Comparative Analysis of Pre-Paid Vs.

Post-Paid connections of Airtel in

Ludhiana

Submitted to Punjab College of Technical Education

In partial fulfillment of the requirements
Of the degree of

Masters of Business Administration

Session (2006-08)

By
Priyanka Sharma

PUNJAB COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION

BADDOWAL

AFFILIATED TO
PUNJAB TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, JALANDHAR
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Foremost of all,I express my sincere indebtedness to the Almighty for bestowing me

with favorable circumstances and keeping me in high spirits.

This project is the end product of the valuable contribution of many persons to
whom,I remain in debt.
I am greatly thankful to Mr.Gautam Bansal for his help in making my
project. I express my deepest sense of gratitude to Mr.K.N.S.Kang for providing us the
platform on which we learn the practical application of our theory .
I express my thanks & regards to my family and my friends for their
encouragement and support to perform this task.
Last but not the least ,I am highly highly thankful to the respondents of my
questionnaires,without whom doing this project would have been impossible.

Priyanka Sharma

MBA (2006-2008)
Title of project: Comparative Analysis of Pre-Paid vs. Post-Paid

Connections of Airtel in Ludhiana.

Name of the Student: Priyanka Sharma

Name of the Institution: Punjab College of Technical Education,

Ludhiana.
Name and Designation of Mr.Gautam Bansal
Advisor: lecturer

Degree to be awarded: Master of Business Administration

Name of the University: Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar

ABSTRACT
The present study was undertaken for the purpose of comparing post-paid
and pre-paid with special focus on the perception of consumer about knowing the
satisfaction level of both pre-paid and post-paid customers. To know the key
motivating force opting for the pre-paid and post-paid connections.
To gauge the customer loyalty for its subjective options. An effort was made to
understand the basic dynamics governing both pre-paid and post-paid
connections in GSM segment of Airtel.

_____________________ _________________

Signature of advisor Signature of student

TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________________________________________________________

o Company Profile

o Title of the project

o Introduction

o Review of literature

o Need of Research

o Objectives of the research

o Research Methodology

o Research Design

o Data Collection

o Sampling Plan

o Sample size

o Population

o Sampling Design

o Sampling Unit

o Universe

o Analysis and Interpretation

o Conclusion &Suggestions

o Summary

o Bibliography

o Questionnaire
 LIST OF TABLES

_______________________________________________________________________

TABLE No:- HEADING

_______________________________________________________________________

1. Respondents using mobile phone

2. Respondents using pre-paid and post-paid connections

3. Duration of using the connection

4. Influences dictating the connection type

5. Recommendation to friends & acquaintances

6. Satisfaction regarding the connection type

7. Loyalty towards the brand

8. The key benefits influencing the purchase

9 . Satisfaction as a customer by the Value Added services

10. Key benefits perceived from Pre-paid connection

11. Factors influencing the Pre-paid Schemes of Airtel.

12. Problems regarding usage of connection

13. Contribution of full value recharge and other discounts

14. Satisfied with customer care activities

15. Satisfaction with connection type(Post paid)

16. Satisfaction with connection type(Prepaid)

17. Shifting of the connection type

18. Key benefits influencing the purchase.

19. Satisfaction as a customer by the Value Added services

20. Difficulty in deactivating the postpaid connection

21. Ranking of Key benefits perceived by Postpaid

connection

22. Ranking to the reasons of favoring Prepaid Connection

23. Problem in terms of Connectivity

23(a) Importance of Specific Number

24. Satisfaction with customer care Activities

25. Preference to Change the connection type

 LIST OF FIGURES

_____________________________________________________________________

Figure No:- Heading

______________________________________________________________________

1. Respondents using mobile phone

2. Respondents using pre-paid and post-paid connections

3. Duration of using the connection

4. Influences dictating the connection type

5. Recommendation to friends & acquaintances

6. Satisfaction regarding the connection type

7. Loyalty towards the brand

8. The key benefits influencing the purchase

9. Satisfaction as a customer by the Value Added services

10. Key benefits perceived from Pre-paid connection

11. Factors influencing the Pre-paid Schemes of Airtel.

12. Problems regarding usage of connection

13. Contribution of full value recharge and other discounts

14. Satisfied with customer care activities

15. Satisfaction with connection type(Post paid)

16. Satisfaction with connection type(Prepaid)

17. Shifting of the connection type

18. Key benefits influencing the purchase.

19. Satisfaction as a customer by the Value Added services

20. Difficulty in deactivating the postpaid connection

21. Ranking of Key benefits perceived by Postpaid

connection

22. Ranking to the reasons of favoring Prepaid Connection

23. Problem in terms of Connectivity

23(a) Importance of Specific Number

24. Satisfaction with customer care Activities

25. Preference to Change the connection type

INTRODUCTION

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

communication. Today 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
signala, drums or semaphores. 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 telephone networks.
Computer communication across the Internet, such as e-mail and internet , is just one of
many examples of telecommunication.

The basic elements of a telecommunication system are:

o a transmitter that takes information and converts it to a signal for tranmission

o a transmission over which the signal is transmitted
o a receiver that receives and converts the signal back into usable information

For example, consider a radio broadcast. In this case, the broadcast tower is the
transmitter, the radio is the receiver and the transmission medium is free space. Often
telecommunication systems are two-way and devices act as both a tranmitter and receiver
or transceiver. For example, a mobile phone is a transceiver . Telecommunication over a
phone line is called point-to-point communication because it is between one transmitter
and one receiver, telecommunication through radio broadcasts is called broadcast
communication because it is between one powerful transmitter and numerous receivers.

Signals can either be analogue or digital . In an analogue signal, the signal is varied
continuously with respect to the information. In a digital signal, the information is
encoded as a set of discrete values (e.g. 1's and 0's).
A collection of transmitters, receivers or transceivers that communicate with each other is
known as a network. Digital networks may consist of one or more routers that route data
to the correct user. An analogue network may consist of one or more switches that
establish a connection between two or more users. For both types of network, a repeater
may be necessary to amplify or recreate the signal when it is being transmitted over long
distances. This is to combat noise which can corrupt the information carried by a signal.

A channel is a division in a transmission medium so that it can be used to send multiple

independent streams of data. For example, a radio station may broadcast at 96 MHz while
another radio station may broadcast at 94.5 MHz. In this case the medium has been
divided by frequency and each channel received a separate frequency to broadcast on.
Alternatively one could allocate each channel a segment of time over which to broadcast.

The shaping of a signal to convey information is known as modulation. Modulation is a

key concept in telecommunications and is frequently used to impose the information of
one signal on another. Modulation is used to represent a digital message as an analogue
waveform. This is known as keying and several keying techniques exist — these include
phase-shift keying, amplitude-shift keying and minimum-shift keying.Bluetooth, for
example, uses phase shift keying for exchanges between devices

However, more relevant to earlier discussion, modulation is also used to boost the
frequency of analogue signals. This is because a raw signal is often not suitable for
transmission over free space due to its low frequencies. Hence its information must be
superimposed on a higher frequency signal before transmission. There are several
different modulation schemes available to achieve this — some of the most basic being
amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. An example of this process is a DJ’s
voice being superimposed on a 96 MHz carrier wave using frequency modulation (the
voice would then be received on a radio as the channel “96 FM”).
SCENARIO OF TELECOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA
Identifying the telecom sector as one of the prime movers to the Indian economy, new

telecom policies and regulation by Government of India aims at establishing world-class

telecommunication infrastructure in the country.

Indian telecom services are the fastest growing of all the telecom sectors in the world.
The Indian telecommunication industry, offers an ideal setting for investment.

