Telecom Sector

Group 2

MODULE 1

INDUSTRY
1. Definition: The telecommunication industry is Oligopoly market which has few large
players in the economy. It plays a crucial role in providing the primary means of
communication to virtually all businesses, households, and individuals.
It is the second largest in the world by number of telephone users (both fixed and
mobile phone) and internet user-base with 1.183 billion subscribers as on 31 st May
2019 and 460 million broadband internet subscribers in the country. It contributes
6.5% in Indian GDP or about Rs. 9 Lakh crores. This industry operates nationally and
internationally both, as some companies operates in different parts of world where as
few of them work in domestic territory only.
2. Classification of Industries by Government of India:
Section J: Information and communication
Division 61: Telecommunications
This division includes the activities of providing telecommunications and related
service activities that is transmitting voice, data, text, sound and video. The
transmission facilities that carry out these activities may be based on a single
technology or a combination of technologies. The commonality of activities classified
in this division is the transmission of content, without being involved in its creation.
The breakdown in this division is based on the type of infrastructure operated. In the
case of transmission of television signals this may include the bundling of complete
programming channels (produced in division 60) in to programme packages for
distribution.
Group 611 Wired telecommunications activities
Group 612 Wireless telecommunications activities
Group 613 Satellite telecommunications activities
Group 619 Other telecommunications activities

http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/main_menu/
national_industrial_classification/nic_2008_17apr09.pdf
3. Selected Industry for the Project: Telecommunication Industry
4. Rationale behind the Selection:
We selected this specific industry due to following reasons which are as follows:
A) The recent entry of Jio was very intriguing to get into the intricate details of this
industry
B) The recent regulatory reforms in this industry
C) The connection of this industry with the cause of Digital India
D) Because of this industry being in news on a regular basis Due to certain GST
reforms
E) Sudden price changes due to Competitive Pricing with the entry of new player
 F) Merger of two major players namely Vodafone India Limited and Idea Cellular
Services Limited
These are some of the reasons we selected this industry of Telecommunications for
our Project Work.
5. Capacity of the Industry: As per this report we cannot conclude the capacity of the
spectrum in the Telecom Industry, as the report is divided into state wise data.
http://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/2016_11_21%20W
UF%20WF%20Aggregate_Data_by_Area_Band.pdf

6. Identification of Professional Trade Bodies for the selected Industry and Role
and highlights of each trade bodies for the selected industry:
A) Department of Telecommunications Ministry of Communications (DoT): The
Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India governed by the
resolution dated 11th April,1989 with powers to deal with the various aspects of
telecommunications. The Government then amended and re-designated the
‘Telecom Commission’ as the ‘Digital Communications Commission’ with a
resolution dated 22nd October,2018.

The Digital Communications Commission is responsible for:

(1) Formulating the policy of Department of Telecommunications for approval of
the Government;
(2) Preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for each
financial year and getting it approved by the Government; &
(3) Implementation of Government's policy in all matters concerning
telecommunication.

dot.gov.in

B) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established with effect from 20th
February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of
tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.
The main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy
environment and to nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the
country in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in
emerging global information society.

https://main.trai.gov.in/
C) Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT): The
adjudicatory powers of TRAI were challenged before the Delhi High Court on the
ground that TRAI does not possess the power to issue directions to the
Government in latter's capacity as Licensor.
In order to bring in functional clarity and strengthen the regulatory framework and
the disputes settlement mechanism in the telecommunication sector, the TRAI Act
of 1997 was amended in the year 2000 and TDSAT was set up to adjudicate
disputes and dispose of appeals with a view to protect the interests of service
 providers and consumers of the telecom sector and to promote and ensure orderly
growth of the telecom sector.

http://www.tdsat.gov.in/Delhi/Delhi.php

Industry Association
A) Cellular Operators Association of India: COAI was constituted in 1995 as a
registered, non-governmental society. Over the years COAI has emerged as the
official voice for the Indian telecom industry and interacts directly with Ministries.  It
provides a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas between these bodies and the
Service Providers, who share a common interest in the development of mobile
telephony in the country.
The objective of presenting an industry consensus view to the Government on crucial
issues relating to the growth and development of the Indian telecom Industry.
https://www.coai.com/about-us

B) Indian Telecom Industries Limited (ITI): India’s first Public Sector Unit (PSU) -
Government of India Established as a departmental factory in 1948. In 1950, our
company ITI Private Limited was incorporated as a Private Limited company. the
company offers a range of telecom products and total solutions covering the spectrum
of Switching, Transmission, Access and Subscriber Premises equipment.

http://www.itiltd-india.com/about

C) Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI): The Internet & Mobile
Association of India (IAMAI) is not-for-profit industry body registered under the
Societies Act, 1896. There is already talk of this industry contributing US $1 trillion
by 2022. IAMAI's key role is to ensure the growth and sustainability of this industry.

https://www.iamai.in/AboutUs

D) Tower and Infrastructure Provider Association (TAIPA): Tower and

Infrastructure Providers Association was constituted in 2011 as an industry
representative body registered under the Indian Society registration act, 1860. The
telecom infrastructure providers provide an Integrated Neutral Host Platform that is
used by diverse and often competing operators resulting in the rapid deployment of
networks supporting over 1.3 billion mobile subscribers. The new and upcoming
technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and virtual reality will be highly
successful since the easy availability and accessibility of shared towers, a key input
for the growth of this sector.

