A

RESEARCH REPORT
ON
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
IN TELECOMMUNICATION

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

THE
AWARD OF DEGREE OF “MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”

(Affiliated to G.B.T.U, Lucknow)

Batch-2009-2011

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY

Ms. KOMAL TOMAR BHUWANESHWAR YADAV
(HOD) MBA MBA - IV SEM
ROLL NO: 0909970030

HIMT

Harlal Institute of Management and Technology

Knowledge Park – 1, Plot No. - 8
Greater Noida (U.P.)
 PREFACE

The success of any business entity solely depends on how effectively does it utilizes
its optimum resources and how soon does it make arrangements for the removal of the
customer’s grievances. Moreover, the company should always be ready to make
necessary changes according to the requirement in order to attract more customers so
as to maintain a substantial growth in the market. The topic given to me was:

“CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN TELECOMMUNICATION”

I have tried to put my best efforts to complete this task on the basis of skill that I have
achieved during my studies in the institute.

I have tried to put my maximum effort to get the accurate statistical data. If there is
any error or any mistake in collecting the data, please ignore it.

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

One of the most pleasant aspects of writing an acknowledgement is the opportunity to

thank all those who have contributed to it. Unfortunately, the list of expression of
gratitude- no matter how extensive – is always incomplete and inadequate. This
acknowledgement is no exception.
First of all, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mr.Rajarshi Singh, Faculty of
HIMT, Greater Noida for giving me opportunity to do research under her profound
guidance. Because of her inspiring guidance, motivation, positive criticism,
continuous encouragement and untiring supervision this work could be brought to its
present shape.

I would like to thank all of them who in one way or the other have helped me.

( BHUWANESHWAR YADAV )

3
 DECLARATION

I, “Bhuwaneshwar Yadav” to declare that the Research report entitled

“CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN TELECOMMUNICATION”
being submitted to the G.B.TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY for the partial fulfillment of
the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration is my own
endeavors and it has not been submitted earlier to any institution/university for any
degree.

Place:
Date:
( BHUWANESHWAR YADAV )

4
 CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION
(05-19)

• MAJOR INDIAN PLAYERS

(20-34)

• GLOBAL TELECOM GIANTS

(35-50)

• DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

(51-63)

• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

(64-66)

• DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

(67-74)

• SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION

(75-77)

• BIBLIOGRAPHY

(78-80)

• QUESTIONARE

(81-84)

5
6
 NEED OF STUDY

With the deregulation of telecom services, business users and consumers now have

considerable choice in selecting a service provider. When maintaining a service or

ordering a new one, customers take into account the service quality, service price and

customer service provided. The first two factors are relatively objective and simple to

control but customer service is probably the most important, the hardest to get right

and dissatisfaction is the number one reason for customer churn.

Customer relationship management (CRM) covers methods and technologies used by

companies to manage their relationships with clients. Information stored on existing

customers (and potential customers) is analyzed and used to this end. Automated

CRM processes are often used to generate automatic personalized marketing based on

the customer information stored in the system.

Telecom operators expect Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to improve

customer service, reduce costs by cutting call times to Customer Care and increase

revenues by improving cross-selling and customer acquisition success rates. In an

7
increasingly competitive services environment, Telco’s must respond to threats from

other operators and use CRM systems to survive.

In this dissertation thesis, I have focused on application of relationship management

in telecommunication industry. This study describes the why customer relationship

management is required in this particular industry. Practices which are followed by

companies across the globe have been dealt in detail. I have also tried to figure out

trends in implementation of CRM by communication companies.

8
 BACKGROUND OF TELECOMMUNICATION

INDUSTRY

Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of

communication. In modern times, this process almost always involves the sending of

electromagnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have

involved the use of smoke signals, drums or semaphore. Today, telecommunication is

widespread and devices that assist the process, such as the television, radio and

telephone, are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array of

networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone

networks, radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across

the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging, is just one of many examples of

telecommunication.

Telecommunication systems are generally designed by telecommunication engineers.

Major contributors to the field of telecommunications include Alexander Bell who

invented the telephone (as we know it), John Logie Baird who invented the

mechanical television and Guglielmo Marconi who first demonstrated transatlantic

radio communication. In recent times, optical fibre has radically improved the

bandwidth available for intercontinental communication, helping to facilitate a faster

9
and richer Internet experience. And, digital television has eliminated effects such as

snowy pictures and ghosting.

Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. In 2006, estimates

place the telecommunication industry's revenue at $1.2 trillion or just under 3% of the

gross world product. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged

as important for economic success in the modern world on a both micro- and

macroeconomic scale.

India with its high population and development potential is having one of the fastest

growing telecom networks in the world. India's public sector telecom company BSNL

is the 7th largest telecom company in world... Reliance, Bharti Telecom, Tata

Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, and BPL are other major operators in India. However,

rural India still lacks strong infrastructure. Some problems such as network

congestion and coverage are being solved.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 100 million mark in April

2005 and was 183.53 million in November 2006. This includes 143.02 million mobile

phones. However, tele-density (telephones per 100 persons) in the country was 16.60

per cent in November 2006.

Telecom in the real sense means transfer of information between two distant points in

space. The popular meaning of telecom always involves electrical signals and

nowadays people exclude postal or any other raw telecommunication methods from

its meaning. Therefore, the history of Indian telecom can be started with the

introduction of telegraph.

10
Introduction of Telegraph

The postal and telecom sectors had a slow and uneasy start in India. In 1850, the first

experimental electric telegraph Line was started between Kolkata and Diamond

Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the British East India Company. The Posts and

Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department, at

that time. Construction of 4,000 miles of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata and

Peshawar in the north via Agra, Mumbai through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai in the

south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853. Dr.

William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to

the Public Works Department. He tried his level best for the development of telecom

through out this period. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph

facilities were opened to the public.

Introduction of the Telephone

In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and

The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to

establish telephone exchanges in India. The permission was refused on the grounds

that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the

11
Government itself would undertake the work. By 1881, the Government changed its

earlier decision and licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited

of England for opening telephone exchanges at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and

Ahmedabad. January 28, 1882, is a Red Letter Day in the history of telephone in

India. On this day Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's

Council declared open the Telephone Exchange in Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.

The exchange at Kolkata named "Central Exchange" was opened at third floor of the

building at 7, Council House Street. The Central Telephone Exchange had 93

numbers of subscribers. Bombay also witnessed the opening of Telephone Exchange

in 1882 itself.

Further developments

In 1902 first wireless telegraph station established between Saugor Islands and

Sandheads. In 1907, first Central Battery working of telephones introduced in

Kanpur. Between 1913 and 1914 first Automatic Exchange was installed in Simla. On

July 23, 1927 Radio Telegraph started working between UK and India. The beam

station at Kirkee and Dhond opened by Lord Irwin and greetings exchanged with the

King of England. In 1933 Radio-Telephone also started between India and UK. 12

channel carrier systems were introduced in 1953. First subscriber trunk dialing route

commissioned between Kanpur and Lucknow in 1960. First PCM system between

city and Andheri telephone exchanges commissioned in Mumbai in 1975. First digital

microwave junction was introduced in 1976. First optical fibre system for local

junction commissioned at Pune in 1979. First satellite earth station for domestic

communications was established at Secunderabad (U.P.). First analog Stored Program

Control exchange for trunk lines was commissioned at Bombay. In 1984 C-DOT was

12
established for indigenous production and development of digital exchanges. In 1985

mobile telephone service started (not commercially) in Delhi.

While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during

the British period, the total number of telephones in 1948 was only around 80,000.

Even after independence, growth was extremely slow. The telephone was a status

symbol rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of telephones grew

leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in 1991, the year

economic reforms were initiated in the country.

While certain innovative steps were taken from time to time, as for example

introduction of the telex service in Mumbai in 1953 and commissioning of the first

[subscriber trunk dialing] route between Delhi and Kanpur in 1960, the first waves of

change were set going by Sam Pitroda in the eighties. He brought in a whiff of fresh

air. The real transformation in scenario came with the announcement of the National

Telecom Policy in 1994.