The rise in demand for telecom services in India is not restricted only to the basic

telephony services. It has rather expanded its horizon to cellular, radio paging, value-

added services, Internet, and global mobile communication by satellite services in the

country. Predicting the growth many analysts envision that the demand of Indian

telephony and cellular services are expected to rise further over the next few years.

It was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. The country is divided into multiple
zones, called circles (roughly along state boundaries) and the four largest cities (Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai) are circles in their own right. The government owned
BSNL runs local, mobile and long distance telephone services all over the country
(except in the Delhi and Mumbai circles). Several private companies give competition to
BSNL/MTNL in different circles.

Landlines: Landline service in India is primarily run by BSNL (MTNL in Delhi and
Mumbai). There are other companies too, such as Touchtel and Tata Teleservices which
do not have a pan-Indian presence. Reliance Infocomm has licences to provide services
all over the country, but have started off only with CDMA mobile and fixed mobile
services (where the phone is not wired to the exchange, but is used like a fixed line at
home or office).

Landlines are now facing competition from mobile telephones (GSM and CDMA based).
Mobile phone connections are readily available from private companies for relatively low
prices. The competition has forced the government owned monopoly BSNL (MTNL in
Delhi and Mumbai) to become more efficient. The landline network quality has improved
and landline connections are now usually available on demand, even in high density
urban areas. In addition to the government monopoly, there are several private landline
telephone companies, notably Reliance and Tata Teleservices and Bharti (which runs the
landline company Touchtel and the mobile company Airtel).

Long distance service is now more comprehensive and cheaper, carried primarily on fiber
optic cable. There are several private long distance companies, the government owned
BSNL continues to use its monopoly against them. However, the competition has caused
prices to drop and calls across India are now comparable in price to calls across the
continental United States.

Mobile Cellular: The mobile service has seen phenomenal growth since 2000. In fact, in
September, 2004 the number of mobile phone connections have crossed fixed-line
connections. Currently there are an estimated 50 million mobile phone users in India
compared to 45 million fixed line subscribers. The rules allow for up to 4 mobile phone
companies in each circle (one is always BSNL). India primarily follows the GSM mobile
system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The
dominant players are Airtel (almost all over India), Hutch, Idea cellular (from the Tata
group) and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few
states. International roaming agreements exist between most operators and many foreign
carriers. A recent entrant has been the Reliance group, which originally only had licences
for landline service. Loopholes in the regulations allowed it to set up mobile operations
across India using CDMA technology. Since it hadn't paid the high fees for mobile
licences, it could offer calls at very low rates. This resulted in high competition with the
established mobile players, with lower prices and increased features all around.
Eventually the telecommunications regulator (TRAI) stepped in and levelled the playing
field, but the low prices have stayed.

Main operators
o Bharti (Airtel)
o Hutch
o MTNL
o Idea
o BSNL
o Spice
o Reliance
o Aircel
TELECOM COMPANIES

BSNL

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

Provider (CSP), and seventh largest in the world. Previously known as DoT (Department
of Telecommunications) when it was under federal government control, it became a
corporation in 2000. BSNL has footprints in entire India except for the metropolitan cities
of Mumbai and New Delhi which are managed by MTNL, and commands over 40
million landlines and 18 million mobile subscribers.

TATA INDICOM

Tata Indicom is a private telecom service provider that operates in 2,500 towns in India.
Tata Indicom provides two kinds of phone services. The first are cell phone services
based on CDMA technology. The second is a handset connected to a remote tower just
like a normal cell phone. This obviates the need of having a normal fixed line to the
telephone exchange. It also does not need recharging since the handset is connected to an
electrical source. It has 9.4 million subscribers, of which 6 million are mobile
subscribers. The company is part of the Tata Group, one of India's most well known
companies

TOUCHTEL OR AIRTEL
Touchtel was the branding given to the fixed line services provided by Bharti Tele-
Ventures, which also operates mobile servies under the Airtel brand. But as of 18th
September 2004, under a unified brand strategy for all telecom brands, it has been
rebranded as Airtel.

BHARTI TELECOM

Bharti Telecom is among India's largest mobile phone operators. With more than 21.9
million subscriptions, the company is one of the world's fastest growing telecom
companies. It offers its moblie 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. .

Bharti Airtel Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises, is India's leading provider of

telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel Limited have been
structured into two main strategic business groups - the Mobility Leaders business group
and the Infotel Leaders business group. The Mobility business group provides GSM
mobile services across India in twenty-three telecom circles, while the Infotel business
group provides broadband & telephone services, long distance services and enterprise
services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.

GROUP COMPANIES

o Bharti Airtel
o Bharti Teletech
o Telecom Seychelles
o Bharti Telesoft Ltd
 o Teletech Services
o Field Fresh Foods Ltd.

Bharti Airtel: It is India’s leading provider of telecommunication services The

company has 4 distinct Business divisions - Mobile & telephone services, broadband
services, long distance services and enterprise services.

Bharti TeleTech Ltd: Bharti TeleTech Ltd manufactures and exports world-class
telecom equipment under the brand 'Beetel'

Telecom Seychelles Ltd: Telecom Seychelles Ltd provides telecom services in

Seychelles, under the brand 'Airtel'

Bharti Telesoft Ltd: Bharti Telesoft Ltd delivers best-in-class, revenue-critical VAS
products and services to telecom carriers.

Teletech Services: TeleTech Services (India) Ltd is joint venture with TeleTech Inc.,
USA. It offers a range of Customer Management Services

Field Fresh Foods Ltd: FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd is Bharti's venture with
EL Rothschild Group owned ELRO Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri
products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA.

BHARTI STRATEGY

Bharti Enterprises has successfully focused its strategy on telecom while straddling
diverse fields of business. From the creation of 'Airtel', one of India's finest brands, to
becoming the largest manufacturer and exporter of world class telecom terminals under
its 'Beetel' brand, Bharti has created a significant position for itself in the global
telecommunications sector. Bharti Airtel Limited is today acknowledged as one of India's
finest companies, and its flagship brand 'Airtel', has over 24 million customers across the
length and breadth of India.

While a joint venture with TeleTech Inc., USA marked Bharti’s successful foray into the
Customer Management Services business, Bharti Enterprises’ dynamic diversification
has continued with the company venturing into telecom software development. Recently,
Bharti has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group
owned ELRO Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri products exclusively to markets
in Europe and USA.

AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises, is India's leading provider of

telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into
two main strategic business groups - the Mobility Leaders business group and the Infotel
Leaders business group. The Mobility business group provides GSM Mobile Services
across India in twenty three telecom circles, while the Infotel business group provides
broadband & telephone services, long distance services and enterprise services. All these
services are provided under the Airtel brand.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder-chairman of Bharti Enterprises (which owns Airtel), is
today, the most celebrated face of the telecom sector in India. He symbolizes the adage
that success comes to those who dream big and then work assiduously to deliver it.
Sunil Bharti Mittal began his journey manufacturing spare parts for bicycles in the late
1970s. His strong entrepreneurial instincts gave him a unique flair for sensing new
business opportunities. In the early years, Bharti established itself as a supplier of basic
telecom equipment. His true calling came in the mid 1990s when the government
opened up the sector and allowed private players to provide telecom services.

