A LIVE PROJECT REPORT ON

‘A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS’

BY
Ms. Divya Luthra
(MBA 2008-2010)

DECLARATION

I Hereby declare that the project report entitled “A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENC
E TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS” submitted for the degree of Master o
f Business Administration, is my original work and the project report has not fo
rmed the basis for the award of any diploma, degree, associate ship, fellowship
or similar other titles.

Divya Luthta
Part II
Place:
Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Survey is an excellent tool for learning and exploration. No classroom routine c

an substitute which is possible while working in real situations. Application of
theoretical knowledge to practical situations is the bonanzas of this survey.
Without a proper combination of inspection and perspiration, it’s not easy to ac
hieve anything. There is always a sense of gratitude, which we express to others
for the help and the needy services they render during the different phases of
our lives. I too would like to do it as I really wish to express my gratitude to
ward all those who have been helpful to me directly or indirectly during the dev
elopment of this project.
I would like to thank my Faculty Guide Mr. Dheeraj Jain who was always there to
help and guide me when I needed help. His perceptive criticism kept me working t
o make this project more full proof. I am thankful to him for his encouraging an
d valuable support.
Working under him was an extremely knowledgeable and enriching experience for me
. I am very thankful to him for all the value addition and enhancement done to m
e.
Above all I shall thank my friends who constantly encouraged and blessed me so a
s to enable me to do this work successfully.
-Divya Luthra
M
BA 2008-2010

Executive Summary
All companies emphasize the importance of marketing in general and customer pref
erence in particular. The competition among various mobile service providers is
increasing steeply with the entry of new players. Also very high expectations of
the mobile users and their increased demand towards specific services have forc
ed these service providers to analyze and constantly keep track of the customer
expectations and needs. This indeed forms the need for study about various servi
ces to be provided and how to analyze the customer preferences towards different
factors.
The title of the Live Project undertaken by me is “A STUDY ON STUDENTS PREFERENC
E TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS”
The basic objective of this study was to understand the various factors which th
e INC students give importance when they have to make a choice among various mob
ile services available.
My research objective was to analyze the student’s satisfaction towards various
service providers. Also to analyze the impact of various advertisement and promo
tional schemes launched by these service providers. I have done a descriptive re
search survey on students’ preference and behavior towards these service provide
rs.
The findings and analysis were focused on whether advertisement has any effect
on the preference or not.
I have undertaken a descriptive research methodology which includes an analysis
of primary as well as secondary data.

TABLE OF CONTENT
SR NO. CONTENT PAGE NO.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION
8
2 OBJECTIVES
9
3 BACKGROUND
 10
4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21
5 DATA ANALYSIS 23
6 FINDINGS 27
7
8 CONCLUSIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY 30
32

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

As learning is a human activity and is as natural, as breathing. Despite of the

fact that learning is all pervasive in our lives, psychologists do not agree on
how learning takes place. How individuals learn is a matter of interest to marke
ters. They want to teach consumers in their roles as their roles as consumers. T
hey want consumers to learn about their products, product attributes, potential
consumers benefit, how to use, maintain or even dispose of the product and new w
ays of behaving that will satisfy not only the consumer’s needs, but the markete
r’s objectives.

The scope of my study restricts itself to the analysis of student’s preferences,

perception of different mobile service providers. The scope of my study is also
restricts itself to students only.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The subject matter for this research Project is to study the INC Porvorim studen
t’s preference towards the various mobile service providers. This project consis
ts of different objectives. They are as follows:
To know about the student preference level associated with different mob
ile service providers.
To find out the students satisfaction towards the various service provid
ers.
To know which advertisement media puts more impact on the buying decisio
n of students.

INTRODUCTION

Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India ha
s nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the
world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry ha
s the highest growth rate in the world.
Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is
spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China.
India‘s mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.
China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48
% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that India’s share in As
ia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%.
Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populat
ions, India’s low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

Indian telecom industry-

Telecom is usually among the first economic sectors to undergo a reform process.
Experience of implementing reforms in this sector may be used to frame guidelin
es for reforms in other infrastructure sectors such as power etc.
Telecom reforms in many countries include increased role of private sector in t
he provision of telecom services. Different countries have operationalized priva
te sector participation through a variety of mechanisms ranging from divestiture
of the dominant entity, contracting telecom services to private operators and o
pening of provision of services to the private sector.
This document outlines the management of the private sector entry in the Indian
telecom sector and focuses on the unbundling issues, which have resulted.
Recognizing the role of telecom in development, the government had initiated ref
orms since 1984. In the first phase these included allowing private sector in cu
stomer premise equipment, franchising public call offices, setting up MTNL and V
SNL.
During the nineties there was growing recognition that the government alone wou
ld not be able to finance the huge investments needed to provide minimum level o
f telecom infrastructure,
and it was imperative to involve the private sector in provision of telecom serv
ice
Mobile services
India s 21.59 million-line telephone network is the largest in Asia, 3rd largest
among emerging economies (after China and Republic of Korea) and the 12th large
st in the world. India s telecom network comprises of 27,753 telephone exchanges
, with a total equipped capacity of 272.17 Lakh lines and 226.3 Lakh working tel
ephones.
The Long Distance Transmission Network has nearly 1,70,000 route kilometers of t
errestrial Microwave Radio Relay & Co-axial cables and about 171,000 route kilom
eters of Optical Fiber Cables. Fully automatic International Subscriber Dialing
(ISD) service is available to almost all the countries. The total number of stat
ions connected to National Subscriber Dialing (NSD) is over 18,000 and this is i
ncreasing fast.
Yet the present tele-density is very low at about 2.2 per hundred persons, offer
ing a vast scope for growth. In the field of International communications, treme
ndous progress was made by the use of Satellite Communication and submarine link
s.
The voice and non-voice telecom services include data transmission, facsimile, m
obile radio, radio paging, V-SAT and leased line services to cater to variety of
needs, both residential and business. A dedicated Packet Switched Public Data N
etwork (I-NET) with international access for computer communication services is
also available. ISDN service has already been introduced in the major cities. Ot
her services like Intelligent Network (IN), Frame Relay (FR) and Asynchronous Tr
ansfer Mode (ATM) for wide band multimedia applications will be introduced in th
e near future.
In the field of international communications, India s overseas service carrier V
idesh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has made tremendous progress by using extensive
infrastructure of satellite earth stations, state-of-the-art digital gateways, O
ptical Fiber Multi Media submarine Cables and Multi Media Data Switches. Fully a
utomatic international subscriber dialing (ISD) service is provided to almost al
l the countries in the world. In future, VSNL is positioning itself to provide b
andwidth on demand, Global Virtual Private Networks, ISDN, B-ISDN, VSATs, Mini-M
and hand held Personal Communications.
The telecommunications initiative in the country is led by Ministry of Communica
tions through the Department of Telecommunication & Department Telecom Services
and its undertakings for provision of basic telephone services, national and int
ernational long distance communications, manufacture of complete range of teleco
m equipment, research and development, and consultancy services.