India, emerging as a major player

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from P&T. DoT was

responsible for 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. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the

Government for private investment as a part of Liberalisation-Privatization-

Globalization policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate the Government's

policy wing from its operations wing. The Government of India corporatised the

13
operations wing of DoT on October 01, 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam

Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as Reliance India Mobile, Tata

Telecom, Vodafone, BPL, Bharti, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential

Indian telecom market.

Growth of mobile technology

[2]
India has become one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world . The

mobile services were commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-

6 years the average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million

only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions.

However, after the number of proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the

monthly mobile subscriber additions increased to around 2 million per month in the

year 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was

tardy in the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff

structure of mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry

heralded several pro consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking

up. The number of mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16

million, followed by 22 millions in 2004 and 32 million in 2005. The only countries

with more mobile phones than India with 143.02 million mobile phones (November

2006) are China – 408 million and USA – 170 million.

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 India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile

communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the

mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also

provide the WLL service.

The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile

connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone

32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth

of the Indian mobile market.

Reforms Growth / Opportunities

1991 - Mobile sector opened to private participation 150 million telephone

(Metros) subscribers

1994 - Mobile (Circles) and Basic services opened up 75 million new subscribers

added in the last two years

1997 - TRAI established

About 5 million subscribers

1999 - Migration to revenue share
being added every month since

2000 - Formation of BSNL NLD sector opened up Dec. 2005

2002 - BSNL launches nation-wide cellular services, Highest growth rate in the world,

ILD sector opened up for the first time surpassing

China
2003 - Calling party pays introduced Unified access

license introduced This growth has facilitated the

expansion of BPO industry

15
2004 - Rationalization and further reduction of license which employs 5 lakh people -

fees, Broadband policy announced 400 employees added per day

2005 - FDI limit increased to 74% ILD / NLD regime 45 MHz of additional spectrum

liberalized from defense to be made

available for growth of mobile

2006 - One India introduced, ADC regime changed to
services in the beginning of the
revenue sharing
year 2007

GSM spectrum between 15 MHz

and 37 MHZ allotted in different

service areas

% Tele
CDMA spectrum between 2.5
Density
MHz and 15 MHz allotted in

different service areas

Years
Nokia, LG, Ericsson have set up

their manufacturing facilities in

India

Motorola, Foxconn, Aspocomn

etc., have also decided to set up

their manufacturing base with an

investment of about US$ 650

million

16
 FDI of US$ 2 billion in telecom

manufacturing by 2007

A center of excellence in telecom

technology in Public Private

Partnership (PPP) mode by 2007

Handset for Rs. 1,500 launched,

expected to go further down to

Rs. 1,000

Present scenario

At the end of November 2006, total fixed lines were, 40.51 millions and mobiles were

143.02 million. The gross telephony subscribers in the country reached 183.53

million. In the fixed line arena, BSNL and MTNL are the incumbents in their

respective areas of operation and continue to enjoy the dominant service provider

status in the domain of fixed line services. For example BSNL controls 79% of fixed

line share in the country. On the other hand, in the mobile telephony space, Airtel

controls 21.4% subscriber base followed by Reliance with 20.3%, BSNL with 18.6%,

Hutch with 14.7% subscriber base (as per June 2005 data).

India has been able to provide state of art world-class telecom infrastructure at

globally competitive tariffs and to reduce digital divide by extending connectivity to

the unconnected areas. Renowned telecom companies setting up their manufacturing

bases in India. Mobile telephone has now become the highest selling consumer good.

17
Targets:

2007 - 250 million telephone connections by 2007 taking the tale - density to 22

- Targets translate into an investment requirement of US$ 15 billion

- Revenue of Rs. 10,50,000 million @ Rs. 350 ARPU telephone connections is

expected to be 500 million telephones

2010 - Requirement of additional investment about US$ 25 billion

- Revenue of Rs. 21,00,000 million

2015 - Telephone connections would be about 800 million

- Additional investment would be about US$ 30 billion

- Revenue of Rs. 33,60,000 million

India to be positioned as a "Regional Hub" for telecom manufacturing

Creation of additional 0.5 million jobs by 2010 and 1.5 million jobs by 2015.

Service providers in India

Basic service licencees

Only the PSU's BSNL and MTNL are allowed to provide Basic Phone Service

through copper wires in India. MTNL is operating in Delhi and Mumbai only and all

other parts are covered by BSNL.

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Cellular mobile service licencees

1. BSNL

2. MTNL

3. Bharti Airtel

4. Idea Cellular Ltd

5. Reliance Telecom Ltd

6. Hutchison Essar Ltd

7. Aircel Ltd

8. BPL Mobile Communications Ltd

9. Tata Telecommunications Ltd

10. Fascel Ltd

11. BTA Cellcom Ltd

Internet service providers

1. BSNL

2. Bharti

3. CMC Ltd

4. Comsat Max Ltd

5. Cyquator Technologies Ltd.

6. Data Access India Ltd.

7. Data Infosys Ltd.

8. Dishnet Wireless Ltd.

9. Ernet India

10. Estel Communications Pvt. Ltd.

11. Gateway Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd

19
12. GTL Limited

13. Guj Info Petro Ltd. (GIPL)

14. Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Co. Ltd.(GNFC)

15. Hathway Cable & Datacom Pvt. Ltd.

16. HCL Comnet Systems & Services Ltd.

17. HCL Infinet Ltd.

18. Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd.

19. L&T Finance Ltd. (L&T Netcom Ltd.)

20. Manipal Ecommerce Ltd. (Manipal Control Data Electronic Commerce

Ltd.)

21. Pacific Internet (I) Pvt. Ltd.

22. Reach Network (I) Pvt. Ltd. (Teleweb India Pvt. Ltd.)

23. Reliance Communications Infrastructure Ltd.

24. RPG Infotech Ltd. (Sprint RPG India)

25. Sify Ltd.

26. VSNL

27. TATA teleservices

28. Spectra Net Ltd.

29. Swiftmail Communications Ltd

30. Tulip IT Services Ltd

31. (Net4India) Software Technology Park of India (STPI)

32. Siti Cable Network Ltd. (Zee Interactive Multimedia Ltd.

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 MAJOR INDIAN PLAYERS

Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited

Bharti Enterprises (Airtel)

Type Public, Listed on BSE

Founded 1985
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Key people Sunil Mittal
Industry Telecom
Products Mobile and Fixed-Line Telecommunication operator
Revenue USD 3.66 billion
Slogan Express Yourself
Website http://www.bharti.com/

Bharti Airtel, formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) is among

India's largest mobile phone and Fixed Network operators. With more than 28.6

million subscriptions as of September 2006, the company is one of the world's fastest

growing telecom companies. It offers its mobile services under the Airtel brand and is

headed by Sunil Mittal, one of India's richest men with a total worth of US$2.6

billion. The company is the only operator to provide mobile services in all the 23

circles in India. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access

over DSL in 14 circles. The company complements its mobile, broadband &

telephone services with national and international long distance services. The

company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the

21
submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides reliable

end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by leveraging its

nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile

circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and

landing station.

Although Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile service provider, BSNL, the state run

mobile and wireline service provider is the market leader as of 30 August 2006

customer's base.

Bharti Airtel is one of India's leading private sector providers of telecommunications

services based on an aggregate of 33,711,837 customers as on December 31, 2006,

consisting of 31,974,038 GSM mobile and 1,737,799 broadband & telephone

customers. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual

strategic business units (SBU’s) - mobile services, broadband & telephone services

(B&T) & enterprise services. The mobile services group provides GSM mobile

services across India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business group provides

broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services group has two

sub-units – carriers (long distance services) and services to corporate. All these

services are provided under the Airtel brand.

Company shares are listed on The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) and The National

Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE).

Partners

The company has a strategic alliance with SingTel. The investment made by SingTel

is one of the largest investments made in the world outside Singapore; in the

22
company. The company also has a strategic alliance with Vodafone. The investment

made by Vodafone in Bharti is one of the largest single foreign investments made in

the Indian telecom sector.

The company’s mobile network equipment partners include Ericsson and Nokia. In

the case of the broadband and telephone services and enterprise services (carriers),

equipment suppliers include Siemens, Nortel, Corning, among others. The Company

also has an information technology alliance with IBM for its group-wide information

technology requirements and with Nortel for call center technology requirements. The

call center operations for the mobile services have been outsourced to IBM Daksh,

Hinduja TMT, and Teletech & Mphasis.