Bharti Enterprises accepted every opportunity provided by this new policy to evolve into
India's largest telecommunications company and one of India's most respected brands.
Airtel was launched in 1995 in Delhi. In the ensuing years, as the Airtel network
expanded to several parts of India, the brand came to symbolise the very essence of
mobile services
Airtel is the biggest cellular service provider in India. Bharti Televentures owns the Airtel
brand and provides the following services under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services
(using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line and Internet
Connectivity), Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications
Consulting for corporates). Bharti Televentures is India's leading private sector provider
of telecommunications services based on a strong customer base consisting of 11 million
total customers which constitute, 10 million mobile and 1 million fixed line customers.
Airtel has ambitious plans to provide 25 million connections by mid-2006. There is fierce
competition among local telecommunications companies to provide better service and
Airtel is regarded as one of the top communications service provider in the Asian region
too.

As of June 2005, Airtel has 12 million subscribers. World leaders in the telecom industry
such as Vodafone and SingTel hold partial stakes in Airtel
Vision: The vision for Bharti’s mobile business is

“To be globally admired for telecom services that delight customers”

By 2010 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India:

o Loved by customers
o Targeted by Top Talent
o Benchmarked by more business
Product Range
Post Paid Card
It is a connection that enables to make calls within and outside the state,
gives monthly billing and an option on VAS.

Prepaid Card

Airtel gets you connected and talking in minutes with pre-activated STD and ISD
facilities and exciting value-added services. In this the customer does not get a bill he/she
uses a recharge coupon which has a fixed validity period within which the customer
should recharge it so that he can avail the prepaid facility.

Business Lifestyle Plan

AirTel Standard

Leisure Plan

AirTel Easy

Its Cost:-

Security Deposit (Refundable) Rs. 2000

Activation Charges Rs. 1260

Total Rs. 3260

Note: The above are one time entry cost. The deposit is completely refundable.

Airtime Rates

Business Lifestyle Plan

Monthly Rental Rs. 625 per month

Outgoing Rates(applicable 24 hours) Rs. 8 per minute

Incoming Rates(applicable 24 hours) Rs. 1 per minute

The rates are valid 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week

AirTel Standard Plan

Monthly Rental Rs. 475 per month

Rs. 4 per minute(Outgoing and

Standard Hours(10 am to 9 pm)
Incoming)

Rs. 3.90 per minute(Outgoing and

Concession Hrs-I(8 am to 10 am & 9 pm to 12 midnight)
Incoming)

Rs. 2.90 per minute(Outgoing and

Concession Hrs-II(12 midnight to 8 am)
Incoming)

Billing pulse is of 30 seconds. On Sundays and National Holidays (15th Aug, 26th Jan &
2nd Oct) the tariff rates are of Rs. 2.90 per minute (midnight to 8 am) & Rs. 3.90 per
minute (8 am to midnight).
AirTel Leisure Plan

Monthly Rental Rs. 525 per month

Incoming & Outgoing Rates

8 pm to 8 am (Weekdays) 50 paisa per 30 seconds

8 am to 8 pm (Weekdays) Rs. 3 per 30 seconds

Sundays & National Holidays (all 24 hours) 50 paisa per 30 seconds

Weekdays are Monday to Saturday. National Holidays are 15th Aug, 26th Jan & 2nd Oct.
The billing pulse is 30 seconds on all days.
AirTel Easy

Monthly Rental Rs. 525 per month

Outgoing Incoming

Rs. 6.00 perRs. 2.00 per

Peak Rate
minute minute

Rs. 6.00 perRs. 2.00 per

Standard Rate
minute minute

Rs. 6.00 perRs. 2.00 per

Off Peak Rate
minute minute
Prepaid Cash Card

Magic Pre Paid Connection

Magic Ready Cellular Card is your ready-to-use, no-hassle cellular connection. It comes
pre-activated with STD/ISD calling facility. Backed by Airtel, the leading cellular
operator in India, it gives you crystal clear communication in entire Delhi, Ghaziabad,
Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ballabhgarh.

Magic is the simplest way to go cellular.

Wide Availability

Magic Ready Cellular Card and Magic Recharge Cards are available widely all over the
city at over 1800 outlets.

No applying

Magic is available across the counter. You do not need to apply in advance or go through
complicated formalities to get connected.

Instant Connectivity

Magic Ready Cellular Card can be used as soon as it's bought. Your connection is pre-
activated with a host of other services.

Compatible with all Handsets

With only Magic, you are assured that it would work with all models of GSM cellular
handsets.

No Bills

No more keeping track of bills every month. With Magic, you pay when you want and as
much as you need.

Total Cost Control

Magic gives you complete control over your cellular expenses every month. The friendly
IVR service tells you your balance, free of cost, whenever you desire.

Convenient Recharging
Recharging your Magic card is very simple. Whenever your balance is running low, just
buy a recharge card of value most suitable or recharge on-line.

Free Home Delivery

Just call "Dial-a-Magic' at 333 (toll free) from your Magic to place the order, and get the
card delivered at your preferred address at no extra cost. Currently this service is
available in Delhi and Gurgaon only.

Working manner of magic

When you buy a Magic Ready Cellular Card pack you get a SIM card and a recharge card
in the pack. Your Magic SIM card is already activated and just needs to be loaded with
calling value, which you can do by using the Magic Recharge Card.

This calling value is valid for a pre-defined period called the validity period. You can
make and receive calls only during this validity period. As and when you make or receive
calls the calling value balance on your Magic Card account keeps reducing as per the
applicable airtime rates. You must get your Magic Card recharged before the calling
value is over or the validity period ends. Magic Recharge Cards are widely available at
over 2400 outlets spread across the city in convenient denominations of Rs.500, Rs.1000,
Rs.2000 and Rs.3000.

Every time you recharge your Magic Card you get a credit of calling value which has a
new validity period attached to it. The validity period is followed by a grace period of 15
days during which no calls can be made or received, but the Magic Card Account can be
recharged. During the grace period you can also order for a Magic Recharge Card to be
delivered at your doorstep, absolutely free of cost, by simply dialing 333 from your
Magic.

MAGIC ... the most affordable cellular

No Rentals

No Security Deposits

Pre-activated STD/ISD

Free CLI

Cost Package

Sadasdasd Magic "Regular" pack

MRP Rs. 1525

Inclusive of :

Calling Value Rs. 785.71

Activation Fee Rs. 500

Processing Fee Rs. 166.67

Service Tax Rs. 72.62

Recharging Magic Card

One can either recharge Magic online or purchase a recharge card from any of our outlets
spread across the city. Recharge cards are available in four convenient denominations of
Rs.500, Rs. 1000, Rs. 2000 and Rs 3000.

Technology:

In no other service or business is technology such a major factor. Sales and marketing are
futile without a sound technological base. Hence we analyze AirTel on the basis of this
parameter.

Technological facets in cellular services are explained and the level of expertise of both
players stated.

Call set up time:

This is the time that it takes a user to get connected after the completion of the dialing
process.

Presently 8-30 seconds is considered normal set-up time.

Airtel call set up time is generally within this range.

Capacity Call congestion:

This is the quality of getting calls through even in high user density areas.

Airtel provides better customer satisfaction.

This will enable them to increase their customer base leading to increased revenues in the
future.

Voice Quality and Coverage

It is the clarity of transmission. In city centers this quality is not difficult to maintain.
However it becomes very important when the transmission is being directed to or from
under ground locations, from behind tall building and structures , narrow and congested
city interiors.

Airtel provides better quality in the above mentioned. The reason for this is the
better infrastructure and technology.

Customer care
In one of the market researches, consumers described Mobile telephony as the Dil Ka
Rishta. And always taking notice were the 2 giants – Airtel and Essar. As the passage of
time has added importance to the above concept, both these organizations have tried
getting the upper hand at providing their clientele with customer care and services that
wireless technology can bring to them

Our foray into deciding the leader in this quest has left us with extremely close results.