Services Offered

• Telephone Services
• NSD/ISD Services
• Computerized Trunk Services
• Pay Phones
• National & International Leased Lines Circuits
• Telex
• Telegraph Services (Manual & Automatic)
• X-25 based Packet Switched Data Network (INET)
• Gateway Packet Switched Data Services (GPSS)
• Gateway Electronic Data Interchange Service (GEDIS)
• Gateway E-Mail and Store & Forward FAX Service (GEMS-400)
• Concert Packet Service (CPS)
• Satellite-based Remote Area Business Message Network
• Electronic Mail
• Voice Mail
• Audio-Text
• Radio Paging
• Cellular Mobile Telephone
• Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service
• Video-Tex
• Video Conferencing
• V-SAT
• Internet
• ISDN
• INMARSAT Mobile Service
• INMARSAT Data Service
• Home Country Direct Service
• Intelligent Network (IN) Services

Cellular and Paging Services

Cellular and paging services though not a very old means of communication in Ind
ia has very rapidly caught the imagination of the people. The revolution that st
arted with pagers soon gave way to Mobile phones. Pagers being one way and with
limited application have almost disappeared, as mobiles became the favorite. Wit
h more and more innovative offers like prepaid cards from telecom service operat
ors, the mobile culture is growing. With more players entering the market, the c
ompetition has grown stronger, catering to the demands of consumers. Hutch, Airt
el, Idea and Reliance are doing very well and are always coming up with new sche
mes and plans.SMS is a raging favorite among both the young and the old. A shift
towards mobile telephony is apparent from the fact that the share of cellular c
onnections in new connections is steadily going up and had reached 63% in Decemb
er 2002.
Cell phones now come cheaper and so does the monthly bill.
As a result one can still hear some grudges from service providers as they claim
lack of use of enough airtime to make it a profitable business.
Today, India has 22 private companies providing cellular services in 18 telecom
circles and 4 metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta). Ever since the
ir introduction, cellular services have shown a fair growth with the subscriber
base crossing the 1 million mark by the first quarter of 1999.India has adopted
the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) for provision of cellular servic
es. The cellular services in India operate in the frequency band 890-902.5 MHz /
935-947.5 MHz. In metro cities, each operator has been allocated a frequency sp
ectrum of 6.2+6.2 MHz (except Chennai where 5.8+5.8 MHz spectrum has been alloca
ted), while for other telecom circles a spectrum of 4.4 +4.4 MHz has been alloca
ted.

Letters and Telegrams

Letters have been written from ages and the Indian Postal service is one of the
biggest and most experienced services. About 90% of the postal outlets are in ru
ral India. On an average a post office covers an area of about 21 sq. km and a p
opulation of about 6,600 people.
The Indian postal system currently provides 38 services which can be categorize
d as:
Communication: letters, postcards, newspapers
Transportation: parcels, money orders etc.
Other services: resource mobilization, postal life insurance
For providing postal services, the whole country has been divided into twenty-tw
o postal circles. Each Circle is coterminous with a State except for some. Besid
es these twenty-two circles, there is another circle, called Base Circle, to cat
er to the postal communication needs of the Armed Forces.

Telecommunication infrastructure was established in India in 1856. They were tel

egraphic data communication links principally for government and military use. T
elegrams being the fastest means of communication in areas where phone lines did
not reach, led to its use by the common man. Even now phone lines do not connec
t many interior regions of India and the telegram is used to fill in the gap. Ho
wever it is a fast disappearing means of communication, as connectivity in India
both in terms of telephone lines and wireless communication has rapidly grown.

Courier Services
Time was when one had to wait for weeks together to see the other person receive
important document. The common man had no access to fax machines nor was he awa
re of it s utility. Then came along the speed post, which too took about a week
to deliver. The start of private courier services however changed all that. Docu
ments could now reach within the day or by the next day. Moreover they are more
reliable as chances of misplacement are minimal. Today businesses as well as ind
ividuals are increasingly dependant on the courier service.

Internet
Once the Internet market space was opened up to private Internet Service Provide
rs (ISPs) in 1998, the market has witnessed phenomenal growth. In certain states
there has been a high percentage in penetration, but in others it has been slow
due to low telecom penetration, low bandwidth and above all illiteracy. All tou
rist spots however are more or less connected to the net. Cyber cafes are as com
mon a sight as telephone booths and connectivity in India has arrived for the co
mmon man. One need no longer invest in a computer, which is still a costly commo
dity. Though email and Internet browsing remain the favorite purposes e-commerce
and e-business have put their foot in. Banks have now facilitated Internet bank
ing. The Indian Railways offers a computerized reservation system which enables
a person to book his tickets online and from anywhere. It also provides other se
rvices like railway timetables and ticket availability. Airlines bookings, Movie
ticket bookings, hospital appointments and even consultations are widely availa
ble. Connectivity is fast spreading in all areas and the Internet is becoming mo
re and more user friendly. Facilities in connectivity are easily available even
though not a very high percentage of Indians use these facilities.
The good news is that with improvements in bandwidth and penetration of Internet
through PCs as well as cable TV, the Internet user base in India will expand by
leaps and bounds. The cable route in fact is being touted as a significant path
way for the proliferation of the Internet in India. India already boasts of 37 m
illion cable connections (expected to jump to 100 million by 2008), which could
additionally be converted into Internet connections. Thanks to the wireless appl
ication protocol (WAP), Internet is coming to India through mobile phones as wel
l. Voice over IP, a dream so far for India, too is expected to be reality in the
future