The company's unique strategic outsourcing model has been studied and documented

by Harvard Business School as a case study.

Bharti Airtel among the top 10 best performing companies in the world

according to Business Week IT 100 list

Bharti Airtel Limited has created history by being ranked among the top 10 best

performing companies in the world in the globally renowned Business Week IT 100

list. Bharti Airtel, which is described by Business Week in the report as a “highly

innovative company”, improves its ranking to 10 from last year’s ranking of 19.

Bharti Airtel is the only Indian company in the top 10 list. Bharti Airtel has ranked

ahead of companies like Motorola (Rank 11), Google (Rank 13), Microsoft (Rank

37), Hewlett Packard (Rank 44) and Oracle (Rank 51)

23
The companies selected by Business Week were ranked on four criteria: return on

equity, revenue growth, and shareholder return (given equal weight), and total

revenues (which was weighted).

Reliance Communications

24
Reliance Communications is the flagship company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani

Group (ADAG) of companies. Listed on the National Stock Exchange and the

Bombay Stock Exchange, it is India’s leading integrated telecommunication company

with over 25 million customers.

Its business encompasses a complete range of telecom services covering mobile and

fixed line telephony. It includes broadband, national and international long distance

services and data services along with an exhaustive range of value-added services and

applications. Our constant Endeavour is to achieve customer delight by enhancing the

productivity of the enterprises and individuals we serve.

Reliance Mobile (formerly Reliance India Mobile), launched on 28 December 2002,

coinciding with the joyous occasion of the late Dhirubhai Ambani’s 70th birthday,

was among the initial initiatives of Reliance Communications. It marked the

auspicious beginning of Dhirubhai’s dream of ushering in a digital revolution in India.

Today, we can proudly claim that we were instrumental in harnessing the true power

of information and communication, by bestowing it in the hands of the common man

at affordable rates.

Reliance Mobile

With over 19 million subscribers, Reliance Mobile is India’s second largest mobile

service brand. It achieved this distinction on 1 May 2003, within a mere seven months

25
of its launch. Reliance Mobile services now cover over 4,500 cities and towns across

India. Their target is to soon cover 5,700 cities and towns.

Reliance has achieved many milestones in this short journey. In 2003, AC Nielsen

voted Reliance Mobile (formerly Reliance India Mobile) as India’s Most Trusted

Telecom Brand. In July 2003, it created a world record by adding one million

subscribers in a matter of just 10 days through its ‘Monsoon Hungama’ offer. What

sets Reliance Mobile apart is the fact that nearly 90 per cent of our handsets are data-

enabled, and can access hundreds of Java applications on Reliance Mobile World.

Reliance Mobile has ushered in a mobile revolution by offering advanced multimedia

handsets to the common man at very affordable rates. This innovative low pricing has

increased the number of mobile phone users and its result is clearly reflected in the

meteoric rise in India’s tale-density over the past four years.

Their pan-India wireless network runs on CDMA2000 1x technology, which has

superior voice and data capabilities compared to other cellular mobile technologies.

CDMA200 1x is more cost-effective as it utilizes the scarce radio spectrum more

efficiently than other technologies do. Enhanced voice clarity, superior data speed of

up to 144 kbps and seamless migration to newer generations of mobile technologies is

some of the differentiators that set CDMA200 1x technology apart from its

competitors.

26
Reliance Mobile World

The Reliance Mobile World suite of Reliance Mobile is a unique Java-based

application. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it enables complex Internet application

to be introduced in mobile phones effectively and quickly. Reliance Mobile World

receives over 1.5 billion page views per month from Reliance Mobile users.

Reliance Mobile World offers a wide array of applications that include hourly news

updates, high quality headline video clips, downloadable multi-lingual ring tones,

seasonal updates including festival specials, city and TV specials, exam results,

astrology, mobile banking, bill payment, stock information, commodity prices,

railway and air ticket booking.

With over 150 data applications offering varied services — unique to any wireless

service in India — Reliance Mobile World is truly a treasure house of knowledge,

information, entertainment and commerce.

27
Reliance Net connect

Leveraging pan-India high speed CDMA2000 1x wireless network, Reliance

Communications offers the country’s foremost wireless Internet connectivity through

R Connect nationwide. Reliance Net connects is India’s fastest growing Internet

connectivity service which touched a user base of over 350,000 subscribers in less

than seven months since its launch.

The highlight of the offering is that subscribers can connect to Internet on the move at

data speeds of up to 144 kbps from their laptops or any other mobile computing

device. Connecting an Reliance Net connect cable to their Reliance Mobile phone or

by using an Reliance Net connect card inserted into the PCMAI slot of their laptop,

subscribers can be online anytime anywhere. Similarly, subscribers can connect to the

Internet by plugging a Reliance Net connect cable to Reliance India Phones, fixed

wireless terminals and phones.

28
Idea

As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to

operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 10 million, IDEA Cellular has

operations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh, 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.

29
A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the

distinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings,

for the first time in India, with 'Super Power', 2 Minutes Outgoing Free, Lifelong

offer and other segmented offerings like Women's Card. 'Lifetime Idea' is the first and

only loyalty program, for pre paid customers, introduced by a Cellular brand.

Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand

known for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch GPRS and EDGE in the

country.

The latest feather in the IDEA cap is the GSM Association Award for Bill Flash; it

has recently won making it the first cellular operator in India to win an

award on this platform.

Idea Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, which is India's first truly

multinational corporation. Global in vision, rooted in Indian values, the group is

driven by a performance ethic pegged on value creation for its multiple stakeholders.

The combined holding of the Aditya Birla Group companies in Idea stands at 98.3 per

cent. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla has been named the Chairman of the company.

Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. holds 35.7 per cent, Birla TMT Holdings Ltd. 44.9 per cent,

Grasim 7.5 per cent, and Hindalco 10.1 per cent in Idea.

Idea Cellular Ltd has seen phenomenal growth since its inception. Idea Cellular's

footprint idea is to first achieve critical mass, then drill deep instead of spreading thin.

In keeping with this, the company has been providing excellent service to its

30
subscribers in various states. It controls a portfolio of India's most attractive and

contiguous telecom geographies, including the circles of Andhra Pradesh & Delhi

(inclusive of NCR), Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya

Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra & Goa (excluding Mumbai), Rajasthan,

Uttar Pradesh (W). With a footprint dominating the map of India, Idea Cellular

accesses over 60% of India's total telephony potential. The company is now poised to

launch its services in new circle - namely Uttar Pradesh (E).

Type Communication Service Provider

Availability Countrywide except Delhi & Mumbai
Owner The Government of India
Key people Kuldeep goyal(CMD)
Past names DTS / DTO / Dot
Website http://www.bsnl.in/

BSNL or Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is India's largest Communication Service

Provider (CSP), and seventh largest in the world. Currently BSNL has more than 60

million customers (Basic & Mobile telephony) in India. BSNL has footprints

throughout India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New Delhi which

are managed by MTNL, and presently (As on December 31, 2006) commands 33.6

million Wireline, 3 million CDMA-WLL and 23.6 million GSM Mobile subscribers.

BSNL's earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2006 stood at US$ 8.6

31
billion with a net profit of US$ 1.9 billion. BSNL is a Public Sector Undertaking

(PSU) wholly owned by Government of India with a status na, which is under

consideration of the Government of India.

History

The foundation of Telecom Network in India was laid by British sometime in 19th

Century & 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 resposnsible 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. 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).

Main Services being provided by BSNL

32
BSNL provides almost every telecom service, however following are the main

Telecom Services being provided by BSNL in India:-

1. Universal Telecom Sevices : Fixed wireline services & Wireless in Local loop

(WLL) using CDMA Technology called bfone and Tarang.

2. Cellular Mobile Telephone Services: BSNL is major provider of Cellular Mobile

Telephone services using GSM platform, called Cellone and BSNL's GSM Cellular

services are know as Excel Power (Prepaid).

