A STUDY ON MOBILE PHONE SERVICES USAGE IN

SRIVILLIPUTTUR TOWN
INTRODUCTION
Japan was the first country to introduce the cellular phones in Asia. In todays
fast moving generation Cellular phones have become one of the most important
systems for communication. Unlike landline telephones it uses radio frequency
instead of fixed cable for communication hence making it convenient to carry with
growing demand for cellular phones and with many new cellular service providers
trying to enter the market. There is growing competition all service providers are
trying to innovate new ways and means to satisfy its customers by introducing extra
features and additional facilities.
If one service provides offers a new facility immediately its competitor also
offers the same facility or introduces another one to retain its customers. Thus for any
business in the cellular world retaining its customers is more difficult and costlier than
gaining new customers. It is estimated that the cost of retaining a customers is

times more than the cost of attracting a new customer it requires a great deal of effort
to induce and convince customers not to switch away from their current service. Thus
customers are given to priority in todays competitive world. Customers using various
service providers also must be totally aware of its features and advantages they must
choose the service considering its image and services offered by it. So every company
must try and create a positive brand image in the market as well as in the minds of the
customers to be able to face the tough competition. The service sector is a challenging
and growing sector. It plays a vital role in the economy of a nation because it shapes
its future.
In modern days, service sector is becoming the primary source of wealth, trade
and growth throughout the developed world. In olden days, the perception of service
was confined to work and advice only with service motto. Today the service have
been commercialized which is due to the emergence of a materialistic age in which
financial health of organization and economic status of an individual proved to be an
important base for evaluating sound ness, perfection an excellence.

Services have become a necessity for business houses. Even in developing

countries like India, a service sector is gaining momentum. Now-a-days, qualify is
questioned in the competitive market. In the service marketing, sky is the limit for
quality. In India, the contribution of service sector has touched only 45% of GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) whereas it is 87% in U.S.A; 79% in Canada, and 75% in
U.K. Deregulation of services and application of new technologies are presenting
considerable challenges to service sector companies such Bank, Insurance
Companies, Airlines, Tourism, Education, Health Care, Telecommunication and so
on.
The present study is related to mobile phone services and the mobile phone
service providers are in the prompt line. This service sector is creating more
employment opportunities. The service expectations of the users of the mobile phone
services are very high and are relative in character. Still the sector has potentiality and
should lay up to the raising expectation of the users. Now, the present year, the
mobile phone service provider has paid attention to the issue of users satisfaction and
quality of service. This study on mobile phone service has tried to analyze the service
characters, and the brand preference of mobile phone users.1

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Mobile phone occupies a predominant position in the modern life because
mobile phones are used by all levels of people. A day may come, when the number of
Mobile phone users may be greater than the number of telephone users. It helps one to
send and receive information anytime and anywhere. The effective and efficient usage
of Mobile phones and growth of mobile phone sector depends on the Mobile phone
service providers. Mobile phone users meet many problems. Problems arising from
the buying a mobile phone, choosing the mobile phone service provider. Tower
problem, variety of terms and conditions, recharge coupons and roaming charges the
optimum use of Mobile phone facilities is an the vital issue of the mobile phone users.
Growth of the mobile phone sector very much depends on the mobile phone
service providers. They also meet many problems in their day to day activities.
Choices of technology providing better service to the user, competing with other
1

www.buzzle.com/ Information -the-mobile-phones-in-the-indian-society.html

service providers are the, major problems for the mobile phone operators. In Order to
ascertain the problems and prospectus of the mobile phone companies and the service
providers in the study are, this research was undertaken.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Review of literature is essential for every research to carry on investigation
successfully. Hence, the study is based on the following review.
Mayank Vinodbhai Bhatt, in his article titled A Study of Mobile Phone
Usage among the Post Graduate Students says that the usage of mobile phone has
increased among the students in the recent time. Rapid growth and competition
among the mobile handset companies and mobile service provider companies have
decreased the rates for mobile handsets as well as mobile services. This has resulted
in the increase of customer base. Now a day we can find a mobile phone with every
student. Thus it is of significant interest to assess the students view on usage,
necessity and spending on mobile phones. However, to the best of our knowledge,
there has not been any survey that exclusively compares the students perspective on
the different mobile handset companies and mobile service providers.2