We looked at this competition at 2 different stages:

Customer care at the point of making the sale:-

For both these concerns, this translated into providing smoothness of transaction for the
customer Airtel had been established to posses 3 core values–.Leadership, Performance
and Dynamism. In its quest for customer care, it embarked upon a campaign intended to
add “warmth” to these core values. It was felt that the creative should reflect humane yet
aspirational, family-centric yet reachable and softer brand values.

AFTER-SALES SERVICE: -

The aspect of comfort should continue even after a customer has made an initial
purchase, and both corporations have made it a locus point of their strategies. Airtel has
in its arsenal an impressive number of after sales service stations. Airtel is planning to
build a network of over a dozen Airtel Customer Centres from the present number of 2.
Airtel Touch Points – Created to serve as lifestyle style establishments, their number is
expected to go up to about 50 in Delhi itself.
STRATEGIES:-

The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic objective:

• Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

• Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum

geographical coverage;

• Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-stop

shop" solution;

• Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile
data services;

• Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of customer

satisfaction;

• Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and

• Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational efficiencies.

Types of Services

1 Long Distance Services:

Get connected on the world class Airtel long distance
network .

2 Audio Conference Service:

To stay ahead of competition, all modern organization has
to stay in constant touch with their partners, associates and clients. Born out of this
Is ACS from Airtel, India’s best value audio conferencing solutions

3 Enterprise Services:
A communication solution groups created to help make
your business at ease. It is a strategic business unit created to deliver end to end
telecom solutions.

.
Types of Enterprises Services

1 Voice Services
2 Mobile Services

Voice Services
Bharti Tele-Ventures became the first private fixed-line service provider
in India. It is now promoted under the Airtel brand. Airtel has started providing fixed line
services in the 4 circles of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and TamilNadu
& Uttar Pradesh. These circles have high telecommunication potential for carrying wise
& data traffic. These circles were strategically selected so as to provide synergies with
Airtel’s long distance network and mobile network.

Mobile Services
Established in 1985, Bharti (Airtel) has been a pioneering force in the
telecom sector.Bharti gave Delhi its first mobile services-Airtel today; Airtel’s mobile
footprint extends across the country wide in 21 Telecom circles. Its service standards
compare with the very best in the world. In fact, that’s now how Bharti has managed to
win the trust of millions of customers and makes it one of the top 5 operators in the
world, in terms of service and subscriber base.
Satellite Services
Airtel Enterprises Services provides connectivity wherever you take a
business and bring the benefits of excess in remote locations. It is a leading provider of
broadband IP satellite services. Its solution supports audio, video and voice applications
on demand.
Internet Services
Airtel Enterprises Services bring a comprehensive suite of data
technology its support all types of network and insure our customers can migrate their
network to the future seamlessly.
Broadband and Telephone
Airtel broadband and telephone services, India premium
telecommunication brings a new experience in telephony. From integrated telephone
services for corporate and small business enterprises to user-friendly plans for homes, it
brings innovative, cost affective solutions to cater to your need.
There are two divisions in this
Value Added Services:
o Subscription Services
o News Alerts
o Astrology Alerts
o Joke Alerts
o Business News
o Health Tip
o Filmy Gossip

Other Services:

o Call Conference
o Voice Mail
o GPRS-Mobile Office
o Fax & Data
o WAP Portal
o SMS to 646
o SIM based Services
Roaming Services:

o Prepaid Roaming
o National Roaming
o International Roaming
o Regional Roaming
 AREAS

Bharti Airtel Ltd

Mobile Services Broadband & Enterprise

Telephone Services
Corporate Carrier
Delhi & NCR North
Kolkata NCR Solutions based
Chennai South Central communications group to
Mumbai South provide customized offering
Maharashtra & Goa West through its portfolio of
Gujarat mobile broadband & telephony,
Karnataka data & Internet solutions.
Andhra Pradesh
MP & Chattisgarh
Tamil Nadu &
Pondicherry
Kerala
Punjab
Haryana
UP (West &
Uttranchal)
UP East
Himachal Pradesh
Rajasthan
W.Bengal
Mobile services
Orissa
Bihar
J&k
Andaman & Nicobar
Assam &
North East

NETWORKS AND ALLIANCES

Internet infrastructure: Internet backbone involves state of the art high-end routers and
switches as may deployed on the best networks across the world to offer our customers
reliable service of unmatched quality. Three years back Airtel had established satellite
based gateway for internet access. This was the first gateway by a private operator.

Fixed line infrastructure: Our high quality fibre-based, fixed line networks in Delhi,
Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chahattisgarh, intensively covers
the most prominent commercial and business districts in the country.

Long distance infrastructure: 25,000 km advanced fibre-optic cable long distance

network covers India's top 200 cities. And it powers the services of India's leading private
telecom service providers - cellular, fixed line and internet through Airtel Long Distance
Services

Submarine cable: Airtel has partnered with SingTel to create the world's largest
submarine cable system- Network i2i with 8.4 Tbps capacity. This 3200 km undersea
cable structure stretches from Chennai to Singapore and thereon to Tier-1 carriers on
SingTel's capacity on 175,000 km of cables. The huge capacity on network i2i is
distributed locally in India through our 25,000 km of advanced fibre-optic domestic long
distance backbone, providing unprecedented capacity, speed & reliability

Wireless network: India's finest cellular service, Airtel Mobile Services, has the world's
2nd largest cellular footprint, covering 16 circles, all the major metros and mini metros.
Employing GSM and GPRS technologies, we bring bandwidth to customers on the move.
Alliances:

Alliances with the world's best companies helps in establish a leadership position in the
Indian telecom industry. We have partnered with blue chip companies like IBM, Nokia,
Alcatel, Siemens, Oracle and Nortel Networks to provide us with the best technologies to
help our customers run their business smoothly.

FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES OF VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS

Human Resource Department

This department deals with the employees of the organization, both new and old
employees. It focuses on the needs of the employees in terms of the psychological needs,
social needs, monetary needs etc. and the organization in terms of manpower required for
its smooth functioning.
HRD is also involved in providing training to all the employees of the organization.
Training is given to employees to help them to acquire more knowledge of the job and to
learn and to sharpen the needed skills, attitudes and values associated with efficient
performances of the jobs. New employees often need training as a means of their
progress in their jobs and career.

Functions
Manpower requirement
The first and foremost of the HRD is defining the manpower requirement of the
organization. The HRD personnel, by keeping the organization goals in mind determine
the skills and expertise to achieve those organization and goals.

Job Analysis
After deciding upon the requirement of manpower the next step is to do job analysis. Job
Analysis includes identification f each job in terms of duties and responsibilities
determining the nature of work & work conditions and determination f requirement as to
abilities and skills that are prescribed of the persons holding it in short, preparing the job
descriptions& job specification of the various jobs to be performed.

Recruitment and selection

The function involves finding the right person for performing the various jobs.
Recruitment involves searching for various positions, which arise from time to time in the
organization. Selection involves choosing the most suitable from the available applicants
from the available positions.

Determination of Compensation to be given for the job performed.

This function involves deciding upon the salary to be given to each employee e as per
his/her position in the organization. And also the additional benefits to be given as per
his/her position in the level of hierarchy. This function also involves deciding upon the
increments to be given to the employees. It is the responsibility of the HRD department to
make sure that the half yearly and annual appraisals are conducted n time by the various
departmental Heads.