3. Internet: BSNL is providing internet as dial-up connection (Sancharnet) and

ADSL-Broadband ([[Dataone]]).

4. Intelligent Netwok (IN): BSNL is providing IN services like tele-voting, toll free

calling, premium calling etc.

Major service brands of BSNL

Bfone : Fixed wireline phone

Tarang : WLL phone

Cellone : GSM Mobile

Excel Power : Prepaid GSM Mobile

Sancharnet : Internet Services

Dataone : Broadband internet

33
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest

Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in

India: Wire line, 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 units 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 Lakes villages.

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 numerous 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.

34
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

Data One 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 $ 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

corers (US$ 16.67 million) in the next three years.

35
 GLOBAL TELECOM GIANTS

Vodafone

Type Public (LSE: VOD,NYSE: VOD, FWB:VOD)

Founded 1983 as Racal Telecom, independent 1991
Headquarters Newbury, England, UK
Sir John Bond, Chairman

Key people Paul Hazen, Deputy Chairman

Arun Sarin, Chief Executive

Industry Mobile telecommunications
Products Mobile networks, Telecom services, Etc.
Revenue £29.350 billion GBP (2006)
Net income £21.821 billion GBP (2006)
Make the most of now (in many countries, their previous slogan, How
Slogan
are you?, is still used)
Website http://www.vodafone.com/

Vodafone Group plc is a British mobile network operator headquartered in

Newbury, Berkshire, England. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network

company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £86 billion

(November 2006). Vodafone currently has equity interests in 27 countries and Partner

36
Networks (networks in which it has no equity stake) in a further 33 countries. Its

portfolio of global services, supported by its global brand, is available in a total of 59

countries. The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company

to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones."

At 30 June 2006 Vodafone had 186.8 million proportionate customers in 27 markets

across 5 continents. [5] ("Proportionate customers" means, for example, that if

Vodafone has a 30% stake in a business with a million customers, that is counted as

300,000). On this measure it is the second-largest mobile telecom group in the world

behind China Mobile. The six markets where it has more than ten million

proportionate customers are the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Italy,

Spain and Turkey. In the U.S., these customers come via its minority stake in Verizon

Wireless, and in the other five markets Vodafone has majority-controlled subsidiaries.

The Group's mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name 'Vodafone'. In the

United States the Group's associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless.

During the last two financial years, the Group has also entered into arrangements with

network operators in countries where the Group does not hold an equity stake. Under

the terms of these Partner Network Agreements, the Group and its partner networks

co-operate in the development and marketing of global services under dual brand

logos.

At 30 September 2006, based on the registered customers of mobile

telecommunications ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the

Group had 191.6 million customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a

proportionate basis in accordance with the Company's percentage interest in these

ventures.

37
The Company's ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the

Company's American Depositary Shares ('ADSs') are listed on the New York Stock

Exchange. The Company had a total market capitalization of approximately £80

billion at 15 November 2005.

Vodafone Group Plc is a public limited company incorporated in England under

registered number 1833679. Its registered office is Vodafone House, The Connection,

Newbury, and Berkshire, RG14 2FN, England.

Vodafone was a division of Racal Electronics plc in the early 1980s. Then known as

Racal Telecom, in 1982 the company won a tender to build and run the second UK

cellular telephone network. This was launched as Vodafone on 1 January 1985.

Vodafone's name comes from the tying together of 3 words - Voice data phone - to

form the word "Vodafone"

Vodafone in Europe

Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in Europe. The proportionate

customer numbers are for December 2005:

38
 Market

Country Network Name (former) Status Share;

Rank
Albania Vodafone Subsidiary 48%; 2/2
Austria A1 Partner 38.8%; 1/4
Belgium Proximus Partner 48.7%; 1/4
Bulgaria Mobiltel Partner 54%; 1/3
Croatia VIPnet Partner 43.2%; 1/3
Cyprus Cytamobile-Vodafone Partner 89.5%; 1/2
Czech
Vodafone (Oskar) Subsidiary 19.4%; 3/3
Republic
Denmark TDC Mobil Partner 41.4%; 1/4
Estonia Elisa Oyj (Radiolinja) Partner ?%; 1/3
Finland Elisa Oyj (Radiolinja) Partner 30%; 1/3
France SFR Affiliate 36%; 2/3
Germany Vodafone (D2) Subsidiary 35.64% 2/4
Greece Vodafone (Panafon) Subsidiary 35.6%; 2/4
Hungary Vodafone Subsidiary 21.99%; 3/3
Vodafone (Og Vodafone; Tal,
Iceland Partner 35%; 2/2
Íslandssími)
Ireland Vodafone Ireland Subsidiary 51%; 1/4
Italy Vodafone (Omnitel) Subsidiary 35%; 2/4
Latvia Bité Latvija Partner ?%; 3/3
Lithuania Bité Lietuva Partner ?%; 2/3
Luxembourg LUXGSM Partner 64%; 1/5
Malta Vodafone (Telecell) Subsidiary 54%; 1/2
Netherlands Vodafone (Libertel) Subsidiary 23%; 2/4
Poland Plus GSM Affiliate 33%; 2/3
Portugal Vodafone (Telecel) Subsidiary 37.2%; 2/3
Romania Vodafone (Connex) Subsidiary 45.4%; 2/5
Serbia Mobilkom Austria Partner 0%; 3/3
Slovenia Si.mobil-Vodafone Partner 24.4%; 2/2
Spain Vodafone (Airtel) Subsidiary 33.1%; 2/4
Sweden Telenor (Vodafone; Europolitan) Partner 16%; 3/4
Switzerland Swisscom Partner 62%; 1/3
Turkey Telsim Vodafone Subsidiary 24%; 2/3
United
Vodafone Subsidiary 24%; 2/5
Kingdom

39
Vodafone are to thank for the current size and shape of SIM card in Europe. The

small rectangle with one corner slit was their invention which they allowed other

network providers to use in the interest of the customer, so that all SIMs fit all mobile

phones. This is the reason why Vodafone are the only company able to use the shape

within their marketing strategies and brand logos and imagery.

Vodafone in Asia-Pacific

Vodafone currently operates in the following countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The

proportionate customer numbers are at 30 June 2006.

Country Network Name (former) Ownership Market Share; Rank

Australia Vodafone 100% 18%; 3/4
China China Mobile 3.3% 65%; 1/2
Fiji Vodafone 49% 100%; 1/1
Indonesia XL 0% ?%; 3/?
Hong Kong SmarTone-Vodafone (SmarTone) 0% ?%; 2/5
India AirTel 10% 22%; 1/?
Malaysia Celcom 0% 36%; 2/3
New Zealand Vodafone (BellSouth) 100% 52.4%; 1/2
Singapore M1 0% 35%; 3/3
Sri Lanka Dialog 0% ?%; 1/4

Vodafone in the Middle East and Africa

Network Name Market

Country Ownership Status
(former) Share
Bahrain MTC-Vodafone -- 30%; 2/2 Partner
Democratic Republic of
Vodacom 25.5%* 49%; 1/? *
Congo
Egypt Vodafone 55% 47%; 2/3 Subsidiary
Kenya Safaricom 35% 65%; 1/2 Affiliate
Kuwait MTC-Vodafone -- ?%; 1/2 Partner
Lesotho Vodacom 44.15%* 80%; 1/2 *

40
Mozambique Vodacom 49%* 33%; 2/2 *
South Africa Vodacom 50% 59%; 1/3 Subsidiary
Tanzania Vodacom 32.5%* 55%; 1/? *

Vodafone in the Americas

Country Network Name (former) Market Share

Argentina CTI Móvil 32%; 2/3
Brazil Claro 22.24%; 3/?
Chile Claro (Smartcom) 16.7%; 3/3
Colombia Comcel 63.6%; 1/?
Ecuador Porta 65.4%; 1/?
El Salvador Claro (CTE Personal) 34%; ?/?
Guatemala Claro (PCS Digital) 47%; 1/?
Honduras Claro (PCS Honduras) 37%; ?/?
Mexico Telcel 77%; 1/4
Nicaragua Claro (Enitel) 68%; 1/?
Paraguay CTI Móvil (Porthable) 12%; 4/4
Peru Claro (TIM) 36%; 2/3
United States Verizon Wireless
Uruguay CTI Móvil 17%; ?/?