History of Cellular Telephony

1947 Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications with th
e police car technology.
1947 The basic concept of cellular phones began, when researchers looked at c
rude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of servic
e area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile
phones substantially. However at that time, the technology to do so was nonexist
ent.
1947 AT&T proposed that the FCC allocate a large number of radio-spectrum fr
equencies so that widespread mobile telephone service would become feasible.
1947 The FCC decided to limit the amount of frequencies available, the limits
made only twenty-three phone conversations possible simultaneously in the same
service area.
1968 AT&T and Bell Labs proposed a cellular system to the FCC of many small,
low-powered, broadcast towers, each covering a cell a few miles in radius and
collectively covering a larger area. Each tower would use only a few of the tota
l frequencies allocated to the system. As the phones traveled across the area, c
alls would be passed from tower to tower.
1968 The FCC reconsidered its position by stating "if the technology to build
a better mobile service works, we will increase the frequencies allocation, fre
eing the airwaves for more mobile phones."
1973 (April) The first call on a portable cell phone is made by Dr Martin Coo
per, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, who is also
considered the inventor of the first modern portable handset.
1977 AT&T and Bell Labs had constructed a prototype cellular system. A year l
ater, public trials of the new system were started in Chicago with over 2000 tri
al customers.
1979 The first commercial cellular telephone system began operation in Tokyo.
1980 Analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth in Euro
pe, particularly in Scandinavia, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Each countr
y developed its own system, which was incompatible with everyone else s in equip
ment and operation
1981 Motorola and American Radio telephone started a second U.S. cellular rad
io-telephone system test in the Washington/Baltimore area.
1982 FCC authorizes commercial cellular service for the USA.
1982 The Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT) formed a study gr
oup called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study and develop a pan-European p
ublic land mobile system. The proposed system had to meet certain criteria:
• Good subjective speech quality
• Low terminal and service cost
• Support for international roaming
• Ability to support handheld terminals
• Support for range of new services and facilities
• Spectral efficiency
• ISDN compatibility
1983 The first American commercial analog cellular service or AMPS (Advanced
Mobile Phone Service) was made available in Chicago by Ameritech.
1987 Cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the airways were
crowded.
1989 GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunication Sta
ndards Institute (ETSI),
1990 Phase I of the GSM specifications were published.
1991 Commercial launch of cellular service based on GSM standard in Finland
Cellular Telephony In India
1981 The DoT separated from the Post and Telegraph Department
1984 Manufacturing of subscriber terminal equipment opened to private sector.
1985 Telecom was constituted into a separate department with a separate board
.
1986 VSNL and MTNL, two operational divisions of DoT, corporatised
1989 Telecom Commission formed.
1991 Telecom equipment manufacturing opened to private sector. Major internat
ional players like Alcatel, AT&T,Ericsson, Fujitsu, and Siemens entered equipmen
t manufacturing market.
1992 Telecommunication sector in India liberalized to bridge the gap through
government spending & to provide additional resources for the nation’s telecom t
arget. Private sector allowed participating
1992 First disinvestment of MTNL& BSNL
1994 Licences for radio paging (27 cities) issued.
1994 May New Telecom Policy announced.
1994 September Broad guidelines for private operator entry into basic servi
ces announced.
1994 November Licences for cellular mobiles for four metros issued.
1994 December Tenders floated for bids in cellular mobile services in 19 ci
rcles, excluding the four metros, on a duopoly basis.
1994 License for providing cellular mobile services granted by the government
of India for the Metropolitan cites of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai. Cellul
ar mobile service to be duopoly
1995 August Kolkata became the first metro to have a cellular network telecom
circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.
1995 January Tenders floated for second operator in basic services on a circl
e basis.
1995 July Cellular tender bid opened.
1995 August Basic service tender bid opened; the bids caused lot of controver
sy. A majority of bids were considered low.
1995 19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses
1995 December LOIs issued to some operators for cellular mobile operations in
circles.
1996 January Rebidding takes place for basic services in thirteen circles. Po
or response.
1996 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) formed by ordinance.
1996 October LOIs being issued for basic services.
1996 Dec Start of cellular services in circles
1997 March the TRAI Act passed in Parliament.
1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is set up
1998 June Several VASs available through private operators. The first private
basic service becomes operational.
1999 Mar TRAI s tariff order
1999 March Announcement of National Telecom Policy1999.
1999 Oct DTS separated from DoT
2000 January Amendment to the TRAI Act.
2000 Apr Reconstitution of TRAI and formation of TDSAT
2000 August Announcement of Domestic Long Distance Competition Policy.
2000 Oct Corporatisation of DTS to form BSNL
2001 January TRAI recommends that basic service providers be allowed to provi
de limited mobility services within a local area, called Short Distance Charging
Area.
2001 January, the Cellular Operators Association of India moves the Telecom D
ispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal over the decision to permit basic service p
roviders to offer limited mobility services.
2001 January DoT issues guidelines for limited mobility services.
2001 March DoT issues guidelines on allocation of spectrum for limited mobi
lity services.
2001 March DoT issues 40 letters of intent to three basic service providers.
2001 April Government refers the limited mobility issue to a Group of Ministe
rs on telecom and IT Convergence, after COAI approaches the Prime Minister to se
ek his intervention in the matter.
2001 April GoT-IT submits its report to the PM. Clears limited mobility servi
ces, subject to alterations being made in certain guidelines.
2001 May DoT accepts the GoT-IT recommendations and incorporates the changes
in the guidelines.
2001 May TRAI issues tariff order on limited mobility services, making them a
s affordable as landlines.
2001 Oct Issue of licences for fourth cellular operators
2002 Feb Disinvestment of government s 25 per cent stake in VSNL to the Tata
Group
2002 March TDSAT dismisses COAI’s petition, challenging the government’s deci
sion to allow basic service providers to offer limited mobility services.
2002 April COAI appeals to the Supreme Court against TDSAT ‘s judgment.
2002 December Supreme Court asks TDSAT to take a fresh look at its decision,
while keeping in mind the issue of the absence of a level playing field raised b
y cellular operators. Refuses to stay the rollout of limited mobility services.
2002 December Reliance Infocomm launches its limited mobility services.
2003 March Talks between basic and cellular service providers to resolve thei
r differences over the limited mobility issue, initiated by the government, fail
.
2003 July TRAI permits provision of SMS by basic service providers.
2003 August TDSAT delivers its verdict on limited mobility issue. Rules that
limited mobility services are legal, but they should be restricted to within a S
DCA. Asks DoT and TRAI to provide a level playing field to cellular operators w
ithin four months.
2003 October Group of Ministers on Telecom decides to restrict limited mobili
ty services to an SDCA as per the TDSAT ruling.
2003 October GoM on Telecom gives its nod to TRAI’s recommendation of a singl
e licence for basic and cellular services.
2003 October Cabinet gives its approval to the unified licensing regime.
2003 November DoT issues guidelines on unified access licensing. Paves the wa
y for Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices to convert their basic service lic
ences into mobile licences.
2003 November Unified licences issued to Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices
.
2004 May TRAI releases consultation paper on unified licensing for basic and
cellular services.
2004 August TRAI issues draft recommendations on Unified Licensing Regime.
2005 January TRAI issues recommendations on Unified Licensing Regime.
2005 June TRAI’s direction to all unified access service providers, basic ser
vice operators and cellular mobile service providers on provision of wireless se
rvices outside the licensed service area

COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India)

COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) was set up in 1995 as a registere
d non- governmental, and non-profit society. The Cellular Operators Association
of India was established with the aim that it would be dedicated to the advancem
ent of modern communication.
COAI encourages the advancement of communication through Services of Mobile Cell
ular Telephone. The vision of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) is
to set up and sustain cellular infrastructure that is of world class standard an
d also to encourage mobile communication services that is affordable in the coun
try. Cellular Operators Association of India is the official voice for the cellu
lar industry in India and it interacts on its behalf with the licensor, the tele
com industry associations, the management spectrum agency, and the policy makers
. The chairman of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) is Mr. Sanjeev
Aga and the vice- chairman is Mr. Naresh Gupta. COAI (Cellular Operators Associa
tion of India) has many committees under it such as the Executive Council Commit
tee, Business Development Committee, Finance and Commercial committee, Regulator
y Council Committee, and Technology Committee.