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study has been comprehensive and analytical. The main focus of this
study is to understand the opinion of the mobile phone users with regard to the service
extended by the mobile phone service providers. This study gives a detailed analysis
on the origin and growth of mobile phone, various mobile phone service providers in
srivilliputtur and preference of mobile phone user for using the mobile phone service.
The present study is undertaken to understand the problems faced by the mobile
phone users. Further the study will cover the preference of mobile phone subscribers
in Srivilliputtur.

Mayank Vinodbhai, A Study of Mobile Phone Usage among the Post Graduate Students, Indian
Journal of Marketing, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4, April 2008, pp.13-21.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study has the following objectives,
1. To analyze the nature of mobile phone service providers to their subscribers.
2. To find out the attitude towards the selection of mobile phones and service
providers by the subscribers.
3. To identify the problems faced by the mobile phone users regarding to service
providers and mobile phones.
4. To give the proper suggestions to the mobile phone service providers and
mobile phone companies.

HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis is a tentative proportion formulated for empirical testing. It is a
declarative statement combining concepts. In order to achieve the objective of the
present study the researcher has formulated the following hypotheses.

There is no relationship between the educational qualification of the

respondents and the mode of purchasing of mobile phone.

There is no relationship between the occupation of the respondents and the

number of years of using mobile phones.

There is no relationship between the usage of GSM mobile phone and the
GSM service providers.

PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA

Srivilliputhur (srivilliputtur or thiruvilliputtur) is one of the temple towns in
Tamilnadu. It is located in Viruthunagar district, Tamilnadu. This town is well
connected by road and rail with all major towns in the state. The nearest airport is in
Madurai, 75km away from the town.

Major Industries
Weaving & farming are the primary occupation for most of the people in this
town. Srivilliputtur Palkova, a sweet made up of milk and sugar, is prepared and
distributed by area businesses and its popular all over the Tamil Nadu. The
uniqueness of this sweet is the taste and quality. This town also encompasses
jewellery makers and lawyers in particular. It has 10 courts including a district court
even though it is not the district headquarters. One cannot ignore agriculture, there are
lots of small villages within 3 km Radius, and agriculture is the main occupation,
during draught people take up part time work in Match Box (or) in the Textile
Industry.

Population
According to the 2010 census, the taluk of Srivilliputhur had a population of
269,317 with 134,051 males and 135,266 females. There were thousand nine women
for every thousand men. The taluk had a literacy rate of 71.15. The total number of
households was 70,369.3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology is an essential aspect of any research or investigation.
It enables the investigator to look at the problem in a systematic, meaningful and
orderly way. This study is based on descriptive research. It explores the existing
phenomena of responses given by the customers towards the brand preference of
mobile phone.

Primary Data
Primary data is the first hand information, which has been collected through
direct personal interview with the help of a structured interview schedule from the
mobile phone users in Srivilliputtur.

http://en.wikipedia.org/virudhunagar district/srivilliputtur

Secondary Data
The secondary data is an integral part of any research study or a dissertation
report as it provides information on key variables, which play a major part in the
actual research. The sources of secondary collected include: Standard text books,
Journals, Magazines, News papers and the Websites.

Sampling Design
Having considered the indefinite universe and the time at the disposal of the
researcher, it is decided to adopt a convenient sampling technique. The researcher
selected a sample of only 150 mobile phone users for this study.

Tools of Analysis
In order to analyse the objectives of this study, the tools used were Graphs,
Diagrams and charts are used to analyse the opinion of the respondents, weighted
mean score, weighted arithmetic mean is used and, Chi- square test was used to judge
the significance.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study has the following limitations

Mobile phone is a global concept, but the present study covers only
srivilliputtur.