United States

In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the country's second

largest mobile carrier. The percentage of the customer base and revenues of Verizon

Wireless that Vodafone consolidates is slightly lower, since some Verizon Wireless

subsidiaries have minority investors. (Hence the exact percentages that Vodafone and

Verizon report vary from period to period: in June 2006 Vodafone reported that

Verizon Wireless owned 98.6% of its customers at that date.) Before this joint venture

was formed, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communications of the U.S. in June

1999 and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch Plc. In September 1999, Vodafone

Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. The first

wireless business with a national footprint in the U.S., Verizon Wireless was

41
composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone AirTouch's U.S. wireless assets and began

operations on April 4, 2000. However, Verizon Communications—the company

formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE merged on June 30, 2000—owns a majority of

Verizon Wireless and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the CDMA network

compatible with GSM phones. This relationship has been quite profitable for

Vodafone, but there have historically been three problems with it. The first is the

above-mentioned incompatibility with the GSM 900/1800 MHZ standard used by

Vodafone's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering roaming between

Vodafone's U.S. and other networks. The other two stem from the fact that Vodafone

does not have management control over Verizon Wireless. Vodafone is thus unable to

use the Vodafone brand for its U.S. operations, and (perhaps more importantly) has no

control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless and is therefore entirely at the mercy

of Verizon management with respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless.

Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, Vodafone made a bid for the entirety of

AT&T Wireless when that company was for sale in 2004. Had this bid been

successful, Vodafone would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and

then rebranded the resultant business as Vodafone. However, Cingular Wireless (a

joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth (both now AT&T)) ultimately

outbid Vodafone and took control of AT&T Wireless, and Vodafone's relationship

with Verizon has continued.

Early in 2006 Verizon re-iterated their desire to buy-out the remaining 45% of Stock

of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group.[4]. Vodafone has also repeatedly indicated

that it would be willing to buy out Verizon's stake.

42
Latin America

On 15 November 2005, Vodafone Group announced a group-wide co-operation

agreement with America Movil of Mexico. The agreement involves co-operation on

international services and roaming. The services include Voice and GPRS Roaming

services, Preferred Roaming and Virtual Home Environment. Included in the

agreement are the 13 networks owned and controlled by America Movil (except

Tracfone in the United States), and the various operating companies of Vodafone and

its Partner Networks

SingTel

With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-owned

subsidiary SingTel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services

that include voice and data services over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms.

In Singapore, SingTel has had more than 120 years of operating experience and has

played an integral part in the development of the city as a major communications hub

in the region. In Australia, Optus serves more than six million customers. It has

driven the competition as the challenger brand and led the way in technological

innovations and breakthroughs.

Over the years, SingTel has grown to be a global player with a strong regional

heritage. With one of the most extensive and advanced telecommunications

infrastructure, the Group offers unparalleled reach in Asia and beyond.

43
SingTel's highly developed international network provides direct connections from

Singapore to more than 100 countries. It is a major investor in many of the world's

most sophisticated submarine cable and satellite systems. The Group is the second

largest satellite operator in the Asia Pacific.

SingTel also operates a pan-Asian chain of world-class data centres, providing a suite

of managed hosting Telco solutions branded EXPAN. Data centres are located in

Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Through marketing

alliances, EXPAN is also available in eight other markets including China and India.

SingTel’s ability to support multi-national corporations (MNCs) on a cross-border

basis is anchored by its extensive network of SingTel Global Offices (SGOs). Found

in 37 cities in 19 countries and territories across Asia Pacific, Europe and the United

States, the SGOs provide MNCs with a single point of contact.

The Group's other major investments in the region include Advanced Info Service of

Thailand, the Bharti Telecom Group of India, Globe Telecom of the Philippines,

Pacific Bangladesh Telecom of Bangladesh and Telkomsel of Indonesia. Together

with its regional partners, SingTel is Asia's largest multi-market mobile operator,

serving more than 100 million customers in seven markets.

SingTel employs more than 19,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of S$13.14

billion (US$8.12 billion) and net profit after tax of S$4.16 billion (US$2.57 billion)

for the year ended 31 March 2006.

Network and Infrastructure

44
SingTel has a well-established and extensive communications network and

infrastructure in Singapore and Australia. The Group’s advanced mobile networks

cover 100% and 94% of the Singapore and Australian populations respectively. In

addition, the Group has interests in about 50 submarine cables with landing points in

more than 50 locations in Asia, and has access to one of the most extensive satellite

networks in the region which, together, provide direct links to all the major business

centers in the region.

Mobile

SingTel's mobile customers enjoy superior indoor and outdoor coverage supported by

over 1,000 base stations in Singapore. SingTel’s fully-owned subsidiary, Optus, has in

place more than 4,000 base stations across Australia.

Always at the forefront of technology, SingTel launched the world’s first Local

Direct Dial service, which allows its customers to call roamers on its network without

incurring international call charges.

SingTel also offers its mobile customers international roaming coverage with more

than 400 roaming networks in more than 200 destinations worldwide.

SingTel’s MMS service was launched in 2002. It had been the first Singapore

operator to offer Short Messaging Service (SMS) to customers in 1995 as well as

Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) in 2000.

GPRS allows broadband multimedia data to be transmitted over mobile phone

networks at speeds of up to 115 kbps. It supplements SingTel’s High Speed Circuit

Switched Data (HSCSD) service, which enables access service at 38.4 kbps.

45
3G offers higher data speeds of up to 384 kbps. It also enables customers to enjoy

video calls and high-speed video streaming using its leadership position as a full

service provider; SingTel is extending the benefits of 3G to its fixed line and

broadband Internet customers as well.

In early 1999, the company started a 3G trial using Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA)

technology with leading Japanese operator, NTT Do Como, and the Centre for

Wireless Communications, National University Singapore.

SingTel was awarded a 3G license in April 2001. In July 2003, SingTel announced

that it has appointed Ericsson as the vendor for its 3G network in Singapore. SingTel

launched its commercial 3G services in February 2005.

SingTel mobile customers today enjoy wireless access to the Internet via WAP,

HSCSD, GPRS and Wi-Fi in more than 300 wireless hotspots in Singapore and

almost 12,000 wireless hotspots worldwide.

In Australia, Optus has invested more than $2.32 billion thus far in its GSM network

which provides mobile coverage to over 96 per cent of the Australian population. It

currently has more almost 6 million mobile customers.

The operator was also the first carrier to launch WAP and to implement a high speed

data service with GPRS. In December 2001, Optus made Australia’s first ‘live’ 3G

calls, confirming its position as the leader in mobile data innovation in the country.

It was also the first operator in Australia to launch Multimedia Messaging Service

(MMS) in July 2002.

46
Satellite

Satellite systems play a major role in providing diversity for cable circuits, as well as

providing direct connection to countries which are otherwise not accessible by

submarine cable.

In Singapore, SingTel has three satellite earth stations providing direct transmissions

to over 80 countries. SingTel also launched its own satellite in August 1998. The

ST-1 satellite, co-owned with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan, is one of the most

powerful satellites in the region with a footprint covering most of Asia up to the

borders of Russia.

Besides being an investor in APT Satellite Holdings of Hong Kong with an overall

interest of 20.33%, SingTel is also a customer of APT Satellite Company and has six

C-Band transponders on APSTAR V. APSTAR V was launched on 29 June 2004 and

operates from 138 degrees East longitude as a replacement satellite to APSTAR I.

SingTel is also a strategic partner and leading provider of Inmarsat and Iridium

satellite services, offering a range of mobile satellite solutions to meet customers

varied remote and wireless communications needs.

47
SingTel’s satellite capabilities were further strengthened with the acquisition of

Optus, the leading satellite communications provider in Australia with a satellite

footprint covering Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. The

SingTel Group is the largest satellite operator in the Asia Pacific region (excluding

Japan), providing access to more than 38 geo-stationary satellites.

Hutchison Whampoa Limited

HWL is a leading global telecommunications and data services provider operating

with a high growth strategy in 17 countries. It is a dynamic and agile player with a

strong track record as:

The first to market with an international 3G video mobile network under the “3”

brand;

One of the most agile and profitable 2G mobile voice and data network operators; and

As a major owner and operator of the fiber optic broadband and fixed-line networks in

Hong Kong, serving as a telecoms gateway to China.