The various objectives of COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) are tha
t it would study the best research and practices of the cellular industry in Ind
ia and at the same time analyze the worldwide cellular experience. Further the v
arious objectives of COAI are to encourage mobile telephony services at affordab
le rates for the Indians, to improve the competitiveness and standards in the In
dian cellular industry, and also reach the status of top class infrastructure.
Also the various objectives of Cellular Operators Association of India are to i
mprove the quality and standards of services by consulting GSM India that is the
Indian chapter of the Association GSM and to help the authorities that are rele
vant by giving them information with regard to the cellular industry in order to
help them form suitable polices which would help in the growth of the industry.
COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) objectives includes to upgrade an
d maintain services such as security, speech transmission, coverage, and access
in order to help in the expansion of the cellular services in the country and to
make continuous efforts to satisfy the customers.
Further the various objectives of COAI are to address the problems of the cellul
ar operators that relate to financial, operational, licensing, or regulatory by
interacting with the Ministry of Finance, Department of telecommunications, Fina
ncial Institutions, Ministry of Communications & IT, Ministry of Commerce, and T
elecom Regulatory Authority of India. Also the objectives of Cellular Operators
Association of India are to make efforts to achieve the country s objectives of
better rural access and increased tele- density and also to spread information a
nd dispense awareness among consumers and operators on issues relating to the va
rious kinds of services provided by the service operators to their customers.

COAI MEMBERS-
COAI Core members-
1.) Aircel group
2.) Bharti airtel limited
3.) BPL Mobile communications ltd
4.) Idea cellular ltd
5.) Reliance telecom ltd
6.)spice communications ltd
7.) Vodafone essar ltd
COAI Associate members-
1. Alcatel Lucent
2. ATC Tower Company of India Pvt. Ltd.
3. Aster Infrastructure Pvt. Limited
4. Ericsson Communications Ltd.
5. Essar Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.
6. GTL Infrastructure Ltd.
7. India Telecom Infra Limited
8. Motorola India Limited
9. Nokia Siemens Networks
10. Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Ltd.
11. Texas Instruments India Ltd.
12. Tower Vision India Pvt. Ltd.
13. XCEL Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
Components and factors responsible behind the growth of telecommunications indus
try
Two major factors responsible for the growth of telecommunications industry are
use of modern technology and market competition.
One of the products of modern technologies is optical fibers, which are being u
sed as a medium of data transmission instead of using coaxial or twisted pair ca
bles. Optical fibers can carry a high volume of data and are easier to maintain
and install. Use of communication satellites makes this telecommunications indus
try a booming industry.

The use of mobile network has a crucial role behind the growth of an improved te
lecommunications industry. Leading companies are showing their interest to inves
t in this telecommunications industry.
Telecommunications industry is going to be a digitized one. Use of ISDN (Inter S
ervices Digital Network) makes this telecommunication industry a total digitaliz
ed system and eventually enhanced the speed and quality of digital communication
.
The introduction of these advanced technologies makes the telecommunications ind
ustry a competitive one, where a number of multinational companies have shown th
eir interest to invest in this industry and consequently the prices are reduced,
the quality is also improved. During the period of 1990, the telecommunication
industry showed a speedy growth in terms of investment and eventually increased
the competition. The competition between the companies led to the decline of rev
enues.

Telecom equipment and services

India has a mere 1.2 telephones for every 100 of its people. This is way below i
nternational standards and is not becoming of a country aspiring to be a major p
layer in the global economy of the 21st century. This means that opportunities f
or investment in this sector are immense.
Basic voice services are the biggest market. Installation of around 25 million d
irect exchange lines by the year 2001 will require an investment of US$ 22 billi
on.
The cumulative investment up to the year 2001 to meet demand for cellular mobile
and radio paging services is estimated at US$ 8 billion and US$ 1 billion respe
ctively.
Investment in other Value Added Services (VAS) up to 2001 is estimated at US$ 3.
5 billion.
The government cannot make investments of this magnitude because of resource lim
itations. The private sector and foreign companies are therefore welcomed into t
his sector, both as direct investors and exporters of equipment and technology.
VSAT services, though privatized, have not taken off in India. Demand for electr
onic mail, video-conferencing is not strong enough to justify investment. Beside
s, license fees to be paid to the _ HYPERLINK "http://www.dotindia.com/" _Depart
ment of Telecommunications_ (DoT) are too high given the size of demand.
The telecom sector has witnessed the presence of many leading foreign companies
including US companies: AT&T, Motorola, Nynex, US West, Hughes, Harris, Qualcomm
, Sprint, Telstra, NTT, Singapore Telecom, Philippine Telecom, Bezeq, Siemens, E
ricsson, Nokia, Fujitsu, Alcatel, and Bell Canada among others.
The _ HYPERLINK "http://www.dotindia.com/" _DOT_ retains its monopoly as of now
as the main service provider short- and long-distance basic services.
Private operators have to obtain licenses from DOT and work with it on a revenue
sharing basis. It has been agreed in principle that private companies will be a
llowed to establish their own gateways in addition to using the gateways of _ HY
PERLINK "http://www.dotvsat.com/index.shtml" _DOT_, _ HYPERLINK "http://internet
.vsnl.net.in/" _VSNL_ or authorised public\government organisations. But this co
ncept will be put into practice only after security-related issues are looked in
toi by a committee that has already been set up.
Potential investors should be aware that telecom privatisation has been hit with
snags. Cellular phone operators have been taken by unpleasant surprises. Both t
he bidders and the government had then estimated an average air-time use of 250
minutes per subscriber per month. But the actual use, as at May 1998, was only 1
40 minutes. Each subscriber now spends an average of Rs.1,100 a month on an aver
age, but the industry needs a per subscriber expenditure of Rs. 1,800 every mont
h to make commercial sense. This situation is building pressure to extend the li
censes to 15-year-periods as opposed to the current 10 years. The extension will
bring in extra revenue which can help the private operators make some money for
themselves and pass a part of it to the customer as well (given the intense com
petition among the private operators).
One possibility is that India may follow the Chinese model of cellular phone ser
vices, which is to charge a high monthly rental but low air-time charge. This ma
y reduce the number of subscribers but those who subscribe will have a higher sp
ending power. At present, India charges a monthly rental of only US$4 (compared
to US$30 in China) while the average air-time charge in India is 20 US cents (co
mpared to only 5 cents in China).
The case for increasing monthly rental is clear: The present monthly rental of U
S$4 (approx. Rs. 160) for cell-phones is less than the rental for pagers (which
is Rs.250): this is clearly an anomalous situation which cannot last long. The p
rofile of the cell-phone owner in India is therefore poised to change towards th
e better-off classes who can pay higher monthly rental and talk longer on cheape
r air-time rates. This will drive out the lower middle classes from the cell-pho
ne circuit, but middle-to-upper middle classes in India are huge enough to make
commercial sense for the private operators.
It can be expected that responsibility for resolving telecom issues will gradual
ly devolve to the states. Customs duty on parts of telecommunications equipment
and sub-assemblies thereof are on the decline and will be ultimately be totally
eliminated in accordance with the telecom agreement of the World Trade Organisat
ion.
Provision of _ HYPERLINK "http://www.indiaonestop.com/internet.htm" _Internet se
rvices_ has been thrown open to domestic and foreign investors with effect from
October 7, 1998.

Cellular Service Overview

1. There are five private service operators in each area, and an incumbent state
operator. Almost 80% of the cellular subscriber base belongs to the pre-paid se
gment.
2. The DoT has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the same
Operating circle provided their combined market share did not exceed 67 per cent
. Previously, they were only allowed to buy companies outside their circle.
Growth Drivers
Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are gr
owth drivers in the industry. Cellular operators now get substantial revenue fro
m these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, whic
h along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for
airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset price
s has driven demand.

