On the basis of graphical analysis of problems encountered in services we can compare
them as following:
Automatic Call Drop: In BSNL and Reliance frequency of call drop is high decreasing to
Idea and is very low in Airtel.
Connectivity Problem during Peak Hours: it is high in BSNL as comparison to other
operators.
Promotional Calls: Promotional Calls occur Very Frequently in Reliance, BSNL and Idea
whereas it is low in case of Airtel.




44

CONCLUSION
Essentially, good call quality at a cheaper call cost, and a few value added services like
texting, surfing, roaming thrown in....... and yes, sincere service with a smile when you are
in soup... these are what excellent cellphone service is all about!

On the basis of above analysis we can conclude that Airtel and BSNL capture majorty stake
of the market. And why they are able to do so can be explained on the basis of AIDA
model. AIDA( Attention Interest Desire Satisfaction).
The services which are most eminent and are considered important in gaining attention of
the consumers are coverage, Call Rates And Multimedia Services. And these operators
provide a good combination of these services which gain attention of the consumers and
induce interest in them as they feel that they are getting what they desire.
And they provide better service than other operators in respect to problems like automatic
call drop and connectivity problems which result in satisfaction of the customers and help
these cellular service operators to retain their customers and simultaneously increasing their
customer base.
Although BSNL have connectivity problems but its other features like coverage and Brand
value hide its drawback and is still gives a healthy competition to other telecom majors.








45

LIMITATION
The following were the limitations that were there during the course of the
study:

1 The sample area was concentrated to GWALIOR only and other cities could not be covered
due to lack of time.

2 Time and money were the major constraints.

3 Respondents might not have given the correct information














46
REFERENCES:

1. Aaker, D.A (1990), Brand Extensions: the good, the bad and the ugly, Sloan Management
Review, 314,pp 47-56

2. Albrecht, K. and Zemke, R. (1985), Service America, Dow Jones, Irwin, Homewood, IL.

3. Keller, K.L. (1998), Strategic Brand Management, Prentice-Hall, Englewood cliffs, NJ.


4. Kotter, J. and Heskett, J.L. (1992), Corporate Culture and Performance, The Free Press,
New York, NY.


5. Kotler, Phillip and Gary Armstrong (1996), Principles of Marketing, Englewood cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.


6. Lovelock, C., Vandermerwe, S. and Lewis, B. (1999), Services Marketing: A European
Perspective, Prentice-Hall, London.
7. Paul E, Frank J carnone and Scott M. Smith(1988), Multi dimensional Scaling : Concepts
and Applications , LLyn and Bacon,Boston.

8. Sharma, N., and Ojha, S. (2004),Measuring service performance in mobile
communications. The Service Industries Journal, 24(6): 109-128


9. Zeithmal, V. and Bitner, M.J. (1996), Services Marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.




47
BIBLIOGRAPHY


1. Kothari, C.R. Research methodology methods and techniques, new age international
(p) limited, publication

2. www.wikipedia.org.

3. www.airtel.com

4. www.ideacellular.com

5. www.vodafone.in

6. www.tataindicom.com

7. www.rcom.co.in

8. www.bsnl.co.in

9. www.aircel.com







48













Annexure























49
QUESTIONNAIRE

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDERS IN GWALIOR

Name : Gender : Male/ Female

Age : Qualification :

Occupation:
Annual Income: (in Rs)

Less than 2 Lac 2-3 Lac 3- 5 Lac 5-8 Lac More than 8 Lac

Your views and opinions expressed herewith shall be kept confidential and will be used for
academic purpose only.


1. How many cellular connections do you have?
1 2 3 >3
2. Which service are you using?
Prepaid Postpaid
3. How much is your monthly expense on mobile phone/s (in Rs)?
Less than 150 150-350 350-500
500- 1000 Above 1000

4. Which cellular service/s are you availing of?
(if you are using more than one operators, use first letter of the operator for rating them in
second page)
Idea Vodafone
BSNL Airtel
Reliance Tata
Aircel Others

5. From how long you are availing the services of this particular service provider?
<1 year 1 year 2 years 3 years > 3 years


50
6. RATE YOUR CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER ON THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS
Excellent Good Neutral Bad Inferior
Coverage
Call rates
Lifetime Plans
Roaming
Internet Facility
Message Tarrif
Night Tarrif
Cutomer Care
Services

MMS(Multimedia
Services)


7. RATE YOUR CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER ON THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS

Very
Frequently
Frequently Neutral Sometimes Never
Automatic Call
Drop

Connectivity
Problem
During Peak
HOurs

Promotional
Calls

Problem Due
To Additional
Services











51



8. YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL FOR THE FOLLOWING PARAMETES
Highly
Satisfied
Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly
Dissatisfied
Brand Value
Value Added
Services

Occasional
Offers

Caller Tune
Endorsement