Administrative Department

The Administrative Department performs the following functions:-

o Stationary/Purchase/Cost control/Distribution
o Processing the bills / Keeping the records.
o Security
o Transportation
o Logistic:-Hotel/ Ticket/ Reservation/ Courier/ Taxi.
o Contracted Staff:- Salary Management
 o Optimized Utilization of resources

Marketing and Sales Department

Following are the functions of Marketing Department:-

o Responsible for the promotion of products
o Introduction of various schemes to promote the existing products.
o Introducing new products to the market.
o Advertisement.
o Promotional Activities viz. Survey within/ outside the department of their own
company.

o Following are the functions of Sales Department:-

o To sell the products in the market.
o To make people aware of the company’s products.
o To act as direct link between company products and the customer thereby
bringing about reduction in pricing.
o To make the customer feel that the company cares for them.

Information Technology

Office Automation
Department is responsible for interconnecting the various Regional offices of the
company with the Head Office through WAN (Wide Area Network). Also
interconnection of various through LAN (Local Area Network).

Development

a) Development and updating the Intranet of the company, which contains all the
information about the company.
b) Development of various software’s which are useful for the different departments.

Billing activities
New Schemes
Printing of Bills of subscribers.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

o Sears Roebuck Company in the USA and by IES in the UK conducted a

research. They found ‘satisfied’ employees do not necessarily perform to the best
of their abilities. Personal satisfaction is an internal emotion that need not relate in
any direct way to organizational outcomes. Another dimension is surely vital to
motivate employees to ‘go the extra mile’.In the past couple of years, the term
‘employee engagement’ has increasingly come to the fore and been discussed as a
major determinant of employee performance.
o Global Industry Analyst: The global outlook series on Mobile Communications
provides a collection of statistical anecdotes, market briefs, and concise
summaries of research finding.
o Roy(1999) Stated that Airtel subscribers are finding it difficult to get connected
to the Airtel number through a landline phone. One can rarely connect to mobile
numbers through the department of telecom telephone, but there is no such
problem from mobile to mobile.
o Financial Express (2002) conducted survey and founded that value plus
services-the thoughtful touch that makes Airtel the first choice of many. Airtel
offers its customers a wide array of extras that are designed to take care of every
need. In keeping with its traditional to constantly innovate, Airtel is the first
cellular operator in Punjab, Haryana and many other places to offer its customers
a 32 k sim card which would not only provide the customer a large memory but
enable them to accesses a host of sms services like train information, services,
gifts, food, travel, hotel, shopping etc.
 Besides the above Airtel also brings you a number of new services
Voice, specially selected for Punjabi’s keeping their lifestyle and requirement in
mind such as immigration consultation, Gurbani, Wake-up call, vet online etc.

o Sukumar & Suveen K. Sinha (2002)- They studied that the wire line telephone
will be in every house . But cellular phone will be like a wrist watch. Everyone
will have one. These words could be constructed as a plug of sorts, but Sunil
Mittal’s quaint anology is based, not on hope but on number that his Company
Bharti Televentures and the entire cellular accepts today:50 million cellular
subscribers by 2005 . Just to put that number in context, one in every 25 Indians
will own a cellular phone by 2005, and achieve this target, the size of Cellular
industry in the country will double every year for the next four yrs.

o Mohanta (2002)- He studied that today there are around 5 million mobile phone
users in India and everyday there are around 1 million sms (short messaging
system) messages that traverse India’s cellular networks. There are also value
adds galore: News through sms, Net banking, The ability to search the net a WAP
enabled phone, instant messenger adds-on, even the facility to make cinema
reservations. India may not have a cellular market as large as china’s, Indian
cellular subscribers may not behave the same way Japan’s I-moders do, but there
are definitely the signs of mobile community emerging.

o Suveen K. Sinha (2002)- Bharti is promising a network in Mumbai superior to

that of BPL and Hutchison. Hutchison is installing a fourth switch in Delhi to take
its capacity to 750,000. BPL- Birla- Tata-AT &T needs to quickly finalize a brand
to grab customer attention. MTNL is expanding the capacity of its only switch in
Delhi to 250000.

o Samar Halankar(2002) conducted a study and stated that there is an idea for
BSNL, MTNL and the host of private operators looking to grow the telecom
business in India . Actually cell phones are better suited for text then landlines
NEED OF RESEARCH

Today we have seen that connectivity has started playing a very important role in our life.
It was never before in the past that the connectivity such a long overwhelming role. Now-
a-days most of the companies have set their eyes to target customer by positioning
themselves with different set of customized technologies for its clients. The same has
found expression in post-paid and pre-paid technologies offered by airtel, both having
their own pros and corns, where post-paid serves first and later demands compensation
for that service with various add on and billing plans. In comparison to pre-paid which
moves on the philosophy of paying first and using later. It has its own advantages like
pre-activated roaming, STD and ISD. These both products are placed side by side to suit
various needs of customer. It becomes imperative for knowing the difference between the
two ,to evaluate the post-paid and pre-paid schemes of Airtel connections, to know
customer preference regarding post-paid and pre-paid connections and to gauge the
customer satisfaction in both the sections.And thus are role as researcher is to know the
difference and to unbiasly discern the both available technologies as to draw reasonable,
conclusive superiority of one over the other not ignoring its lacunas of the technologies as
to gain better understanding of the product and to offer reasonable solutions to various
problems faced by the end users.
OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

1) Evaluating the post-paid and pre-paid schemes of Airtel connections.

2) To know customer preference regarding post-paid and pre-paid connections.
3) To gauge the customer satisfaction in both the sections.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design
A research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a
manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in
procedure. It constitutes the blueprint for collection, measurement and analysis of data.

The research design for my research is exploratory and descriptive, as I will be exploring
about the preference of the customer for prepaid or post paid Airtel connection and to
gauge the customer satisfaction will be another parameter towards exploratory study.

Data Collection:

For my research study the data has been collected by both the primary & secondary
means.

For primary data collection I adopted the structured questionnaire, which was filled by
100 respondents out of which 50 are prepaid users and 50 are postpaid users. The
secondary data of my research has been collected through newspapers, some web sites,
journals and some previous researches .

Sampling Plan

Sampling is an effective step in the collection of primary data and has a great influence
on the quality of results. The sampling plan includes the universe, population, sample size
and sample design.

Universe:

Universe refers to all the eligible respondents of a particular research around the world.

The universe for my research is all the mobile phone users.

Population:

Population refers to part of universe from which the sample for conducting the research is
selected. Universe & population can be same in some researches.

The population of my research is the customers of Airtel who use Airtel prepaid and
Postpaid connection.

Sampling Design:

A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It
refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for
the sample.

Sampling Unit:

Sampling unit refers to smallest possible individual eligible respondent.

In my study the sampling unit is single individual customer who possesses Airtel prepaid
and postpaid connection.

Sampling size:

Sampling size refers to total number of respondents targeted for collecting the data for the
research. The sampling size of my study is 100 respondents.
Analysis and Interpretation

1. Respondents using mobile phone

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 100 100%
NO 0 0%

Table No:-1

Figure No:-1

ANALYSIS: 100% of respondents possess mobile phone.

INTERPRETATION: All the respondents are used for analyzing the research problem
 2. Respondents using pre-paid and post-paid connections

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
PRE-PAID USERS 50 50%
POST-PAID USERS 50 50%

Table No:-2

Figure No:-2

ANALYSIS:50% of respondents are pre-paid user and 50% of respondents are post-paid
user.