The study was depending on the sampling and due to the limited period, the
entire population is not taken into account.

The Research study was fully focused preference of mobile phone and service
providers only. It does not with mobile number portability, because MNP
scheme was start after Jan 20th.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF MOBILE PHONE AND

SERVICE PROVIDERS
Table No.1: The Details Regarding General Profile of the Mobile Phone Users
Factors

Gender

Age base Usage

Education

Occupation

Monthly Income

Classification

No. of Respondents

Percentage

Male
Female

84
66

56.00
44.00

15-25 Years
25-35 Years
35-45 Years
45-55 Years
Above 55

18
38
57
20
17

12.00
25.34
38.00
13.33
11.33

Up to Higher Secondary
Under Graduate
Post Graduate
Professional

18
38
77
17

12.00
25.34
51.33
11.33

Business
Professional
Employee
Home maker
Student

30
12
50
15
43

20.00
8.00
33.33
10.00
26.67

Less than `5000

35
45
33
37

23.33
30.00
22.00
24.67

` 5000 to ` 10,000
`10,000to ` 15,000

Above ` 15,000
Source: Primary Data
Inference: Regarding personal profile of the mobile phone users, the table no.1 shows
that 56 per cent respondents are male, 38 per cent respondents are starting the age
group of 35-45 years, and the maximum respondents are Post Graduates (51.33 per
cent), the majority of the respondents is employee (33.33 per cent) and in case of
monthly income the earnings (30 per cent) under the income group of ` 5000 to
`10,000.

Table No.2: Usage of the Mobile Phones by the respondents

Mobile Phones

Number of Respondents

Percentage

Brand Mobiles
China Mobile
CDMA Mobiles

79
43
28

52.67
28.67
18.66

Total
Source: Primary Data

150

100.00

Inference: The above table reveals that out of 150 respondents, 79 respondents are
using Brand Mobiles (52.67 per cent), 43 respondents are using China Mobiles (28.67
per cent), and the remaining 28 respondents are using CDMA Mobiles (18.66 per
cent). It is inferred that among 150 respondents majority of the respondents are using
Brand Mobiles (52.67 per cent).

Table No.3: Using Brand Mobile Phone by the respondents

Mobile Phones
Nokia
Samsung
Motorola
Videocon
Sony Ericsson
Total

Number of Respondents
30
18
12
4
15
79

Percentage
37.97
22.78
15.19
5.06
19.00
100.00

Source: Primary Data

Inference: It is Obvious to state that 30 respondents prefer Nokia Mobile
(37.97 per cent), 18 respondents prefer Samsung Mobile (22.78 per cent), 12
respondents prefer Motorola Mobile (15.19 per cent), 4 respondents prefer Videocon
Mobiles (5.06 per cent), and the remaining 15 respondents prefer Sony Ericsson
Mobile (19.00 per cent).
It is clear that among 79 respondents majority of them are prefer the Nokia
Mobile phone (37.97 per cent), in the study area.

Table No.4: Using China Mobiles by the respondents

China Mobiles
Number of Respondents
Percentage
GFive
28
65.12
Fly

13.95

Orion
Karbonn

5
4

11.63
9.30

Total
43
100.00
Source: Primary Data
Inference: It is oblivious from the above table that 28 respondents prefer GFive
Mobile (65.12 per cent), 6 respondents prefer Fly Mobile (13.95 per cent), 5
respondents prefer Orion Mobile (11.63 per cent), and the remaining 4 respondents
prefer Karbonn Mobile (9.30 per cent).
From the above table it is clear that among the china mobiles users the
majority of them are prefer the GFive Mobiles (65.12 per cent).
Table No.5: Mode of Mobile Phone Purchased by the respondents
Mode of Purchase

