SWOT Analysis

Strengths:
Multi-national company: Telenor is a multinational company which is one of its biggest strengths. It can boast about its big investment and strong company culture. Superior customer care: Telenor Pakistan boasts customer care better than any telecom company in Pakistan. Its main aim is to provide its customers with the best possible service. 24 hr help line is available for the customers help if they need it. Network quality and design: Telenors network service is remarkable throughout the country. The signal quality is good and its signals are available even in the most remote areas. Vast coverage: Telenor covers a total of coverage area in more than 3000 cities, towns and highways throughout Pakistan, making it the 2nd largest GSM service provider in Pakistan. Telenor Pakistan has more than 5,000 cell masts throughout Pakistan, making it the 2nd largest network in Pakistan. It has GPRS service and EDGE service across its network in Pakistan. Telenor has a strategic alliance with Nokia Siemens Networks for expansion in Pakistan. Telenor currently has these dialing codes, 0342, 0343, 0344, 0345, 0346, 0347, and 0350.

Financial Strength: Being a multi-national company telenor has got good fund backing and is able to compete with the well established companies like Mobilink and Ufone. With its cash it is able to make outstanding marketing strategies. Customer diversity: Telenor targets different types of customers at the same time. With Djuice its main aim is to get hold of the youngsters. They do this by providing cheap SMS rates. With their post-paid package Persona they target more of the executive class. Partnership with Nokia: Telenor has a strategic alliance with Nokia Siemens Networks for expansion in Pakistan.

Weaknesses:
Relatively low market share: Biggest disadvantage for telenor is the relatively low market share. Mobilink and Ufone have already settled down. Heavy investment and good marketing strategy is required to break the other companys monopoly in the telecom industry. Less Switching Cost: Switching cost of customer from one service provider to other is low. Fewer stakes are involved with one company. Customer is getting less differentiation from all the service providers. A service of one provider, if not perfect is a good substitute of the service of others. Pricing is going down quality is improving and customers enjoying more power.
Less Differentiation:

On the other hand differentiation between the services players already offering in Pakistan telecom industry are not much distinct from one other. That means if government liberalized its

regulation more there is potential in other new entrants from abroad to invest in telecom sector of Pakistan. On the other hand it might be the demotivating factor because of less differentiation; creative new entrant might not enter easily. Negative cash flow in initial years: Initial years were not good as the entry into the telecom industry was not at all easy. The company also had to bear losses after the propaganda was made against the Norwegian based telecommunication company after the publication of caricatures of the Prophet (P.B.U.H).

Opportunities:
A number of opportunities exist in the voice telecommunication space, which are centered on obtaining the necessary licenses and investing in the appropriate infrastructure. A number of players have already begun to invest in the infrastructure by obtaining comparable data and video communication licenses and are now in a position to exploit the voice market. This in no way limits new entrants to enter the market but rather provides acquisition and consolidation opportunities. Investment Opportunity:
Obtain one of the existing cellular companies. Valuation could range between 8-12 times

earnings. Market size: Market size is the biggest ever opportunity in Pakistani telecom sector. Almost 80% of population is living in rural areas of Pakistan in which above 70% have no access to cellular connections. That is market opportunity which any operator can avail by applying expansion strategies. Inefficiency and poor network service of other networks: Poor network service by the other networks is an opportunity for telenor to exploit. If the continue their good service to its customers, its customer base is only going to increase. Other companies loss is going to be telenors gain.

Threats:
Political instability: Government is now stable from the day President General Musharaf has taken over. Therefore telecom industry of Pakistan has been experiencing growth since last one and half years. Current government has liberalized the taxation and licensing polices in order to attract more and more foreign direct investment in the country. But this political instability can occur if the government changes and bring new policies which might not be in favor of telecom industry. Propaganda by religious forces: Telenor had to face severe criticism from the religious forces in Pakistan after the publishing of caricatures on the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). people called for the total opposition of the Norwegian based company.

Public pay phones & calling cards usage where network is not available: It is a big threat to the company as it cuts down companies profits. Moreover, people can even shift to other network who have coverage in those areas. So the company should take notice and try to provide service in every nook and corner of the country.

Formulating and implementing strategies:

Once the SWOT analysis is complete the company needs to pay attention to the expansion of the business by offering a number of quality products in the market. The company needs to evaluate its growth strategy so that it can have a clear understanding of the direction towards which it is heading. The organization should concentrate on its primary line of business in order to achieve successful expansion. Telenor Growth Strategy The Telenor Group has a strong track record of delivering on ambitious goals. The Telenor Group has defined strategic ambitions which it aims to achieve by 2011. These are: To deliver increased profitable growth The Telenor Group aims to achieve a substantial revenue increase in the years to come. This growth will mainly come from existing businesses. The company seeks to increase its core mobile and fixed voice revenues and explore broadband opportunities in the emerging markets. To strengthen the performance culture across the Group The company aims to achieve successful practice of combining a local approach with global expertise. This means that the local management teams will build a unique performance culture based on their own initiatives and in line with the Telenor governance model, Codes of Conduct, vision and values, people policy and the way they work across borders. In terms of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), the companys objective is to improve working conditions and environmental management by having clearly defined standards across our operating companies and supply chains. To make responsible business a competitive advantage Corporate responsibility at Telenor will be part of managing risk. Telenor now has clearly defined targets on CO2 emissions from its operations - not just to help save the planet, but to save energy and money. To provide a superior customer experience

Faced with an increasingly competitive environment, Telenor needs to differentiate itself by providing a superior customer experience. In their vision were here to help, the company puts customer experience at the top of the agenda throughout the Telenor Group. Challenges ahead The global telecom industry is still growing and generating large profits. Looking ahead, the company expects the usage of mobile and fixed voice communications to grow significantly. Broadband also represents a huge growth opportunity. However, there are challenging trends, e.g. maturing markets, financial instability, pricing pressures as well as regulatory issues. Still, well-positioned players will benefit from market growth and increased efficiency, enabling significant cash flows in the future. Climate change: The companys number one priority is to reduce CO2 emissions. The Telenor Group aims to be part of the climate solution by de-carbonizing business processes and reducing physical travel and transport.

Monitoring and evaluating:

The company needs to constantly monitor its performance from time to time. This helps the managers to know how effective the strategies have been and what adjustments are required in the near future.