INTERPRETATION: Distribution of post-paid and pre-paid users is even and thus would
help in analyzing the problem.
3.Duration of using the connection

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS

Pre Paid Post Paid Pre Paid Post Paid

Less than 6
months 15 5 30 10
6 months to 1
year 13 21 26 42
More than 1
year 22 24 44 48

Table No:-3
Pre Paid Post Paid

Figure No:-3

ANALYSIS OF PRE-PAID: 30% of respondents are using connection for less than 6
months, 26% of respondents are using connection for 1 year and 44% of respondents are
using connection for more than 1 year.
INTERPRETATION OF PRE-PAID: Majority of respondents are using connection for
more than 1 year followed by the beginners i.e. less than 6 months and lastly 26%
respondents fall in the category of 6 months.

ANALYSIS OF POST-PAID: 10% of respondents are using connection for less than 6
months, 42% of respondents are using connection for 1 year and 48% of respondents are
using connection for more than 1 year.

INTERPRETATION OF POST-PAID: Majority of respondents are using connection for

more than 1 year followed by beginners i.e. less than 6 months and lastly 42%
respondents fall in the category of 6 months.
4. Influences dictating the connection type

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES
RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
Pre Paid Post Paid Pre Paid Post Paid
Friends 11 26 22 72
Relatives 15 9 30 18
Company
Executives 4 8 8 16
Advertisement 18 4 36 8
Others 2 3 4 6
Total 50 50 100 100

Table No:-4

Figure No:-4

ANALYSIS OF PRE-PAID: 22% of respondents are influenced by friends regarding the

connection type, 30% by relatives, 8% by company executives, 36% by advertisement
and 4% by others.
INTERPRETATION OF PRE-PAID: Advertisement, relatives and friends play key role
in making choice regarding the connection type.

ANALYSIS OF POST-PAID: 72% of respondents are influenced by friends regarding

the connection type, 18% relatives, 16% by company executives, 8% by advertisement
and 6% by others.

INTERPRETATION OF POST-PAID: Friends play key role in making choice regarding

the connection type followed by relatives and company executives.
Pre Paid

5.Recommendation to friends & acquaintances

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 49 98
NO 1 2

Table No:-5

Figure No:-5

ANALYSIS: 98% of respondents recommend their connection type to their friends and
relatives.

INTERPRETATION: The companies should target promoting their product through inter
personal selling.
6.Satisfaction regarding the connection type

Attribute No. of Percentage of

respondents respondents
Highly Satisfied16 32
satisfied 21 42
Indifferent 9 18
Dissatisfied 4 8
Highly 0 0
Dissatisfied
Total 50 100

Table No:-6

Figure No:-6

ANALYSIS: 32% of respondents are highly satisfied, 42% are satisfied, 18% are
indifferent, 8% are dissatisfied and none of the respondents are highly dissatisfied.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are satisfied with the product they using
and they would not like to replace the product with another product at same price and
facility.
7.Loyalty towards the brand

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 5 10
NO 45 90

Table No:-7

Figure No:-7

ANALYSIS: 90% respondents will not shift their connection type if same facilities were
made available at same price by service provider whereas 10% will shift their connection
type.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are brand loyal which is a good indicator.

8.The key benefits influencing the purchase

Total of the ranks allotted to

Attributes particular attribute by respondents Mean
Call rate 88 1.76
Pre Activated
STD, ISD 212 4.24
Pre activated
roaming 210 4.2
Quick
Activation 112 2.24
Easy bill
payment facility 362 7.24
Online support 352 7.04
Customer care 224 4.48
Less formalities 240 4.8

Table No:-8

Figure No:-8

ANALYSIS: Majority factors influencing the purchase are easy bill payment facility and
online support followed by customer care, pre activated ISD, STD, pre activated roaming
and least influencing factors are quick activation and call rates.

INTERPRETATION: More focus should be laid on factors like call rates and quick
activation to improvise the sale of pre-paid connections.
9. Satisfaction as a customer from the Value Added services given by
service provider

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 44 88
NO 6 12

Table No:-9

Figure No:-9

ANALYSIS: 88% of the respondents are satisfied by the value added services given by
their service provider whereas 12% of respondents are dissatisfied

INTERPRETATION: .Majority of respondents are satisfied with the value added

services of pre-paid connections.
10.The key benefits perceived from Pre-paid connection

Total of the ranks

allotted to particular
attribute by
Attributes respondents Mean
Benefit from toal cost control. 108 2.16
Pre-activated Roaming. 305 6.1
Easy Recharge. 152 3.04
On demand activation of GPRS 301 6.02
Voice Mail 188 3.76
Call Conferencing 231 4.62
Pre-activated STD and ISD facilities. 389 7.78
Short messaging service 225 4.5
Multi messaging services 351 7.02

Table No:-10

Figure No:-10

ANALYSIS: Pre activated ISD and STD is the key benefit perceived from pre-paid
connection followed by multi messaging services, pre activated roaming and on demand
activation of GPRS. Then call conferencing, short messaging services, voice mail, easy
recharge and benefit from cost control are taken into consideration respectively.
INTERPRETATION: factors like benefit from cost control, easy recharge, voice mail,
short messaging services and call conferencing should be focused more.
11.Factors influencing the Pre-paid Schemes of Airtel.

Total of the ranks allotted to

Attributes particular attribute by respondents Mean
Instant Activation 180 3.6
215

Easy
Documentation 4.3
Easy Recharge 173 3.46
Pre-activated ISD
and STD facilities 134 2.68
Value Added
Services as GPRS 200 4
Availability 148 2.96

Table No:-11

Figure No:-11

ANALYSIS: Easy documentation, value added services, instant activation and easy
recharge are key factors influencing schemes of pre-paid connection followed by
availability and pre-activated ISD and STD.

INTERPRETATION: Easy recharge and value added services are key factors and similar
stress should be laid on availability and pre activated ISD and STD.
12. Problems regarding usage of connection in terms of connectivity

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 2 4
NO 48 96

Table No:-12

Figure No:-12

ANALYSIS: 4% respondents are facing problem regarding the usage of connection in

terms of connectivity whereas 96% respondents are not facing any problem.

INTERPRETATION: : Majority of respondents are satisfied with their connection in

terms of connectivity.
13.Contribution of full value recharge and other discounts in holding its
pre-paid customers

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 40 80
NO 10 20

Table No:-13

Figure No:-13

ANALYSIS:80% of respondents find full value recharge and other discounts lucrative
enough to stick to their connection type whereas 20% respondents do not find it lucrative.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are attracted by full value recharge and

other discounts but remaining respondents should be taken into consideration.
14.Satisfied with customer care activities offered by Service Provider

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 36 72
NO 14 28

Table No:-14

Figure No:-14

ANALYSIS: 72% respondents are satisfied with the customer care activities offered by
service provider whereas 28% respondents are not satisfied.

INTERPRETATION: The percentage of satisfied customers is to be improved and the

focus should be made to minimize the dissatisfaction percentage.
Post Paid User

5.Recommendation to friends & acquaintances

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 41 82
NO 9 18

Table No:-15

Figure No:-15

ANALYSIS:82% of respondents are satisfied with their connection type and 18% of
respondents are not satisfied with their connection type.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are satisfied with their connection type

6.Satisfaction with connection type

Attribute No. of respondents Percentage of

respondents
Highly Satisfied 5 10
Satisfied 14 28
Indifferent 25 50
Dissatisfied 5 10
Highly Dissatisfied 1 2
Total 50 100

Table No:-16

Figure No:-16

ANALYSIS: 10% of respondents are highly satisfied, 28% are satisfied, 50% are
indifferent, 10% are dissatisfied and 2% are highly dissatisfied.