HWL started mobile business in 1983 in their home market of Hong Kong and now

serves over 40 million customers. Their array of telecommunications and data

network offerings provides a depth of technological knowledge and insight into

emerging consumer trends. This breadth of services in so many markets around the

world also allows our operations to exploit opportunities, synergies and our critical

48
mass in order to maintain our leadership position. Their telecommunications and data

infrastructure support offerings in the areas of mobile telephony (voice and video

based multimedia), fibre-optic broadband networks, fixed-line services and radio

broadcasting

HWL is the first international provider of 3G video mobile services and an early

adopter of the latest and most promising mobile phone technology. While other

operators are just now rolling their third-generation mobile services in late 2004, 3 has

been successfully operating 3G networks and equipment in the Australia, Austria,

Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom since

early 2003. We were also the first operator in Hong Kong to introduce 3G video

mobile services in January 2004.

Another of their major telecommunications subsidiary is Hutchison

Telecommunications International Limited (Hutchison Telecom), which was listed on

the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges in October 2004. Hutchison Telecom

has a significant presence, and in many cases is a market leader, in nine dynamic

markets, operating or rolling out mobile services in Hong Kong and Macau, India,

Israel, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Indonesia and Vietnam. The 3G network in Hong

Kong and a fixed-line telecom running there on a fiber optic network is also part of

the Hutchison Telecom business. Hutchison Telecom is built on a high-growth

strategy focused on mobile telecommunications services markets with economic

prospects and good demographics. A number of Hutchison Telecom markets such as

India remain significantly under penetrated and offers significant opportunities for

future growth. In other markets such as Hong Kong and Israel, mobile phone

penetration is higher but customers are very eager to adopt new services and

49
applications, offering growth prospects in providing technologically-advanced value-

added services.

50
 Why CRM in telecommunication?

The fact that the Indian telecom industry is robust and growing is no secret. More than

35 million basic and cellular subscribers were added in the year 2006 alone - helping

the industry meet its 7 percent teledensity target, a whole year in advance. This isn’t a

chance occurrence. Over the last few years the Indian telecom industry has seen a

customer acquisition war like no other — dramatically falling prices, attractive

schemes, and emotional ad campaigns — vendors have gone all out to get the largest

share of the pie, and very successfully so. Recent cuts in tariffs all reiterate the fact

that the liberalization of the telecom industry is having the effect that introducing

competition usually does - making the customer wins.

However, as experts would put it - the best is yet to come. Service providers —

having proved their mettle in the war of customer acquisition will now go on to round

two — customer retention.

51
All of us have had experiences with our service providers that have been less than

satisfying. How many times have you received a call from a customer relationship

agent enquiring about your phone bill payment — a day after you’ve informed

another of your intention to drop a cheque off the next day? Or, how about finding

that your roaming facility is inactive because there’s some confusion at the back end

about your credit limit? These are all common issues faced by customers — issues

that have and could cost a service provider a customer.

As the market matures and the customer truly becomes king, a service provider will

be under pressure to innovate and make customers stay. Effective, personalized

customer relationship management will become the mantra for Telecom Service

Providers (TSPs). Simply stated, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is about

finding, getting, and retaining customers. CRM is at the core of a customer-focused

business strategy and includes the people, processes, and technology questions

associated with marketing, sales and service.

In today’s hyper-competitive world, organizations looking to implement successful

CRM strategies need to have access to a common view of the customer using

integrated information systems and contact centre implementations. The customer

should also be able to communicate via any communication channel he chooses to

use. CRM tools will enable TSPs to understand customers against a set of parameters.

Vendors will be able to appreciate a customer’s socio-economic background,

preferred services, usage patterns, spending trends, satisfaction levels, payment

history, important dates, family information, etc.

52
An effective CRM solution requires good business intelligence tools. These tools are

used to eliminate guesswork and gut-feel based decisions. These enhance

communication and joint planning across functions and lines of business, and enable

organizations to respond much more quickly to changes.

These solutions are tightly integrated with all the data sources within the organization.

Disparate data sources are converted into a data warehouse or data mart depending on

the need, and data in these warehouses and marts are logically segregated. On top of

these data warehouses sit the BI tools. It is these tools that enable organizations to

view the entire customer data on a dashboard - measuring return on investment (ROI),

quality of service, cost of capital, cost of service, profitability of different features and

services being offered to customers, marketing campaign effectiveness, etc.

Telecom vendors have so far invested in building systems for mediation,

provisioning, service and revenue assurance, network management and other essential

enterprise needs.

Now they need to focus on establishing robust CRM practices - online, always

connected infrastructure that will allow them instant access and facilitate efficient

decision making. The Indian telecom industry has come a long way over the last 10

years. Of these, the last four-five have been particularly exciting for the TSP. On one

hand, consumers demand cheaper, feature-rich and faster access, and on the other, the

same consumers are spoilt for choice with multiple carriers and service providers to

choose from in each circle.

The next five years or so should see the landscape change, and TSPs mature from

being salespersons to relationship managers. Added to this, the imminent

53
consolidation will call for the use of technology as the process integrator, ensuring

that the customer has a smooth, seamless experience. The knowing customer will be

at the centre of this change - and the biggest beneficiary too.

Implementing CRM

Customer relationship management is a corporate level strategy, focusing on creating

and maintaining relationships with customers. Several commercial CRM software

packages are available which vary in their approach to CRM. However, CRM is not a

technology itself, but rather a holistic approach to an organization’s philosophy,

placing the emphasis firmly on the customer.

CRM governs an organization's philosophy at all levels, including policies and

processes, front-of-house customer service, employee training, marketing, systems

and information management. CRM systems are integrated end-to-end across

marketing, sales, and customer service.

A CRM system should:

 Identify factors important to clients.

54
  Promote a customer-oriented philosophy

 Adopt customer-based measures

 Develop end-to-end processes to serve customers

 Provide successful customer support

 Handle customer complaints

 Track all aspects of sales

 Create a holistic view of customers' sales & services information

CRM Architecture

There are three fundamental components in CRM:

Operational - automation of basic business processes (marketing, sales, service)

Analytical - analysis of customer data and behavior using business intelligence

Collaborative - communicating with clients

Improving Customer Relationships

CRM applications often track customer interests and requirements, as well as their

buying habits. This information can be used to target customers selectively.

Furthermore, the products a customer has purchased can be tracked throughout the

product's life cycle, allowing customers to receive information concerning a product

55
or to target customers with information on alternative products once a product begins

to be phased out.

Repeat purchases rely on customer satisfaction, which in turn comes from a deeper

understanding of each customer and their individual needs. CRM is an alternative to

the "one size fits all" approach. In industrial markets, the technology can be used to

coordinate the conflicting and changing purchase criteria of the sector.

Global Trends in Implementing CRM

A growing number of top telecommunications companies across the globe are turning

to relationship management to improve their customer acquisition and retention

strategies. With aggressive online goals and heavy investment in CRM, Telco

organizations require comprehensive and accurate reporting in order to demonstrate

the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, increase online conversion and improve

customer support and retention.

Many of the world's leading telecommunication companies and mobile operators have

invested in CRM , including Advance Info Service, Alliant Telecom, Alltel,

Belgacom, Bell Canada, Cable & Wireless, Cellcom Israel, Cesky Telecom, Cingular,

COLT, Eircom, Mobistar, Motorola, MTS Allstream, O2, Orange, Sasktel, Sony

Ericsson, Sunrise, Swisscom, Swisscom Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefonica,

56
Telefonica Empresas S/A, TELMEX, Thus, T-Mobile, T-Mobile (UK) Ltd, T-Mobile

GmbH, Verizon, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

The ultimate aim of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to develop a

complete picture of the wants, needs, and expectations of the customer. Over the past

25 years, companies have tried to achieve this by investing in enterprise software

applications that capture, analyze, and disseminate critical customer information.

However, most of the critical data is stored in disparate enterprise software

applications, which were designed to automate individual, discrete business tasks, but

are not optimized for executing complete, end-to-end customer-facing processes.