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

Cellular Service provider:
1. BSNL
2. Airtel
3. Vodafone
4. Reliance
5. Tata Indicom
6. Idea
Subscribers:
Wireless subscribers crosses 200 million mark
Tele density reaches 21.20%
The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 241.02 million at the end
of August 2007 as compared to 232.87 million in July 2007. The overall teledensi
ty has increased to 21.20% in August 2007 as compared to 20.52% in July 2007.
In the wireless segment, 8.31 million subscribers have been added in August 2007
while 8.06 million subscribers were added in July 2007. The total wireless subs
cribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base reaches 201.29 million at the end of August 2
007.

Profiles of various companies in telecom sector

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
$6 Billion
Slogan
Express Yourself
Website
www.airtel.in
Bharti Airtel, formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) is India s
largest cellular service provider with more than 75 million subscribers as of Au
gust 2008.It also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers i
ts TELECOM services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal. The co
mpany also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circle
s. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with natio
nal and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine c
able landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting C
hennai and Singapore. The company provides end-to-end data and enterprise servic
es to the corporate customers through 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.
Bharti Enterprises has successfully focused its strategy on telecom while stradd
ling diverse fields of business. From the creation of Airtel , one of India s f
inest brands, to becoming the largest manufacturer and exporter of world class t
elecom terminals under its Beetel brand, Bharti has created a significant posi
tion for itself in the global telecommunications sector. Bharti Airtel Limited i
s 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 i
nto the Customer Management Services business, Bharti Enterprises’ dynamic diver
sification has continued with the company venturing into telecom software develo
pment. Recently, Bharti has successfully launched an international venture with
EL Rothschild Group owned ELRO Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri product
s exclusively to markets in Europe and USA.

Companies of Airtel
A brief introduction to each of its companies is given below:
1. Bharti Airtel Ltd
Bharti Airtel Ltd is India s leading provider of telecommunications services. Th
e company has 4 distinct Business divisions - Mobile & telephone services, broad
band services, long distance services and enterprise services.
2. Bharti TeleTech Ltd
Bharti TeleTech Ltd manufactures and exports world-class telecom equipment unde
r the brand Beetel
3. Telecom Seychelles Ltd
Telecom Seychelles Ltd provides telecom services in Seychelles, under the brand
Airtel
4. Bharti Telesoft Ltd
Bharti Telesoft Ltd delivers best-in-class, revenue-critical VAS products and s
ervices to telecom carriers.
5. TeleTech Services (India) Ltd
TeleTech Services (India) Ltd is joint venture with TeleTech Inc., USA. It offe
rs a range of Customer Management Services.
6. FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd
FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd is Bharti s venture with EL Rothschild Group owned ELR
O Holdings India Ltd., to export fresh Agri products exclusively to markets in E
urope and USA.
Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airt
el.
Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of s
ubscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following servi
ces under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadba
nd & Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line)
, Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications Consulting
for corporates). It has presence in all 23 circles of the country and covers 71%
of the current population.
Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and SingTel h
eld partial stakes in Bharti Airtel.
In March 2008, Bharti Airtel will roll out third generation services in Sri Lank
a in association with HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singtel" \o "Sing
tel" Singtel. This is because Singapore-based Asian telecom major Singtel, which
 owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in the 3G space as i
t has already third generation networks in several markets across Asia
The Company Bharti Airtel is in India the biggest integrated and also the 1st te
lephone service provider in the private sector, which has footprint in around 23
telecom circles. Bharti Airtel Limited has been since its very beginning using
the latest technology and thus the company has paved the way for the telecom sec
tor in India with its world-class services and products.
This has helped Bharti Airtel Company to grow for the number of its customers ha
s increased very rapidly over the years. The company has around 5o million custo
mers in 2007 and its market share of mobile subscribers in India is at 23.4%.
The company Bharti Airtel Limited s total revenue amounted to Rs.12, 242 crore i
n 2006- 2007 and the net profit stood at Rs.3, 126 crore. The Company Bharti Air
tel is divided into 3 business units that are:
• Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services
• Enterprise services
• Mobile services

Among the various services that the Bharti Airtel Limited Company provides to it
s customers, the services of broadband and telephone (B&T) are 1 of them. The co
mpany provides broadband Internet services of high speed for it has the best net
work in India. The company Bharti Airtel also provides telephone services in aro
und 94 cities of the country and this helps the people to stay connected with on
e another. The company plans to expand its broadband and telephone services by p
roviding IPTV services and DTH operations.
Further Bharti Airtel provides enterprise services to its customers. The service
s of enterprise provide telecom end-to-end solutions to customers who belong to
the corporate sector and also long distance services to international and nation
al carriers. The company Bharti Airtel has more than 35,016 kilometers of optic
fiber, a submarine landing station, and is also a member of South East Asia- Mid
dle East- Western Europe- 4. All this has helped the company to provide the best
enterprise services to its customers. The company Bharti Airtel Limited plans t
o expand its enterprise services so that it can achieve the status of a global c
arrier within a period of 2- 3 years.

Awards and Recognition

• Wireless service provider of the year 2005 at the Frost and Sulivan Asia
-Pacific ICT awards
• Competitive service provider of the year 2005 at the Frost and Sulivan A
sia-Pacific ICT awards
• Bharti Airtel added the highest ever net addition of 5.3 million custome
rs in a single quarter (Q4-FY0607) and also the highest ever net addition of 18
million total subscribers in 2006-07
• The company will invest up to $3.5 billion this fiscal (07-08) in networ
k expansion.
• It has an installed base of 40,000 cellsites and 59% population coverage
• After the proposed network expansion, an additional 30,000 towers will r
esult in the company achieving 70% population coverage
• Bharti has over 39 million users as on March 31, 2007
• It has set a target of 125 million subscribers by 2010
• Prepaid customers account for 88.5% of Bharti’s total subscriber base, a
n increase from 82.7% a year ago
• ARPU has dropped to Rs 406
• Non-voice revenues, (SMS, voice mail, call management, hello tunes and A
irtel Live) constituted 10% of total revenues during Q4, lower than 10.7% in the
Q4 of the previous year
• Blended monthly minutes of usage per customer in Q4 was at 475 minutes
• Has completed 100% verification of its subscribers and in the process
disconnected three lakh subscribers

Market News
Market Capitalisation
Approx. Rs. 1,670 billion Closing BSE share price = Rs. 880.75
• Sales : 02.62 Billion $
• Profits : 00.46 Billion $
• Assets : 04.46 Billion $
• Market Value : 41 Billion $
On February 12, 2007 Vodafone sold its 5.6% stake in AirTel back to AirTel for U
S $1.6 billion; and purchased a controlling stake in rival Hutchison Essar.