INTERPRETATION: Half of the respondents are indifferent and from rest half majority
are satisfied.
Shifting of connection type if the same facility were made available at the same price by
another service provider
7.Loyalty towards the brand

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 7 14
NO 43 86

Table No:-17

Figure No:-17
ANALYSIS: 14% of respondents will shift their connection type if same facilities are
provided by another service provider and 86% will not shift their connection type.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are brand loyal and not willing to shift
their connection type.
8. Key benefits influencing the purchase.

Total of the ranks allotted to particular

Attributes attribute by respondents Mean
Quick
Activation 110 2.2
Call rates 85 1.7
Easy bill
payment facility 285 5.7
Online support 325 6.5
Customer care 150 3
Less formalities 215 4.3
International
Roaming 230 4.6

Table No:-18

Figure No:-18

ANALYSIS: Online support and easy bill payment facility are key benefits which
influences the purchase of post-paid connection followed by other benefits international
roaming, less formalities, customer care, quick activation and call rates.

INTERPRETATION: Benefits like call rates, quick activation and customer care needs to
be improvised.
9.Satisfaction as a customer by the Value Added services given the
service provider

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 45 90
NO 5 10

Table No:-19

Figure No:-19

ANALYSIS: 90% of respondents are satisfied as customer by value added services

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are satisfied by the value added services

given by the service provider.
 10(a). Difficulty in deactivating the postpaid connection

NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 3 6
NO 47 94

Table No:-20

Figure No:-20

ANALYSIS: 94% respondents did not find it difficult to deactivate their connection and
6% respondents found it difficult.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents did not find it difficult to deactivate their

connection.
10(b). Ranking of Key benefits perceived by Postpaid connection

Total of the ranks allotted to particular

Attributes attribute by respondents Mean
Availability of
choice number 67 1.34
Roaming. 317 6.34
Easy billing 117 2.34
GPRS. 338 6.76
Closed User
Group Facility 167 3.34
Voice Mail 250 5
Short messaging
service 393 7.86
Call
conferencing 234 4.68
Multi messaging
services 367 7.34

Table No:-21

Figure No:-21

ANALYSIS: Short messaging service, multi messaging service, GPRS and roaming are
the key benefits perceived by the post-paid connection followed by voice mail, call
conferencing, closed user group facility, easy billing and availability of choice number
followed in decreasing order

INTERPRETATION: Billing should be made easy and more focus should be on the
closed user group facility and factors like voice mail and call conferencing needs to be
focused..
11.Ranking to the reasons of favoring Prepaid Connection
 Total of the ranks allotted to
Attributes particular attribute by respondents Mean
Call rates 173 3.46
Roaming facilities 262 5.24
Prompt customer
care 149 2.98
Good Customer
relationship
management 88 1.76
ISD and STD
facilities 240 4.8
Value Added 138 2.76

Table No:-22

Figure No:-22

ANALYSIS:-Roaming facilities and ISD and STD facilities are the key factors
influencing post-paid schemes of airtel followed by call rates, prompt customer care,
value added and good customer relationship management.

INTERPRETATION: Customer relationship management needs to be improvised value

added services and prompt customer care.
12. Problem in terms of Connectivity

PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES NO. OF RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 4 8
NO 46 92

Table No:-23

Figure No:-23

ANALYSIS: 92% respondents did not face any problem regarding usage of connection
and 8% respondents faced the problem.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents did not face any problem in terms of using
their connection type.

13.Importance of Specific Number

 No. of %age of
Attribute Respondents Respondents
Yes 32 64%
No 18 36%

Table No:-23(a)

Impotance of Specific Numbers

Yes
No

Figure No:-23(b)

ANALYSIS:-64% of the respondents are interested in taking the no. of their own choice
rest of 36% don’t bother about the choice of number.

INTERPRETATION:-Majority of the respondents are interested in taking postpaid

connection because there are given more choices to select number of own choice.

14.Satisfaction with customer care Activities

 NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 46 92
NO 4 8

Table No:-24

Figure No:-24

ANALYSIS:92% of respondents are satisfied with customer care activities offered by

service provider and 8% are not satisfied.

INTERPRETATION: Majority of respondents are satisfied with the customer care

services provided by the service provider.
15.Preference to Change the connection type

PRE-PAID TO POST-PAID POST- PAID TO PRE-PAID

PERCENTAGE
NO. OF PERCENTAGE OF NO. OF OF
ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS ATTRIBUTES RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
YES 1 2 YES 9 18

NO 49 98 NO 41 92

Table No:-25

Figure No:-25

ANALYSIS FOR POST-PAID: 2% of respondents are willing to shift their connection

from pre-paid to post-paid and 98% respondents are against it.

ANALYSIS FOR PRE-PAID: 18% of respondents are willing to shift their connection
type from post-paid to pre-paid and 92% are not willing to shift.
INTERPRETATION: As from the above analysis there higher percentage of respondents
who want to shift from post-paid to pre-paid than those who want to shift from pre-paid
to post-paid.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

It has been seen that all of respondents possess mobile phones,it is also reflective index of
growing prosperity as and also realization of need for communicating among
themselves.Majority of peolpe both bin the case of prepaid and postpaid connections are
influenced by their friends regarding their preferences for owning a postpaid or prepaid
connection.Underlying the need of targeting these two segments for achieving their sales
target.It hassssss been also observed that once these people acquire the connection
,providing with them satisfactory service by telecom service provider is also very
important.As these people recommend their connection type to their friends and
relatives.Hence they are effective modes of dispersing information and also agents of
indirect selling.
It has been learnt from the research that majority of respondents are satisfied with their
connection type.
It is safe to conclude that service provider is doing exceptionally well in providing the
service to their respective clients but still there is need for few of dissatisfied customers
to be taken care of .It is the prime duty of service provider to provide flawless service as
to guarantee the satisfaction to customer.It has also been observed that only few of the
respondents were willing to shift if same facilities were available to them by same service
provider ,which is a strong indicator of customer loyalty within the customers.
This brand loyalty is important consolation for the company and it should work towards
cultivating it among the customers.
It has further been learnt from the research that the key benefits influencing the purchase
was the easy bill payment facility ,preactivated ISD ,roaming facilities in case of prepaid
connection.
These all together combine to form strong base of the company as far as satisfaction of
their customer with their value added services is concerned ,88% of the customers were
satisfied by the value provided to them by their service provided.The satisfaction level of
customers are indicative of strong value added services package provided to its
customers.Further the research,the key influencing factor which made its customers stick
with prepaid schemes of airtel were the easy documentation for activation is that
customers could easily own prepaid connections and start using instantly after giving
pre-requisite documents to sales point and hence he would prefer that.Majority of the
respondents of both prepaid and post paid connection didn't raise any problem in terms of
connectivity .An efficient connectivity assures a service provider a loyal client .Airtel has
quite range of evenly distributed towers which help to provide uninterrupted
connectivity.This is also a unique selling preposition which gives it a competitive
advantage over the rest. In further evaluating the full value recharge and other discounts
given to its customers were able to hold its clientele and were thus lucrative
enough.Airtel should further enhance of these sopes.Most of the customers didn't find
any problem in deactivating their connections .Large no. of clients were satisfied with as
far as deactivation of connection was concerned.
Key benefits perceived by postpaid connection builders came from MMS,GPRS,SMS
followed by roaming,these are also the key elements which hold postpaid connection
holders into its network.On the other hand,preactivated ISD and STD facilities were the
major attraction for prepaid customers.Majority of respondents were satisfied with
customer care service.
To conclude ,it can be safely said that Airtel has done a commendable job in not only
providing an uninterrupted service for connecting one person with another but also
providing value added services such as GPRS,MMS etc.For prompt to customer care to
hold its customers into its networking circle.Airtel has established itself as a brand which
gives uninterrupted service to its users.It has thus also established itself as a company
giving a right kindof customer care to its clients.It has cultivated brand loyalty amongst
its clients.Airtel needs to simplify documentation,procedures.Airtel has also seen a
growing number of prepaid users.This transition from postpaid to prepaid is also
reflective.Easy documentation & easy activation are needed.If Airtel wants to improve its
sale of postpaid connections,then it needs to improve upon two major lacunas which mar
postpaid connections.