More recently, the architectural approach has moved towards integrating standalone

CRM systems with other enterprise information systems to try and deliver a true 360-

degree view of the customer and supporting processes. Whether this is termed as

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Customer Data Integration (CDI), or

another integration methodology, through the increasing adoption of Service Oriented

Architectures (SOA), the end goal is to create "composite" applications that

interconnect and unify disparate customer information found in soloed enterprise

applications.

The Telecommunications environment characterized by increasing customer demand

for new products and services, emergence of new competitors and a rapidly evolving

technological landscape – requires a fast and responsive business model. In this

competitive landscape, Global telecom operators gain new agility in responding to

change with a Telecommunication practice that blends industry knowledge, targeted

services, technology and functional expertise with a proven global delivery model.

57
Our service offerings are differentiated by deep Telecommunications domain

expertise and technology thought leadership. In numerous engagements, we have

helped leading telecom companies optimize Operations and Business Support

Systems (OSS/BSS) and processes, enabling them to realize sustainable competitive

advantage across mobile, wire line, cable, and broadband and media segments.

Indian scenario

There are less heavy investments in India - business here is learning from others'

mistakes. Indian businesses are not rushing into it.

The human capital that India has is perfect for CRM - there are superb technical and

creative skills and different communication vehicles. It's a question of bringing them

together effectively.

The latest study by Juxt Consult, an Interactive research and advisory agency, graded

a majority of India’s top companies as being Non Responsive to customers on the

Internet.

The scope of the study incorporated 50 of the largest Indian B2C companies in terms

of revenue across retail, financial services, telecom and manufacturing sectors.

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Analysts made email enquiry acting as customers to the companies’ websites and

measured their responsiveness in terms of Time and Quality.

Key Findings included:

• 58% of the companies did not respond in any manner at all

• 14% of email address/forms either bounced or displayed errors on submitting

a query.

• 32% of the companies in the overall sample responded satisfactorily.

•Amongst different verticals, telecom industry was the most sensitive to

customer queries.

• Debunking popular myth, PSU’s were better than the private companies

when it came to customer responsiveness.

The report highlights the increasing need for companies to develop effective e-CRM

channels to address the growing Internet user base in India.

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This study, spread over a period of three weeks, found that most of these companies

had no proper mechanism to handle queries from either existing or potential

customers. While significant money was being spent on creating an Internet presence,

the results of the study did not indicate a similar interest in the maintenance of the

basic web properties.

Each of the world's largest 3,500 companies is going to spend around $50-130 million

on CRM over the next three years. Most of this money is going into software.

CRM in Indian enterprises

Indian companies have traditionally focused on processes and technologies, with the

objective of optimizing these processes using enterprise applications such as ERP.

The focus has always been inwards. Now as companies become more customer-

oriented, they realize the benefits of including customers and business partners in

their value chain. As a result, Indian companies are becoming more focused vis-à-vis

external entities.

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However, in spite of relatively mature CRM solutions being available, its use is not

very widespread. Companies in BFSI, telecom and BPO are the only ones that use this

technology extensively. The infrastructure strategies survey conducted by Network

Magazine and IMRB among Indian CIOs reveals that only 13 percent of the

companies have CRM as an IT priority. Among companies which have already

invested in enterprise applications or are planning to invest, only 23 percent say yes to

CRM. 19 percent of the companies plan to dedicate part of their planned investments

to CRM.

The figures are not very high considering that ERP is the second-highest IT priority

for 41 percent of the total respondents, and that 69 percent of companies which have

already invested in enterprise applications or are planning to invest want to go with

ERP.

Slow to gain Popularity in India

Indian companies are on a journey that can only end with them becoming more

customer-centric. It’s only now that the use of technology to automate customer

processes such as sales, marketing, and after-sales service is getting due attention.

“The reason for the slower adoption of CRM software is that many companies do not

have adequate IT infrastructure to support these solutions. Also, many companies try

to first automate their back-end processes such as accounting, inventory and ERP

before embarking on front-end processes like CRM,” explains Ashish Kamotra, Chief

Executive Officer, ADAPT Software IAP India.

Increased competition, margin pressures and demanding customers are forcing

companies to look at CRM in a big way. However, it is interesting to note that while

61
the CRM software market is indeed in comeback mode, growth may not come from

increased purchases of the enormous CRM suites as in the past.Says Girish

Krishnamurthy, General Manager, India, Talisma Corporation, “Enterprises will focus

on adding specific functional modules and new business models to their application

portfolios. Instead of powerful, complex software, large and small enterprises are

choosing CRM applications that are easy to launch and easy to use.”

Advantages of implementing CRM in Telecom

Customer Relationship Management is a strategy composed of applications,

technology and products that following advantages:

1. It gives telecom companies a 360° view of each customer for consistent and

unified contact with that customer whenever anyone anywhere in the

enterprise deals with that customer. This knowledge increases the

opportunities for sales and the effectiveness of customer service.

2. To enable customer to have a consistent view of company, regardless of the

way the customer contacts the company. This improves customer satisfaction

and customer retention.

3. To enable front office staff to perform sales, service and marketing tasks more

efficiently as a team, increasing expertise and reducing costs.

4. Easily adjust the level of service to reflect the customer’s importance or status.

5. Gain a better understanding of customers and anticipate their purchases.

6. Ensure higher customer retention by introducing loyalty programs.

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63
 REASEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methods adopted to fulfill the objective of the study that included collecting

information by using secondary data with the help of internet, books, journals and

newspapers. I conducted the search in order to gather the information’s from different

sources for reverent to my dissertation topic.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The objective is to find out the:

- Trends in application of CRM in telecom sector

- Strategies and tools used in implementing CRM

- Advantages of using relationship management

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study is conclusive in nature. Conclusive research is of two types.

• Descriptive

• Experimental.

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This study is of descriptive type.

Type of data: Secondary data

Type of Research: Descriptive Study

Descriptive work of subtopics in study:

 Why CRM in Telecommunication

 Implementation of Relationship Management

 Global trends in application of CRM

 Indian scenario

 Advantages of implementing CRM in telecom services

Scope of the Study:

The outcome of this study can be utilized to understand importance of customer

relationship management in service sector like telecommunication. This study will

also figure out how global telecom companies are adopting CRM to gain competitive

advantage.

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66
 What Can CRM Enable?

CRM comprises the methodologies and software that enable customer relationships to

be managed in an organized way. An effective CRM system describes customer

relationships in sufficient detail that management, sales, marketing, and customer care

personnel can access up-to-date information quickly and easily. This allows them to

match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service

requirements, know which products a customer has purchased, respond to service

problems, and much more.

 Within an enterprise CRM can enable: Improved customer satisfaction by

Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) having a complete customer

overview and service portfolio available to provide direct answers, shorten

action response times, and reduce complaints

 Marketing departments to evaluate customer profiles, identify and target their

best customers, manage marketing campaigns with clear goals and objectives,

up-sell, cross-sell, and generate quality leads for the sales force. CRM

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 databases can support analysis of data integration, products, services, and

operational characteristics in order to rationalize offerings and introduce

efficiencies.

 Sales Force Automation (SFA) with detailed customer, organization, and

product information provided to improve telesales, account, and sales

management. CRM can support streamlining of existing processes and allow

information to be optimized by integrating it from all the sales channels and

then sharing it with multiple employees;

 The formation of individualized customer relationships with the aim of

improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits. Being able to

identify the most profitable customers enables an organization to provide them

with the highest level of service. For example, CRM can allow Telco’s to be

more proactive in providing customer information by informing in advance if

there are likely to be any problems or delays in service provision. This directly

addresses customer satisfaction and reduces churn regardless of how good the

Telco is at provisioning the service.

 Employees to be provided with the information and processes necessary to

know their customers, understand their needs, and effectively build

relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution

partners.

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Why Does CRM Fail To Deliver

Despite Telco’s progress on CRM deployments, a host of challenges have derailed or

limited the scope of CRM implementation projects that have resulted in the systems

failing to deliver the target objectives.