Number of Respondents

Percentage

Installment System

30

20.00

Ready Cash

120

80.00

Total

150

100.00

Source: Primary data

Inference: Out of 150 respondents, 120 (80 per cent) of the respondents purchase
mobile phone by ready cash; and the remaining 30 (20.00 per cent) respondents
purchase their mobile phone by installment system. It is understood that most of the
respondents purchase their mobile phone only for cash.
For finding out the relationship between educational qualification of the respondents
and mode of purchasing mobile phone the researcher used chi-square test.
Ho: There is no significant relationship between educational qualification of the
respondents and mode of purchasing mobile phone.
H1: There is significant relationship between educational qualification of the
respondents and mode of purchasing mobile phone.
The x2 for table value 3 degrees of freedom at 5 per cent level of significance
7.815. The calculated x2 value is (30.85) higher than the table value (7.815) at

per cent level of significance level. The null hypothesis is rejected. Hence, there is an
association between educational qualification of the respondents and mode of
purchasing mobile phone.

Table No.6: Reasons for having Mobile Phone by the respondents

Reasons
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Convenience
Easily accessible
Easy to Communicate
Economy
Total
Source: Primary Data

72
37
28

48.00
24.67
18.67

13
150

8.66
100.00

Inference: The above table shows that out of 150 respondents, 72 (48 per cent)
respondents are purchasing the mobile phone for their convenience, 37 respondents
are purchasing the mobile phone for the easy accessible (24.67 per cent), 28
respondents are purchasing the mobile phone for the easy to communicate (18.67 per
cent) and the remaining 13 respondents are purchasing the mobile for Economy (8.66
per cent). It reveals that the majority of the respondents are purchasing the mobile
phone for their convenience (48 per cent).

Table No.7: Mobile Phone Usage Period of the respondents

Years of Using cell phone Number of Respondents
Percentage
Less than 2 years
43
28.67
3 5 Years
75
50.00
6 8 Years
26
17.33
Above 8 Years
6
4.00
Total
150
100.00
Source: Primary Data
Inference: It is apparent from the above table that 75 respondents are using mobile
phone 3-5 years (50 per cent); 43 respondents are using mobile phone less than 2
years (28.67 per cent); 26 respondents are using mobile phone 6-8 years(17.33 per
cent) and the remaining 6 respondents are using mobile phone above 8 years. It is
inferred that a majority of the respondents 3 to 5 years use mobile phone.
For the finding out the relationship between Occupation of the respondents
and number of years of using mobile phone the researcher used chi-square test.
Ho: There is no significant relationship between Occupation of the respondents and
number of years of using mobile phone.
H1: There is significant relationship between Occupation of the respondents and
number of years of using mobile phone.

The x2 for table value12 degrees of freedom at 5 per cent level of significance
21.026. The calculated x2 value is (22.91159) higher than the table value (21.026) at
5 per cent level of significance level. The null hypothesis is rejected. Hence, there is
an association between Occupation of the respondents and number of years of using
mobile phone.
Table No.8: Nature of Using Mobile Phone by the respondents
Purpose of Using Mobiles
Number of Respondents
Percentage
Incoming Only

3.33

Outgoing Only

23

15.33

Incoming & Outgoing

32

21.33

SMS Only

18

12.00

Incoming & Outgoing and SMS

72

48.00

Total

150

100.00

Source: Primary data

Inference: Out of 150 respondents 5 (3.33 per cent) respondents are mostly attend the
incoming calls only; 23(15.33 per cent) respondents dial outgoing calls only; 32
respondents (21.33 per cent) are using both incoming as well as outgoing calls; 18
respondents (12 per cent) are using only for SMS services out of these category of
respondents all of them comes under students category and the remaining 72
respondents (48 per cent) prefer Incoming and Outgoing as well as SMS services. It is
understood that most of the respondents are using mobile phone for Incoming and
Outgoing as well as SMS services (48 per cent).