Founded 1983 as Racal Telecom, independent 1991

Headquarters Newbury, England, UK
Key people Arun Sarin, CEO
Sir John Bond, Chairman
John Buchanan, Deputy Chairman
Andy Halford, CFO
Industry
Mobile telecommunications
Products
Mobile networks, Telecom services, Etc.
Revenue
▲ £31.104 billion GBP (2007)
Net income
▼ £-1.564 billion GBP (2007)
Slogan
Make the most of now (in many countries, their previous slogan, How are you?, is
still used)
Website
www.vodafone.com

Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, Engla

nd, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world
by turnover and has a market value of about £100 billion (December 2007). Vodaf
one currently has equity interests in 25 countries and Partner Networks (network
s in which it has no equity stake) in a further 39 countries. The name Vodafone
comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of v
oice and data services over mobile phones."
At 31 January 2007 Vodafone had 200 million proportionate customers in 25 market
s across 5 continents. ("Proportionate customers" means, for example, that if Vo
dafone has a 30% stake in a business with a million customers, that is counted a
s 300,000). On this measure it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the
world behind China Mobile. The eight markets where it has more than ten million
 proportionate customers are the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, T
urkey, Egypt and the United States. In the U.S., these customers come via its mi
nority stake in Verizon Wireless, and in the other seven markets Vodafone has ma
jority-controlled subsidiaries.
On 30 May 2006, the company announced a loss before tax of £14.9 billion for 200
5, the biggest loss in British corporate history. The loss for the year from con
tinuing operations was £17.2 billion and the bottom line loss for the financial
year was £21.8 billion. The company was pushed into loss by impairment charges o
f £23.5 billion, which related to the acquisition of Mannesmann several years ea
rlier, and losses of £4.6 billion in relation to its discontinued business in Ja
pan. At an operating level it remained highly profitable, with an operating prof
it on continuing operations of £9.4 billion before impairment costs.
Vodafone’s original logo was used until the introduction of the speech mark logo
in 1998.
In 1982 Racal Electronics plc s subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of
two UK cellular telephone network licenses. The network, known as Racal Vodafon
e was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning
15% and 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategi
c Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 Decemb
er 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for G
B£110 million.
In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October
1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Te
lecom at GB£1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Ra
cal Electronics as Vodafone Group.
In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own
for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased
Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelm
ingly using Vodafone s network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% o
f Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores.
In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a
circle; the O s in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks
, suggesting conversation.
On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc.
and changed its name to Vodafone airtouch plc. Trading of the new company comme
nced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-
Plus Mobilefunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner
of the largest German mobile network.
On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with thos
e of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4
April 2000.
In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was reje
cted. Vodafone’s interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter s purch
ase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann s m
ove into the UK broke a "gentleman s agreement" not to compete in each other s h
ome territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "ti
tanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resists Vodafone’s efforts. However on 3 Fe
bruary 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then th
e largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The c
onglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations
sold off.

Hutch Becomes Vodafone

In one of the biggest brand transition exercises in recent times, Hutch, India’s
fourth-largest mobile service provider will be renamed Vodafone. Vodafone is sp
ending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crore on this high-profile transition.
Vodafone has acquired 67 per cent in Hutchison Essar from Hong Kong-based Hutchi
son Whampoa, and completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007. The b
rand change that will touch 3.5 crore customers and four lakh shops and employee
s will be executed through a media blitz and the pug, which had become famous wi
th its network advertisement, will remain.
This marks a significant chapter in the evolution of Vodafone as a dynamic and
ever-growing brand. The brand change over the next few weeks will be unveiled n
ationally through a high profile campaign covering all important media, a news
agency quoted the company statement as saying.
Leading broadcaster Star India has entered into an exclusive deal with Vodafone
Essar for the latter s re-branding campaign to Vodafone from Hutch.

Financial Results
From its 31 March 2006 year end onwards Vodafone will report its results in acco
rdance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It has issued re
sults amended to IFRS standards for its 31 March 2004 and 31 March 2005 year end
s for information purposes, and these are shown in the first table below.
Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolida
ted turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale an
d growth trends of its business it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures an
d these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it
owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion that equals £4.5 billion of propor
tionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official account
ing measure and Vodafone’s proportionate turnover should be compared with other
companies statutory turnover.
Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis,
eg. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that eq
uals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in th
e mobile telecommunications industry
Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in r
elation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes £7,100 mi
llion from discontinued operations

Growth of Hutchison Essar (1992-2005):

In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a company
that in 1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications services
in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in
November 1995. Analjit Singh of Max still holds 12% in company.
By the time of Hutchison Telecom s Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Wh
ampoa had acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providin
g service in 13 of India s 23 licence areas and following the completion of the
acquisition of BPL that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced the acquis
ition of a company that held licence applications for the seven remaining licenc
e areas.
In a country growing as fast as India, a strategic and well managed business pla
n is critical to success. Initially, the company grew its business in the larges
t wireless markets in India - in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these
densely populated urban areas it was able to establish a robust network, well k
nown brand and large distribution network -all vital to long-term success in Ind
ia. Then it also targeted business users and high-end post-paid customers which
helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a higher Average Revenue Per Use
r ("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan, it was ab
le to establish leading positions in India s largest markets providing the resou
rces to expand its footprint nationwide.
In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding
agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and in
direct equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash con
sideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately US$11.1 billi
on or HK$87 billion.
1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group established Hutchison Max
2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations Entered Calcutta and Gujarat markets throu
gh ESSAR acquisition
2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra Prad
esh and Chennai
2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL - Essar Subsidiary) which operated in Rajas
tan, Uttar Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and renamed it under Hutch b
rand
2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely Punjab , Ut
tar Pradesh West and West Bengal
2005: Acquired BPL, another mobile service provider in India
2008: Vodafone acquired Dishnet Wireless, a service provider in Orissa and has s
uccessfully launched its services in the following circle.
2008: Vodafone launched the Apple iPhone 3G to be used on its 17 circle 2G netwo
rk.
Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a
clean, minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out v
isibly though it uses only white letters on red background. Another recent succe
ssful ad campaign in 2003 featured a pug named Cheeka following a boy around in
unlikely places, with the tagline, Wherever you go, our network follows. The sim
ple yet powerful advertisement campaigns won it many admirers.

BSNL (BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED)

Type Communication Service Provider
Availability Countrywide except Delhi & Mumbai
Revenue
US$ 9.04 billion (2006)
Owner The Government of India
Key people Kuldeep Goyal(CEO)
Founded 19th century, incorporated 2000
Website www.bsnl.co.in

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation Li

mited) is a public sector communications company in India. It is the India s lar
gest telecommunication company with 25.14% market share as on December 31, 2007.
Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janp
ath, New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-ratna - a status assigned to reputed P
ublic Sector companies in India.
BSNL is India s oldest and largest Communication Service Provider (CSP). Current
ly BSNL has a customer base of 68.5 million (Basic & Mobile telephony). It has f
ootprints throughout India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New
Delhi which are managed by MTNL. As on December 31, 2007 BSNL commanded a custom
er base of 31.7 million Wireline, 4.1 million CDMA-WLL and 32.7 million GSM Mobi
le subscribers. BSNL s earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 sto
od at INR 397.15b (US$ 9.67 b) with net profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion).
Today, BSNL is India s largest Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Under
taking with estimated market value of $ 100 Billion. The company is planning an
IPO with in 6 months to offload 10 % to public.
History
The foundation of Telecom Network in India was laid by the British sometime in 1
9th century. The history of BSNL is linked with the beginning of Telecom in Indi
a. 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 separate
d from P&T. DoT was responsible for running of Telecom services in entire countr
y until 1985 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT
to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. It is a well known fact that B
SNL was carved out of Department of Telecom to provide level playing field to pr
ivate telecoms.Subsequently in 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Gov
ernment for Private investment, therefore it became necessary to separate the Go
vernment s policy wing from Operations wing. The Government of India corporatise
d the operations wing of DoT on October 01, 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited (BSNL).BSNL operates as a public sector.

