TELECOM SECTOR

By Ravindra Lattoo

CONTENTS

OVERVIEW OF TELECOM INDUSTRY AIRTEL BUSINESSES OF AIRTEL 4PS OF BHARTI AIRTEL SWOT ANALYSIS OF BHARTI AIRTEL STP OF BHARTI AIRTEL COMPETETIVE DOMESTIC PLAYERS MARKETING STRATEGIES OF VODAFONE AIRTELS EDGE OVER VODAFONE FUTURE OF AIRTEL FUTURE OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

OVERVIEW OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. National Telecom Policy (NTP). In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created
New National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year. India, which is seeing over 8 million wireless subscribers being added every month (8.62 million in May 2008), is the fastest growing telephone market in the world. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and longdistance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). The Indian telecom market is expected to grow three fold by 2012 & market size over US $ 8 billion. Moreover the government has set a target of 20 million broadband connections by 2010

OVERVIEW OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

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OVERVIEW OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

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OVERVIEW OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

INDIAN TELECOM MARKET

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ABOUT BHARTI AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel is one of India's leading private sector providers of telecommunications services based on an aggregate of 102,367,881 GSM mobile and 2,827,881 broadband & telephone (fixed line) customers (Status as at month ended June 30, 2009). Total Revenues crossed the Rs.10,000 crore mark for the first time in Fourth Quarter ended March 31, 2010 Globally, Bharti Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Has completed 100% verification of its subscribers and in the process disconnected three lakh (300,000) subscribers. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the CMD of Airtel,has been conferred one of the highest civilian award Padma Bhushan.

BUSINESSES OF BHARTI AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel is structured as four strategic business units - Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in Bangladesh,Srilanka and India. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 89 Indian cities. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. The Digital TV business provides DTH services across India. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand (excluding Bangladesh currently). Airtels national high-speed optic fiber network currently spans over 126,357 Rkms across India. Airtel's international network infrastructure includes ownership of the i2i submarine cable system and consortium ownership in five global undersea cable systems, SEA-ME-WE 4, EIG, I-ME-WE, AAG and UNITY.

4PS OF BHARTI AIRTEL

PRODUCT

AIRTEL PRE-PAID AIRTEL POST-PAID VALUE ADDED SERVICES

INSTAN BALANCE ENQUIRY 24 HR RECHARGE FACILITY CALL DIVERT,CALL HOLD AND CALL WAIT MULTIMEDIA MESSAGE SERVICE(MMS) AIRTEL LIVE SMS BASED INFORMATION SERVICE HELLO TUNES AND RING TONES VOICE MAIL SERVICE EASY POST-PAID BILL COLLECTION GPRS

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PRICE

CUSTOMER BASED PRICING STRATEGY FLEXIBLE PRICING MECHANISM PRICES CONTROLLED AND REGULATED BY TRAI.

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PLACE

EXTENSIVE REACH EVEN IN THE REMOTEST AREA CUSTOMER CARE TOUCH POINTS DISTRIBUTORS LIKE PAAN SHOPS,GROCERY STORES,CHEMISTS ETC

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PROMOTION

ADVERTISING IN HOARDINGS AND VIDEOS. SRK AND SACHIN AS THEIR BRAND AMBASSADORS SIGNATURE TUNE OF A.R. REHMAN

SWOT ANALYSIS OF BHARTI AIRTEL

STRENGTHS Largest Operator PAN India presence Having global presence First mover advantage OPPORTUNITIES

41.8% Teledensity* in INDIA Expansion in near by countries of INDIA

WEAKNESSSES

Teens love Virgin and Idea more than Airtel

THREATS Potential Entry of Global players Intense Competition among Domestic players Mobile Number Portability

Teledensity=a measure of telephone availability

STP OF BHARTI AIRTEL

SEGMENTATION
On the basis of Geography divide Indian market in telecom circles*.

TARGETING

POSITIONING

Perception of aspirational and lifestyle brand.

RE-POSITIONING

Earlier elite class above age group of 25 years. Corporate people and business men. Targeted women and senior citizens by introducing post paid plans Rural People

New look and the feel of the brand logo indicated the core values of the brand i.e. leadership, performance and dynamism.
Telecom circles=Mumbai Metro and Maharashtra Telecom Circle, Chennai Metro and Tamil Nadu Telecom Circle, Kolkata Metro and West Bengal Telecom Circle and Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) Telecom Circle Service Areas

DOMESTIC COMPETETIORS OF AIRTEL

MAJOR COMPETITOR OF AIRTEL

MARKETING STRATEGY OF VODAFONE

To catch up/beat AIRTEL What different VODAFONE is doing in 4PS PRICE Monthly price plans are available as well as prepay options PROMOTION Effective Persuasive Advertising Zoozoos PLACE Happy to help

PRODUCT BLACKBERRY3G MAGIC BOX VODAFONE PCO

Better Network Connectivity

AIRTELS EDGE OVER VODAFONE

Vodafone is owned jointly by Vodafone and Essar whereas Airtel is owned by Bharti Airtel Airtel has presence in all 23 telecom sectors whereas Vodafone has presence in 16 circles only Airtel has a much bigger customer base than Vodafone Airtel relies on celebrities to promote its services whereas Vodafone has a smaller budget and makes use of animated characters (zoozoos). Airtel offers a number of products and services while Vodafone is mainly involved with mobile telephony.

FUTURE OF AIRTEL

FUTURE OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

The 3G which will pave the way for 3.5G, 3.75G and the next big thing-4G and the VAS services will keep the customer asking for more. The rural areas which have remained untapped will see an insurgence of services. The easing of the regulations by TRAI ,the ease of spectrum licensing, the FDI influx will make the telecom space in India a must watch in the coming years

REFERENCES

GOOGLE AIRTEL VODAFONE DOT TRAI SPICE TELECOM BUSINESSWORLD BUSINESSTODAY