Table No.9: Usage of Mobile Phone Service Providers by the respondents

Service Providers

Number of Respondents

Percentage

GSM
CDMA

122
28

81.33
18.67

Total
Source: Primary Data

150

100.00

Inference: It is observed from the above table that among 150 respondents, 122
respondents are use GSM service providers (81.33 per cent) and the remaining 28
respondents are use CDMA service providers (18.67 per cent). It is inferred that
majority of the respondents use GSM service providers.

Table No.10: Usage of GSM Service Providers of the respondents

GSM Service Providers

Number of Respondents

Percentage

Airtel

45

36.89

Aircel

18

14.75

Uninor

16

13.11

BSNL

4.92

Vodafone

22

18.03

Tata Docomo

12

9.84

Idea

2.46

Total

122

100.00

Source: Primary Data

Inference: It is obvious from the above table that 45 respondents prefer Airtel (36.89
per cent), 18 respondents prefer Aircel (14.75 per cent), 16 respondents prefer Uninor
(13.11 per cent), 6 respondents are prefer Bsnl (4.92 per cent), 22 respondents prefers
Vodafone (18.03 per cent), 12 respondents prefer Tata Docomo (9.84 per cent) and
the remaining 3 respondents prefer Idea (2.46 per cent). From the above table it is
clear that among 122 respondents majority of them prefer Airtel service.
For finding out the relationship between usage of GSM mobile phone and
GSM service providers the researcher used Chi-square test.
Ho: There is no significant relationship between usage of GSM mobile phone and
GSM service providers.
H1: There is significant relationship between usage of GSM mobile phone and GSM
service providers.
The x2

for table value 48 degrees of freedom at 5 per cent level of

significance 64.885. The calculated x2 value is (89.5707) higher than the table value
(64.885) at 5 per cent level of significance level.
The null hypothesis is rejected. Hence, there is an association between usage
of GSM mobile phone and GSM service providers.
Table No.11: Usage of CDMA Service Providers of the respondents
CDMA Service Providers Number of Respondents Percentage
Tata Indicom

25.00

Reliance

28.57

MTS

13

46.43

28

100.00

Total
Source: Primary Data

Inference: It is obvious from the table (No.11) that 7 respondents are prefer Tata
Indicom (25 per cent), 8 respondents prefer Reliance (28.57 per cent) and the
remaining 13 respondents are prefer MTS (46.43 per cent). Most of the respondents
prefer MTS service provider.
Table No.12: Type of Card Holders of the respondents
Card Holders

Number of Respondents

Prepaid
Post Paid
Total
Source: Primary Data

128
22
150

Percentage
85.33
14.67
100.00

Inference: Out of 150 respondents 128 (85.33 per cent) respondents prefer prepaid
card and the remaining 22 (14.67 per cent) respondents prefer post paid card. It is
inferred that majority of the respondents prefer prepaid card.
Table No.13: Attitude towards Cellular Service Providers of the respondents
Strongly
Agree

Network Coverage is Excellent

Total

Weighted
Mean
Score

Rank

150

4.15

16

12

150

3.42

36

28

150

3.56

37

23

22

12

150

3.69

37

26

18

150

3.91

Agree

No
Opinion

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

68

47

28

Value Added Services are plenty

38

27

57

Plan Options are More Convenient

47

32

Call Charges are Moderate

56

Activation Formalities are Simple

64

STATEMENTS

Source: Primary Data

Inference: It is observed that, out of the 5 statements, network coverage ranks that the
first place with weighted mean score of 4.15. The second rank goes to activation
formalities. The third rank goes to call charges. The fourth rank goes to plan options.
The fifth rank goes to value added services. It is concluded that network coverage is
excellent most of respondents told that strongly agree weighted mean score 4.15.