The biggest challenge has been to get CRM systems to integrate with supporting

legacy applications. Such integration problems have driven up costs and caused

implementation delays while generic CRM solutions have either failed to meet their

needs or required expensive customization. With many Telco services having 24/7

availability, carriers that implemented their own CRM systems have also confronted

critical problems such as how to transfer their subscriber base and continue to deliver

services without disruption.

Most Telco’s simply do not understand the strategies and underestimate the

technologies needed for a fully integrated CRM solution that provides the “360 degree

view” on the customers that they are demanding. As a result, many CRM systems

have been built on fundamentally flawed foundations. The integration problems

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encountered with legacy applications cannot be overcome by CRM systems. The

conventional approach to OSS and BSS has been based on separate products and

locations and this limits a Telco’s ability to provide customer support for services

such as online ordering or checking service availability. CRM systems cannot act as a

front-end interface to provide data, trouble tickets, and call detail records when the

data is resident in perhaps hundreds of legacy systems.

While they can have links to interact with OSS and BSS, CRM programs do not have

sufficient intelligence to handle interactions with other systems. For example, they do

not have the cross-system intelligence needed to translate an order into its component

parts and then pass order instructions to other systems to provision a service or

product. Equally, if a provisioning system rejects an order instruction the CRM can

only relay the message and is incapable of determining the reason using network

management tools or resolving the problem by reconfiguring the original order.

Because of the investments required, implementation has focused on technologies and

processes while issues such as cultural impact and information interchange have not

been properly addressed. Now that many Telco’s have the basic CRM technology in

place, remaining system integration challenges need to be addressed supported by

change management to get the right methodologies, training and customer centric

culture hard coded into the organization.

Telco’s should realize that the goalposts are continually moving with customer

expectations on the increase and continuing pressure to drive down front-office costs

while improving productivity. This situation can lead to initiatives to chase after the

latest trendy solution, disregarding the fact that CRM has been poorly implemented.

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Indicators of poor CRM implementation include: CSRs having to multitask with

multiple applications, increased error rates, lack of procedures, extended training

times, too many hand-offs due to lack of automation, poor morale/job satisfaction,

high staff turnover and increasing numbers of customer service calls and complaints.

Key Investment Drivers

For Telco’s, the key drivers for CRM investment are the ability to enhance customer

experience; increase sales channel productivity, and raise marketing intelligence.

They define CRM as both a technology and a strategy that enables them to increase

retention rates and grow customer accounts while delivering better and cheaper

customer services.

Carriers invest in CRM to solve ordering, billing, and service challenges such as:

Supporting online ordering. Around 65% of enterprises want to buy their telecom

services online but can’t because product configurations embedded in sales force

automation tools are limited in facilitating web sites.

Providing combined billing. Carriers with new services, recent mergers, or fast

expansion are forced to cobble together operational and business support systems

(OSS/BSS) for each service because of their legacy systems. This lack of systems

integration can result in separate bills for different services.

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Consolidating customer service. Customer service that is product-driven makes

solving problems a nightmare. When customer service is splintered by product

lines callers need to be transferred to different departments and this can lead to

frustration and, ultimately, loss of business.

Enabling new services such as Partner Relationship Management (PRM) to handle

value chain management and the introduction of Customer Managed

Relationships (CMR) where the customer sits at web-based self-service controls to

manage directly its Telco services.However, to get funding for CRM Telco’s

needed to prove that investment will result in early ROI. The metrics to justify a

CRM project must focus on cost reduction so the business case in both revenue

growth and cost avoidance means selling more and improving operational

efficiency in areas such as order provisioning.

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DATA COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT USERS OF
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES

RESPONSE VS AGE BELOW 20-25 25-35 ABOVE 35

20 YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS
ANNUAL INCOME PER 3500-8000 10000- 15000- 20000-
MONTH Rs. 18000 Rs. 25000 Rs. 38000 Rs.
MONEY SPENT ON 350-800 Rs. 600-1500 500-5000 250-1000
TELECOMMUNICATIO Rs. Rs. Rs.
N PER MONTH
ONLY PAGING 05-10 % 10-25 % 20-40 % 15-30 %
SERVICE USERS
ONLY MOBILE 30-50 % 35-60 % 40-70 % 20-40 %
SERVICE USERS
BOTH MOBILE AND 40-60 % 50-70 % 50-80 % 30-46 %
PAGING SERVICE
USERS
NEITHER MOBILE 08-13 % 05-12 % 02- 10 % 10-20 %
NOR PAGING SERVICE
USERS

73
74
 Suggestions

In order to assess CRM readiness, a comprehensive plan must be created that

looks to increase ROI on past as well as future CRM investments.

It is vital for Telco’s to work with a consulting partner to develop a clear strategy,

well defined customer processes, an architecture cost-benefit ROI and assist with

the change management needed to train and re-align the organization.

Understanding and targeting the customer, delivering value and responding to

threats and opportunities represent the four key CRM processes and form the core

of a company’s approach to CRM as well as day-to-day execution.

Finding the right technology will help to focus coordination and automation of

CRM processes. However, the capture and analysis of customer information must

be driven by clear goals and well-defined initiatives to be effective.

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 Measuring actual results against expected target results will allows Telco’s to

examine trends in each area and optimize operations accordingly. In practice, it is

difficult for many Telco’s to know how successful their CRM implementations

have been, since many do not have effective measures in place to assess the

impact of CRM on their businesses.

Conclusion

Customer Relationship Management is an issue that every company, large or small,

must tackle in some way. Today’s post-deregularised global telecommunication

industry is both complex and competitive. Companies need to manage rapidly

changing operations and practices, compete for new customers, and maximize the

value of existing customer relationship; all while leveraging existing technologies and

maximizing infrastructural investment. Handled well, a CRM strategy can deliver

significant benefits for companies and customers alike.

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77
 Bibliography

Books:

Customer Relationship Management - P.Thomas

Customer Relationship Management – Graham Roberts

Magazines

1. Business World

2. Business Today

Newspapers:

1. The Economic Times.

2. The Indian Express.

3. The Business Standard.

4. The Hindustan Times.

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Internet-search:

1. www.google.com

2. www.crm2day.com

3. www.salesforce.com

4. www.wikipedia.org

5. www.vtrenz.com

6. www.vodafone.com

7. www.hutchision.com

8. www.singtel.com

9. www.bharti.com

10. www.ideacellular.com

11. www.bsnl.com

12. www.relcomm.com

13. www.atosorigin.com

14. www.ssaglobal.co

79
QUESTIONNAIRE

80
Q.1. What is your name ?

……………

Q.2. What is your age ?

a. below 20 year

b. 20-25 years

c. 25-35 years

d. above 35 years

Q.3. What is your gender ?

a. male

b. female

Q.4. What is your education level ?

a. elementary school

b. high school

c. graduate

d. above graduate

Q.5. What is your annual income ?

81
 a. 10-15 thousand ruppies per month

b. 15-25 thousand ruppies per month

c. 25-30 thousand ruppies per month

d. above 30 thousand per month

Q.6. What is your cultural background ?

a. African

b. Asian

c. French

d. Indian

Q.7. Do you think wireless telecommunication play an important role in your

daily

Life ?

a. yes

b. no

Q.8. Have you used any wireless telecommunication service such as

a. cellular telephone services

b. paging services

, etc. in the past ?

Yes / no

Q.9. Are you using anywireless telecommunication services current if yes then

Specify ?

Q.10. What wireless telecommunication services are you using currently ?

a. only paging services

82
 b. only mobile services

c. both paging and mobile services

d. neither paging nor mobile services

Q.11. How much you spend/expected on wireless telecommunication per month?

a. 1000 Rs.

b. 2000 Rs.

c. 3000-5000 Rs.

d. above 5000 Rs.

Q.12. What is will purpose of your wireless telecommunication services is ?

a. personal uses

b. business uses

Q.13. What is the most important factor(s) you considered when you choose

A wireless telecommunication provider ?

a. price

b. location of dealer

c. customer service advertising

if other please specify .

Q.14. Rank below that describe how do you satisfy the wireless service provider

You currently using.

a. very un satisfied

b. unsatisfied

c. neutral satisfied

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 d. very satisfied

Q.15. Do you think of any telecommunication servicethat used to be improved

Nowadays ?

Please specify

84