Bharti Airtel

Name: Vinit Parikh

Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A

BHARTI AIRTEL

Contents
Telecom industry in India ...................................................................................................... 2
Bharti Airtel ........................................................................................................................... 3
Airtel 4G ................................................................................................................................ 4
Marketing of Airtel 4G ........................................................................................................ 5
Project Leap........................................................................................................................... 6
Airtel Open Network .......................................................................................................... 6
Actions taken...................................................................................................................... 8
Pros for the company ...................................................................................................... 9
Cons for the Company ..................................................................................................... 9
Success Stories ...................................................................................................................... 9
My Take on Airtel Open Network ........................................................................................ 10
References........................................................................................................................... 10

1
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
Telecom industry in India
The telecom Industry in India is the worlds second largest market. The market has registered constant growth
in the past decade and half and is growing day by day. The Indian Telecom industry contributes to Indias GDP.
As per the current rate the market size of industry is expected to reach US$103.9billion by 2020. The data
consumption on handheld devices is expected to touch US$37 billion in 2017. As the numbers of customers
are rising in India so is the investment by various companies. The Industry has attracted FDI worth USD 18.38
billion during the period April 2000 to March 2016(According to Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion)

Fig 1 Reference http://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx

There are various governments policies which are altered to get more investment in this sector. The sale of
spectrum is cleared by the government. TRAI has released the documents to offer free internet to users within
the net neutrality framework. TRAI has recommended PPP for Bharat.Net. The various steps taken by the
government indicates the seriousness of the requirement of enhancing the Telecom Industry. The overall
development of the country is dependent on the development of the people in it and that can happen with
uninterrupted connectivity with each other.

2
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
Bharti Airtel

Fig 2 Share of telecom players in India

Bharti Airtel is an Indian global telecommunication services company based in New, Delhi. It operates in 18
countries by providing GSM, 3G and 4G LTE services. Airtel is the largest network provider in India and third
largest in world. Airtel has placed itself in a position to provide services in each and every corner of India.
Airtel Open Network and The Airtel 4G are the latest marketing gimmick which are employed by Airtel to take
an edge over the competitors .Airtel has the largest market share in Indian telecom industry.

As always there is a dilemma in the minds of customer about which network to choose when shifting to a new
place. The major concern is the network range which will be available in the nearby zones. So the customers
get to know what the company says and what the company will offer.

The race of becoming the best service provider in India, it starts with best coverage and best internet speed.
This led to two business scopes for the company BHARTI AIRTEL
1) Airtel 4G
2) Airtel Open Network

3
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
Airtel 4G
The latest and the fastest net service which is available in India is 4G. 4G is the latest sector in which all the
telecom companies are trying to make a mark. As in the race for becoming the biggest company based on
users in India, a company has to bank on this technology.
Considering the need of the spreading the awareness of 4G and the reach airtel has got in this sector, airtel
came up with various ad campaigns. The ad campaign showcased the deep reach and the speed of the Airtel
4G in all parts of the nation.
Airtel paid 33.146 billion for spectrum in 4 circles: Maharashtra and Goa, Karnataka, Punjab and Kolkata.
After the proper functioning of thee 4G in these cities Airtel launched 4G in Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh.
By employing step by step method Airtel expanded from 4 states to 350 circles in 15 cities. Airtel extended
the reach of the 4G network till 15km off the Indias coastline on request of the navy.
The best part for Airtel was the way they employed to make the Indian customer aware of the new
technology. The whole concept of the 4G was promoted with help of showing the speed and the reach of
network.

Fig 3 Airtel 4G poster

The ad targeted in a reverse mechanism. The ad showcased people who wanted to go away from the life of
work and explore nature. But as the Airtel showcased the reach of their network, they could not get away
from the internet. The ad focused on the availability of network at each and every location in India. This led to
the major chunk of customers believing in the ads that the reach of Airtel is pan India.