Table No.14: Benefits of mobile phone service providers by the respondents

Total

Weighted
Mean Score

Rank

150

4.21

27

150

2.51

150

3.63

58

66

150

1.92

22

45

38

150

2.61

BENEFITS
Fast Communication

II

III

IV

85

30

22

Security

10

18

37

58

Wide coverage with low cost

30

56

49

Privacy

10

Entertainment

18

27

Source: Primary Data

Inference: From the following table it is observed that, out of the 5 benefits, fast
communication ranks that the first place with weighted mean score of 4.21. The
second rank goes to wide coverage with low cost. The third rank goes to
entertainment. The fourth rank goes to security. The fifth rank goes to privacy. It is
inferred that most of the respondents are rank the benefits of mobile phone service
providers is fast communication weighted mean score 4.21.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The major findings of the study are as follows:

From the gender wise classification of the users, it is clear that 56 per cent of
the respondents who use mobile phone are male.

The researcher finds that opinions of mobile phone users about usage of
mobile phone 52.67 per cent of the respondents are using brand mobiles.

The researcher finds that 37.97 per cent of the respondents prefer the Nokia
mobile phone.

The researcher has also finds that 65.12 per cent of the respondents are prefer
the GFive mobiles.

The analysis of the mode of purchase of the users indicates that 80 per cent of
the respondents are purchasing the mobile phone by ready cash.

It is found that there is relationship between educational qualification of the

respondents and mode of purchasing mobile phone.

Maximum of 48 per cent of the respondents are purchasing the mobile phone
for their convenience.

 The researcher has also investigated the number of years of using the mobile
phone. It reveals that, 50 per cent of the respondents are using mobile phone 35 years.

It is found that there is relationship between occupation of the respondents and

number of years of using mobile phone.

The researcher investigated the nature of using mobile phone 48 per cent of
the respondents are using mobile phone for incoming and outgoing as well as
SMS services.

Majority of 81.33 per cent of the respondents are using GSM service
providers.

The researcher finds that 36.89 per cent of the respondents are using Airtel
service.

It is found that there is a relationship between usage of GSM mobile phone

and GSM service provider.

The researcher finds that 46.43 per cent of the respondents are prefer the MTS
service provider.

The researcher has made an attempt to know the type of card holders. 85.33
per cent of the respondents prefer prepaid card.

Out of five statements attitude towards mobile phone service providers, most
of the respondents are told that network coverage is excellent with weighted
mean score of 4.15

Out of five benefits of mobile phone service provider, most of the respondents
are rank the benefits of mobile phone service provider is fast communication
with weighted mean score of 4.21

SUGGESTIONS
Nokia has got its own brand image, but as the video and audio is concerned
there are lots of complaints from the customers regarding every brand. The
mobile phone companies should take special efforts to overcome these
complaints in future.

There is close relationship between gender of users and choice of mobile

phone service providers. Majority of mobile phone service users under this
study are males. Therefore, the mobile phone service providers should
follow sales promotion techniques to attract more females.

 Prepaid cards are highly preferred by the customers. When the customers
use prepaid cards they will limit their talk. When they are induced to use
postpaid cards, limitless talk could be possible without fear of empty
balance. Hence, the companies and dealers should concentrate more on
postpaid business and create awareness about the usage of postpaid service
and expand the postpaid business to the level of prepaid business.

CONCLUSION
The results of the survey show that convenience is the most influencing
factor for mobile subscribers. Any rise or fall in tariffs directly affects mobile phone
usage. A better and customer friendly tariff and a problem free service provider can
hope to tap the customer resources and top in market share. In addition, multiple
usages of mobile phone and better service are other factors influencing customers. It
can be concluded that the existing customers are satisfied with the mobile phone
services. By creating more awareness, better coverage, connectivity and new schemes
the prospective consumer can be generated.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Donald R. Cooper, Pamel S Schindler, Business Research Methods, The Mc
Graw Hill Companies, 2006.
Kothari, C. R. Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, New Age
International Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2005.

JOURNAL REFERENCES
Mayank Vinodbhai, A Study of Mobile Phone Usage among the Post Graduate
Students, Indian Journal of Marketing, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4, April 2008, pp.13-21.

WEBSITE REFERENCES
http:/www.buzzle.com/ Information -the-mobile-phones-in-the-indiansociety.html
http://en.wikipedia.org