Main Services being provided by BSNL

BSNL provides almost every telecom service, however following are the main Telec
om 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 respectively. BSNL is domina
nt operator in fixed line. As on December 31, 2007, BSNL had 81% marketshare of
fixed lines.
2. Cellular Mobile Telephone Services: BSNL is major provider of Cellular Mobile
Telephone services using GSM platform under brandname Cellone. Pre-paid Cellula
r services of BSNL are know as Excel. As on March 31, 2007 BSNL had 17% share of
mobile telephony in the country.
3. Internet: BSNL is providing internet as dial-up connection (Sancharnet) and A
DSL-Broadband Dataone. BSNL has around 50% marketshare in broadband in India. BS
NL has planned aggressive rollout in broadband for current financial year.
4. Intelligent Network (IN): BSNL is providing IN services like tele-voting, tol
l free calling, premium calling etc.
BSNL Units
BSNL is divided into a number of administrative units, termed as telecom circles
, metro districts, project circles and specialized units, as mentioned below:-
Telecom Circles: Telecom Circles & Metro districts are responsible for providing
service to the customers. There are 24 Telecom Circles and 2 Metro districts.

BSNL Present & Future

Since its corporatisation in October 2000, BSNL has been actively providing conn
ections in both Urban and Rural areas and the efficiency of the company has dras
tically improved from the days when one had to wait for years to get a phone con
nection to now when one can get a connection in even hours. Pre-activated Mobile
connections are available at many places across India. BSNL has also unveiled v
ery cost-effective Broadband internet access plans (DataOne) targeted at homes a
nd small businesses.
At present BSNL enjoy s around 45% of market share of ISP services.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Broadband.PNG
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Broadband.PNG

Year of Broadband 2007

2007 has been declared as "Year of Broadband" in India and BSNL is in the proces
s of providing 5 million Broadband connectivity by the end of 2007. BSNL has upg
raded existing Dataone (Broadband) connections for a speed of up to 2 MB/s witho
ut any extra cost. This 2 MB/s broadband service is being provided by BSNL at a
cost of just US$ 5.5 per month. Further, BSNL is rolling out new Broadband servi
ces as Triple play (telecommunications).
BSNL is planning to increase its customer base to 108 million customers by 2010.
With the frantic activity in the communication sector in India, the target appe
ars achievable, however due to intense competition in Indian Telecom sector in r
ecent past BSNL s growth has slowed down.
BSNL is pioneer of Rural Telephony in India. BSNL has recently bagged 80% of US$
580 m (INR 2,500 crores) Rural Telephony project of Government of India.

Challenges
During Financial Year 2006-2007 (From April 01, 2006 to March 31, 2007) BSNL has
added 9.6 million new customers in various telephone services taking its custom
er base to 64.8 million. BSNL s nearest competitor Bharti Airtel is standing at
a customer base of 39 million. However, despite impressive growth shown by BSNL
in recent times, the Fixed line customer base of BSNL is declining. In order to
woo back its fixed-line customers BSNL has brought down long distance calling ra
te under OneIndia plan, however, the success of the scheme is not known. However
, BSNL faces bleak fiscal 2006-2007 as users flee, which has been accepted by th
e CMD BSNL.
Presently there is an intense competition in Indian Telecom sector and various T
elcos are rolling out attractive schemes and are providing good customer service
s. However, BSNL being legacy operator and its conversion from a Government Depa
rtment, earns lot of criticism for its poor customer service. Although in recent
past there have been tremendous improvement in working of BSNL but still it is
much below the Industry s Expectations. A large aging (average age 49 years(appx
)) workforce (300,000 strong), which is mostly semi-illetrate or illeterate is t
he main reason for the poor customer service. Further, the Top management of BSN
L is still working in BSNL on deputation basis holding Government employee statu
s thus having little commitment to the organisation. Although in coming years th
e retirement profile of the workforce is very fast and around 25% of existing wo
rkforce will retire by 2010, however, still the workforce will be quite large by
the industry standards. Quality of the workforce will also remain an issue.

SPICE/IDEA
Type
Spice: Public, Listed on BSE
Idea: Subsidiary
Founded Spice: 1997
Idea: 1995
Headquarters Spice: Mohali, India
Idea: Indore, Delhi, Pune, India
Key people Spice: Dilip Modi
Idea: Chairman: Kumar Mangalam Birla ; MD: Sanjeev Aga
Industry
Telecom
Products
Mobile operator
Revenue
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/idea-cellulars-revenue479-/39475
1
Slogan
Spice: Spice Hai toh life hai (If there s Spice then there s Life.)
Idea: An !dea can change your life.
Website
Spice: Spice Telecom ; Idea: www.ideacellular.com
Introduction to Spice
One of the service providers of mobile telephony in India Spice Telecom, is the
brand name of Spice Communications Limited.Spice Telecom is presently operating
in the states of Punjab and Karnataka i.e. in 2 circles of 23 Telecom Circles of
India. Spice Communications Limited has been promoted by Dilip Modi of Modi Wel
lvest Private Limited .
40.80% of the company is owned by Modi Wellvest; Modi is promoted by Mr. Dilip M
odi and Super Infosys. Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) owns 39.20% through TMI Indi
a Limited, Mauritius. TMI India Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of TM s int
ernational investment holding company TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI).
Spice Telecom is a flagship company of MCorp Global (www.mcorpglobal.com) a cell
ular mobile telephone services provider in India.

Introduction to Idea
IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Ex
change (BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007.
Idea Cellular is a leading GSM mobile service operator with pan India licenses.
With a customer base of over 36 million in 15 service areas, operations are soon
expected to start in Orissa and Tamil Nadu-the first steps in providing pan Ind
ia services covering over 90% of India s telephony potential.
A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the d
istinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offer
ings, for the first time in India in an increasingly segmented market.
Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand
known for many firsts, Idea was the first to launch GPRS and EDGE in the country
. Idea has received international recognition for its path-breaking innovations
when it won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care Soluti
on" for 2 consecutive years.
IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, India s first truly multination
al corporation. The group operates in 25 countries, and is anchored by over 100,
000 employees belonging to 25 nationalities. The Group has been adjudged The Be
st Employer in India and among the Top 20 in Asia by the Hewitt-Economic Times
and Wall Street Journal Study2007.