4
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
Marketing of Airtel 4G
As Airtel was the first player in the 4G category, Airtel had the upper hand. But the major success was due to
the brilliant ad campaign by Equinox Films in association with GroupM media agency. The ads were targeted
to the youth of India. Image of a young Indian was used to promote the Airtel campaign. The ad became a
great success to showcase the reach and speed of Airtel that the artist in the ad is now referred as Airtel girl.

The Airtel 4G Girl has built a powerful 4G association with Airtel. For this campaign, we have taken a different
spin on her character while driving home a strong network message,"

-Agnello Dias, chief creative officer, Taproot Dentsu (Creative Agency)

As the Airtel 4G is now more recognised by the Airtel 4G girl rather than the network capabilities. The
marketing stint of the Airtel 4G led to the major discussion about the Airtel reaches in India. There are some of
the major strengths of the marketing and positioning of the Airtel 4G.
Strength
- The company has got the perfect timing for the 4G product
- Company chose the marketing strategy which was very attractive and controversial (any kind of
marketing is good marketing)
- The reach of Airtel at the time of positioning was very good and continuously improving
- There was no other player in 4G market at that point that can compete with Airtel
Weakness
- The marketing stint revolved around the Airtel 4G girl that means if the 4G girl gave up then there
would a major setback for Airtel
Threats
- The emergence of other players like Vodafone, Reliance Jio
- Tariff plans of other competitors being more attractive
As the popularity began in the market about the Airtel 4G, the critics also began. As for a fact, to provide
network in each and every corner of India is not possible. So the competitors and the critics started finding the
lags in the network capabilities.

5
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
This whole campaign turned upside down as the company did not have the sufficient network coverage, so
there was a negative feedback in minds of customer.
This negative feedback is not accepted by the company standards. So there was need of some major steps to
be taken to show the world the true reality. This gave birth to the Project LEAP. The LEAP is the biggest
investment program to improve the infrastructure for Airtel in India.

Project Leap
Project leap is the biggest network transformation program aimed for delivering a world class network by
Airtel. The program will see an investment of Rs. 60,000 crores in the next 3 years on the back of Rs. 1, 60,000
crores that we have already invested. This program will help airtel build a dynamic network that will
significantly improve the quality of our voice and data services across the length and breadth of the country.

Airtel Open Network

Airtel Open Network is the latest introduction by Airtel in market to gain the confidence of the customers. The
open network is the portal opened by the Bharti Airtel to let the transparency flow from the customer end to
the company. The company has opened the gates of transparency for the customers to know the real
scenario. The Airtel Open Network is the phenomena used by Bharti Airtel to get to the customers know what
they are going to get. Airtel receives feedback from customers across multiple touch points - Open Network
portal, myAirtel app, Airtel Call Centre and Airtel Stores.

Fig 4 Glimpse of the Airtel Open Network

6
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A

Airtel Open Network offers

1) Network connection in Locality
2) See the places of current towers and future plans
3) Report the places where you face network issues
4) Find locations to set up new towers

Strengths
- Customers need to know the exact status of signals in the new areas
- Customers can file easy complains about the signal strength
- Customers can suggest the areas which require better connectivity
- Customers can also provide locations where the towers can be constructed
Weakness
- Customers are not much aware of the new open network
- The new concept is not viable in India as people do not respond to new technology
- People also take the initiative in a negative way that the company has limited its reach
- Inaccurate database of the network stability at different location
- Third party website showing the database
Opportunities
- Airtel has banked on the numerous opportunities but has not really converted the rural sector in India.
- Rural sector hold the best target for Airtel. Airtel can make plans to infiltrate the rural sector the way
BSNL has breached in many places
Threats
- The new small companies have never been a threat to Airtel
- There are talks for Vodafone and Idea Merger
- Introduction of Reliance Jio
- Same concept applied by Vodafone

7
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
The idea of Open Network can also and has been taken as a negative point. Some experts believe that by this
step company wants to tell the world that we have this much coverage and we would provide service to them
only. People also believe that this is a sign that company is not ready to invest in making better infrastructure.
This also might appeal to customers that Airtel is too rigid and will not entertain request from the low signal
coverage areas.