SUMMARY
From the research done on the Airtel customers,it has been inferred that major influences
in choice comes from friends and relatives.In both prepaid and postpaid connections
,Airtel needs to concentrate its selliong strategies with more focus on advertisement and
selling companies etc.Company should focus on Cross selling and interselling through
providing extra sops as friends and acquaintances are major influencing factors on
prepaid and postpaid connections.So they feel comforted and the company in term
becomes successful in their venture of goodwill hunting.
The company should try to remove the dissatisfaction among customers by improving
customer service by focusing on reducing the call rates.By reducing the activation time
is that promoting quick activation of postpaid connections,it should also give its clients
preactivated roaming and preactivated ISD,STD facilities as given in the case of prepaid
serevices Value added services should be the key area focus of Airtel Service as it is not
just one day dimension of communication which enthrawls the customer but the other
dimensions such as data transfer,voice mail,teleconferencing etc.are of the importance for
customers.Thus in case of prepaid connection,the unique selling prepositionlies in easy
documentation and easy activation.These shoul further be strengthened as well as the key
focus of increasing and retaining the customers should be kept in mind through its
various points of sale by strengthening the distribution network.It has also been felt that
giving lucrative discounts such as full value recharges play an important role for a
customer .Therefore the company should focus in providing the customers more
discounts and more lucrative schemes.Further research has shown that customer care
activities are important for customer and they play important role in cultivating the brand
loyalty.The strength of the company lies in loyalty which it has cultivated among
customers.In turn , company should focus strengthenly to strengthen various activities
such as Value Added services ,Customer Care Activities etc.So more concern should be
given on these aspects.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

NEWSPAPERS
Times of India
Hindustan Times
The Tribune
The Hindu

MAGAZINES/JOURNALS
Business Today
Business World
Business Line’s Investment World
India Today

BOOKS
Kothari C.R.,(2nd edition,reprint 2005) , “Research Methodology”,New Age International
(P) Limited Publishers,New Delhi,Page no.1 – 184
Malhotra Naresh K.,(4th edition,5th Indian reprint 2005), “Marketing Research”,Pearson
education(Singapore)Pte Ltd,Indian Branch,Delhi,Page no.99-423

WEBSITES
http://www.marketresearch.com
http://www.bharti televenturesltd.com
http://www.airtel-expressyourself.com
http://www.bhartiairtel.com

QUESTIONNAIRE(Prepaid)
1. Do you have a mobile phone
 Yes
 No

2. Are you a prepaid or a post-paid user?

 Pre paid
 Post paid
 Both

3. For how long you have been using the connection?

 Less than 6 months
 6 months to 1 year
 More than 1 year

4. Who influenced you for choice regarding the connection type? (Tick one of the options)
 Friends
 Relatives
 Company executives
 Advertisement
 Any other

5. Would you recommend your connection type to your friends& acquaintances?

 Yes
 No
Please state reason for your answer_______________________________

6Are you satisfied with your connection type?

Highly satisfied Satisfied Indifferent Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied

6.1) If dissatisfied, kindly specify the reason for your dissatisfaction

______________________________________________________________________

7. Would you shift your connection type if the same facility were made available to you at same price by
another service provider?
 Yes
 No

8. According to you rank the key benefits influencing your purchase?

(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 7 the lowest)
 Quick Activation
 Quick Payment
 Back hand support
 Easy bill payment facility
 Online support
 Customer care
 Less formalities

9. Are you satisfied as a customer by the Value Added services given by your service provider?
 Yes
 No

9.1) If dissatisfied, kindly specify the reasons for your dissatisfaction

______________________________________________________________
10. According to you rank the key benefits you perceived from Pre-paid connection?
(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 8 the lowest)

 Benefit from total cost control.

 Pre-activated Roaming.
 Easy Recharge
 GPRS.
 On demand activation of GPRS
 Voice Mail
 Call Conferencing
 Pre-activated STD and ISD facilities.

12. According to you rank the influencing factors for you to stick with the Prepaid Schemes of Airtel?
(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 5 the lowest)
 Instant Activation
 Easy Documentation
 Easy Recharge
 Pre-activated ISD and STD facilities
 Value Added Services as GPRS

13. Did you face any problems regarding usage of your connection in terms of connectivity?
 Yes
 No

14. As a Prepaid user, do you find full value recharge and other discount lucrative enough for you to stick
to your connection type?
 Yes
 No

15. Are you satisfied with customer care activities offered by your Service Provider?
 Yes
 No

Personal Information
Name__________________________

Address
__________________________________
__________________________________
_______

Cell no_________________________

QUESTIONNAIRE(Postpaid)
2. Do you have a mobile phone
 Yes
 No

2. Are you a prepaid or a post-paid user?

 Pre paid
 Post paid
 Both

3. For how long you have been using the connection?

 Less than 6 months
 6 months to 1 year
 More than 1 year

4. Who influenced you for choice regarding the connection type? (Tick one of the options)
 Friends
 Relatives
 Company executives
 Advertisement
 Any other

5. Would you recommend your connection type to your friends& acquaintances?

 Yes
 No
Please state reason for your answer_______________________________

6Are you satisfied with your connection type?

Highly satisfied Satisfied Indifferent Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied

6.1) If dissatisfied, kindly specify the reason for your dissatisfaction

______________________________________________________________________

7. Would you shift your connection type if the same facility were made available to you at same price by
another service provider?
 Yes
 No

8. According to you rank the key benefits influencing your purchase?

(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 7 the lowest)
 Quick Activation
 Quick Payment
 Back hand support
 Easy bill payment facility
 Online support
 Customer care
 Less formalities

9. Are you satisfied as a customer by the Value Added services given by your service provider?
 Yes
 No

9.1) If dissatisfied, kindly specify the reasons for your dissatisfaction

______________________________________________________________
10.(a) As a postpaid user,did you find it difficult to deactivate your connection ?
 Yes
 No

If yes,Please specify the reason___________________________

10.(b) According to you rank the key benefits you perceived from Post-paid connection?
(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 8 the lowest)

 Availability of Choice number.

 Roaming.
 Easy billing
 GPRS.
 Closed User Group Facility
 Voice Mail
 Call Conferencing
 Multimessaging Services.

11. According to you rank the influencing factors for you to stick with the Postpaid Schemes of Airtel?
(Rank 1 being the highest and Rank 6 the lowest)
 Call rates
 Roaming Facilities
 Prompt Customer Care
 Good Customer Relationship management
 ISD and STD Facilities
 Value Added Services as GPRS ,Call divert,Call Hold etc.

12. Did you face any problems regarding usage of your connection in terms of connectivity?
 Yes
 No

13. Was getting a choice number important factor for opting for a Postpaid Connection?
 Yes
 No

14. Are you satisfied with customer care activities offered by your Service Provider?
 Yes
 No

15.Would you like to shift from Postpaid to Prepaid Connection?

 Yes
 No

Please state the reasons for your answer_________________________

Personal Information
Name__________________________

Address
__________________________________
__________________________________
_______

Cell no_________________________