Idea acquires Spice Telecom

Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company, along with Telecom Malaysia Intern
ational (TMI) announced the acquisition of 40.8 per cent stake in Spice Communic
ations Limited (Spice) at a price of Rs. 77.30 per share. TMI is an emerging lea
der in Asian telecommunications with over 44 million subscribers and a presence
in 10 countries. The operational synergies emerging out of this merger would aug
ur well for both the telecom players.
The acquisition of Spice gives Idea the much needed headway in Punjab and Karnat
aka states that account for more than 10 per cent of India’s wireless subscriber
s.
The entire process of the merger between both the companies would take six to ei
ght months to complete. Post merger, Idea is looking at a pan-India presence. Th
e deal also gives Idea the opportunity to leverage.
Idea Cellular, the leading GSM mobile services operator has licenses to operate
in all 22 service areas of India with commercial operations in 11 service areas.
With a customer base of over 26 million, it runs operations in Delhi, Himachal
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) & Uttara
nchal, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh,
and Kerala, holds spectrum for Mumbai, Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu (including Che
nnai), and Karnataka, and licenses for the remaining six service areas.
With the planned launch of services in Mumbai, Bihar and Jharkhand, Orissa and T
amil Nadu (including Chennai) towards the end of the calendar year, Idea s footp
rint will soon cover approximately 90 per cent of India s telephony potential.
Idea has acquired Spice Telecom and the deal consists of 4 transactions:
• Idea will acquire the Modi’s 40.8% stake in Spice (for Rs 2,720 crore).
• Idea will launch the mandatory 20% open offer for the Spice shareholders
, jointly with Telecom Malaysia International (TMI).
• Idea will merge Spice with itself and offer a 14.99% stake to TMI throug
h a preferential allotment.
• The Idea-TM combine will launch the open offer at Rs 77.30 jointly with
TMI, which now holds 39.2%in Spice

INTRODUCTION

A DREAM COME TRUE

The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India — an India where the common
man would have access to affordable means of information and communication. Dhir
ubhai, who single-handedly built India’s largest private sector company virtuall
y from scratch, had stated as early as 1999: “Make the tools of information and
communication available to people at an affordable cost. They will overcome the
handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility.”
It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance
Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a pan-India fibre optic back
bone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasio
n of Dhirubhai’s 70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 Ju
ly 2002.
Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless
and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is cap
able of delivering a range of services spanning the entire infocomm (information
and communication) value chain, including infrastructure and services — for ent
erprises as well as individuals, applications, and consulting.
Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telec
om and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). Accord
ing to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the
company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billion shares of the company. Relian
ce Infocomm is an Indian telecommunications company. It is the flagship company
of the Reliance- Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Ener
gy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Relian
ce ADA Group. Reliance Infocomm is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.It
uses CDMA2000 1x technology.
HISTORY
Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to 2002 Reliance
Infocomm built 60,000 km of fiber optic backbone in India. This network was com
missioned on December 28, 2002.
FOOTPRINT
At present, Reliance Telecom s GSM cellular services are available in 340 towns
within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance s CDMA services are available in 19
states and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. Reliance Infocomm also of
fered for the first time in India, mobile data services through its R-World mobi
le portal. This portal leverages the data capability of the CDMA 1X network.

BUSINESS REVIEW
Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs. 2,250 cr
ore (US$ 522 million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%.
EBITDA of the Global business increased by 98% during the twelve months ended Ma
rch 31, 2007 to Rs. 1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA margins increased to 2
4% from 12% last year.
In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of 123% to Rs
. 1,144 crore (US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by more than 6 times, to R
s. 519 crore (US$ 120 million). The EBITDA margin crossed 45% in the twelve mont
hs ended March 31, 2007, from 15% in the corresponding period in the previous ye
ar.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Survey design:
The study is a cross sectional study because the data were collected at a single
point of time. For the purpose of present study a related sample of population
was selected on the basis of census.
Sample Size and Design:
A sample size of 100 students was taken on the basis of census.
Research Instrument:
This work is carried out through self-administered questionnaires. The questions
included were open ended, dichotomous and offered multiple choices.
Data Collection:
The data, which is collected for the purpose of study, is divided into 2 bases:
Primary Source: The primary data comprises information survey of target
students. The data has been collected directly from respondent with the help of
structured Questionnaires.
Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from internet and Ref
erences from Library.

Data Analysis:
The data is analyzed on the basis of suitable tables by using mathematical techn
iques. It was also based on observation of the feedback collected through the qu
estionnaires provided to the samples, as well as the general trend being followe
d by the students in selecting any network (observing the people around.)
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. Do you have any mobile Connection?

Particulars Number %
Yes 99 99
No 1 1

2. How many mobile connections do you have?

Particulars Number %
One 58 58
Two 33 33
Three 7 7
>three 2 2

3. Which service are you using?

Particulars Number %
Prepaid 74 74
Postpaid 22 22
both 4 4
4. Which Mobile connection are you currently using?(including 2 or more ser
vices)
Particulars Number %
BSNL 12 12
Airtel 34 34
Vodafone 30 30
Reliance 58 58
Tata Indicom 25 25
Idea 24 24

5. Are you satisfied with the services?

Particulars Number %
Yes 68 68
No 22 22

6. Which factor do you give the highest preference?

Particulars Number %
Coverage 49 49
Call charges 32 32
Promotional Schemes 5 5
GPRS 14 14
OTHERS 0 0

7. What is the basic purpose for using your preferred connection?

Particulars No. %
Calling 20 20
Texting 75 75
Internet 5 5
8. Does advertisement play important role in your preference making?
Particulars Number %
Yes 78 78
No 22 22

9. Which Advt. media puts more impact on your preference making?

Particulars Number %
TV 64 64
Newspapers 9 9
Magazines 8 8
Internet 18 18
Others 1 1

10. Would you like to change your current service provider in near future?
Particulars Number %
Yes 38 38
No 72 72

11. Which service would you like to go for, if you want to change?
Particulars Number %
BSNL 4 4
Airtel 36 36
Vodafone 20 20
Reliance 20 20
Tata Indicom 12 12
Idea 8 8

Findings and conclusions:

Findings:
Major preferences are given to the following factors, in selection of particular
connection, which is currently in use.
1. Coverage holds the maximum preference in selecting any network.
2. Call charges has been preferred after call rates (among students).
3. Thereafter comes other factors like texting , internet, GPRS service(as
in order of preference)

CONCLUSIONS
Vodafone and Airtel provides the highest coverage area.
T.V. is the best media advertisement media that put more impact on the I
NC students buying behavior.
One interesting analyses found out is that students using BSNL services
say that any type of advertisement media has no impact on their preference while
buying.
Reliance is preferred most as basic or alternate network with 58%.
Overall airtel has been placed at the highest priority as to coverage ca
ll rate etc.
68% of the students are not satisfied by the service they are currently
using.they either carry an alternate no. with them or are planning to change the
ir current service.
78% of the students are attracted towards advertisements in selecting an
y serice.( Vodafone in this case is the main prefernce)
Texting is yet the other purpose (major one) among students to choose an
y network. E.g. reliance..(lowest sms charges)
TV has the major impact as an advertising media an prefring any service.
If the students switch over to other network, then Airtel is their major
preference.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
Principles of Marketing – Philip Kotler
Marketing Management – ICFAI Publications
Business Research Methods – ICFAI Publications
Web Resources:
www.google.com
www.trai.gov.in
www.bsnl.co.in
www.goaedu.org