Actions taken
Bharti Airtel has said its Open Network initiative, which offers network information to customers and seeks
their feedback for improvement, has led to upgradation of over 9,000 sites and optimisation of over 30,000
existing ones.

Company says on action taken after the implementation of the Airtel open network Till date, over 9,000 sites
have been upgraded at various locations and over 30,000 existing sites have been optimised by Airtels
network team to resolve network-related issues. The task of putting up new towers is also under way,

We believe that with this initiative, we have made a small but positive beginning towards improving our
network and hope that going forward, more customers will join us,
-Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel

A large number of call drops have hurt mobile operator brands. Airtels initiative will help undo some of this
damage to its brand. The initiative is a positive and pro-active way of responding to the challenge. As a market
leader, Airtel seems to want to differentiate and protect its brand. This is a clever and wholesome way to do it.
There is an indirect advantage as it will crowd-source one of its challenges, namely, timely reporting of
network problems,

-Mahesh Uppal, Director at New Delhi-based consultancy Com First

The Airtel open network seems to be very interesting in its own sense. As the concept is firstly introduced by a
company Airtel has an added advantage on the ground. The move made by airtel symbolizes that the company
is not hiding anything. The presence of Airtel network everywhere in India shown in various ad campaigns is
true. Other company like Vodafone is also trying to enter the world of transparency.
8
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
As India is being more digital and need of constant and reliable network is a necessity for all, the initiative will
act as a catalyst for the company to acquire the new market share. The airtel had baked upon the new request
of the customers but this move is not the best move. The Airtel Open Network has its own share of issues
Going in the details of the concept of open network we come to know that the portal is maintained by a third
party. There is discrepancy in data and the actual reality.

Pros for the company

- Company gives the idea of network coverage to customers, so the customer know what he gets
- Customer likes the transparency of the company has builds up trust
- Company gets to know the ground reality and decide the strategy
- Complains and suggestion help the company to target the specific market
- Company has room to improve
- Company can provide better offers where the share is more to retain more customers and target new

But as every aspect has other side there are some cons in the strategy of Airtel Open network

Cons for the Company

- Company has showcased the weak spots to its competitors
- Company has to work better where the signal strength is low and this time its visible to all
- The idea has been take as a negative point as mentioned

Success Stories
There are many stories which say about the success, would like to highlight a few
- Andy Rampal, Gurgaon - The issue of network non existence. He complained about it through Call
centre and in three days airtel got the issue documented and in 15 days the network booster was
installed which shows the readiness of the company.
YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6BZ_zO__PU

9
Business Perspective Assignment -1
 Bharti Airtel
Name: Vinit Parikh
Roll no: 30
Class: PGDM-A
- Gaurav Hasabnis,Dadar West Issue regarding connectivity of a customer at his second home in Pune.
After proper understanding of the issue, Airtel installed a new tower in the vicinity which was a great
step to win customer trust. This all just took around 2 weeks and it benefitted the nearby area.
YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQ1Q8uPFXs
- Some other incidents of success - https://www.airtel.in/opennetwork/networkStories

My Take on Airtel Open Network

The initiative taken by airtel is a very fresh. Customers love transparency and this provides the same. The
Airtel Open Network takes the complaint from the customers and tries to solve it in minimum time. The best
part is that the Airtel is doing is addressing the issues and responding. But this can be improved. The timing for
introducing the concept was good but it had to be done with more firepower to back it on as it was expected
that lots of issues will be raised in start. Airtel should have anticipated the inflow of complaints. They should
have targeted region wise in different geography. After the success and making good examples of the
extraordinary work done by the company they could have expanded it on pan India level. Currently Airtel has
reduced the 4G data pack charges to counter with toys.

References
- http://www.airtel.in/

10
Business Perspective Assignment -1