https://www.taipa.in/about-taipa.php
ECONOMIC FORCES
1. Demand estimates:
Demand estimation is a prediction focusing on future consumer behaviour. As per the
telephone subscriber in India was estimated to grow at CAGR of 20.1% but according
to the Economic times of India telephone subscriber base has expanded at a CAGR of
19.6%, reaching 1,183.51million at the end of FY 2019.
Expected growth was 7% of mobile phone subscriber base but, according to
the latest report from TRAI mobile phone subscriber base in India recorded 6.71%
YoY growth to 1,183.51 million users. Further, India is also the world’s second
largest telecommunications market, with total subscriber base of 1,183.51 million at
the end of March 2019.
The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for the telecom market before and after the
entry of Jio using TRAI data.
In a scale of 0 to 10,000 with a higher score implying higher concentration, we found
that HHI increased by almost 1,000 points from 1,543 to 2,877.5 between June 2018
and June 2019. To put matters in perspective, the US Department of Justice considers
a market with HHI of less than 1,500 to be competitive, one between 1,500 and 2,500
to be moderately concentrated and one beyond 2,500 to be highly concentrated.

2. Supply estimates:
Supply estimation is a prediction focusing on future performance of our Industry
considering the performance of companies and consumer behavior. Industry is
expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.3 per cent during the forecast period 2015–2020.
As per the TRAI report and market performance the number of internet subscribers in
the country is expected to double by 2021 and whole industry is expected to increase
by CAGR of 30 per cent by 2021.Telecom industry contribution is expected to reach
8.2% by 2020 from 6.5% in 2017.

3. Demand and Supply balance in the selected Industry:

Telecom Industry as a whole was expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.3 per cent during
the forecast period 2015–2020, it has achieved a healthy growth during this period.
Whereas in FY 2019 it was estimated to grow at 20.1% but due to the taxation polices
changes it has expanded at a CAGR of 19.6%.

4. Supply Constraints:
A) Price Competition:
Being connected continues to become cheaper and cheaper, the cost of providing such
a service keeps falling, and competition means that the price keeps getting smaller and
smaller in a strong, negative feedback loop
B) Connectivity:
 There is a huge competition now a days in terms of connectivity but there for there is
no proper connection in many parts of the country. There is only 43.4% of rural
market is captured by the players.
C) Huge competition:
As Telecom is an Oligopoly market so there are only few big players available in the
market so there is a huge competition in the market so the player applies new
strategies by which other players has no option but to cut the price rate.
D) Developing 5G:
5G is expected to become available to the public by 2020. It is expected to improve
not just the speed of the spectrum, but the capacity and latency as well.  Ultimately,
5G will provide a browsing experience for users with less delay and unlimited
connections. The potential of 5G will also facilitate development of  IoT, meaning 5G
will be not just an upgrade, but a complete revolution of mobile technology.

5. Factors affecting demands of the selected Industry:

A) Subscription pack (Price):
It is the most important factor affecting demand for the given commodity (service).
Demand for the given service is also affected by the change in price of the related
product/ service.
B) Network Connectivity:
Customer generally look at the connectivity in telecom industry as it’s the most
important. Customer will shift to those players who provide the best connectivity.
C) Customer care:
Customer care plays the vital role when it come to the service industry. As subscriber
increase day by day so customer will prefer those players who provide better service
and after sales service.
D) Offers/ Discount:
As offers and discount are not very important part but has a different image in
customers mind there it also affects the demand.

https://main.trai.gov.in/

COMPANY DETAILS
1. List of Players in the selected Industry:
A) Tata Teleservices Ltd.
B) M/s Reliance JIO Infocomm Limited
C) M/s Reliance Communications Ltd
D) M/s Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
E) M/s Vodafone Idea Ltd.
F) M/s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
https://main.trai.gov.in/consumer-
G) M/s. Bharti Airtel Limited info/telecom/service-provider-list

2. Identify top 3 and bottom 3 players in the Industry:

Top Players Market Share Bottom Players Market Share

 Vodafone Idea 32.03% BSNL 9.93%
Reliance Jio 29.74% MTNL 0.29%
Bharti Airtel 28.01% Reliance Com 0.002%
According to the TRAI reports the top players in the Telecom Industry in wireless segment
are in green and the bottom players are in blue.
https://main.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.101of2019.pdf

HHI Index

Players Market Share Square of Market Share

Vodafone Idea 32.03% 1025.92
Reliance Jio 29.74% 884.46
Bharti Airtel 28.01% 784.56
BSNL 9.93% 98.60
MTNL 0.29% 0.084
Reliance Com 0.002% 0.000004
HHI 2877.54
Here HHI Index shows more than 2500 figure which represents that the telecom industry is a
highly concentrated industry, which means there are only few players in the industry, who
hold a large percentage of the market share, leading to oligopolistic situation.
The companies which are holding large market share are Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio and
Bharti Airtel.

3. Capacity (Production) and the respective market share of each selected players:
Spectrum is a frequency that get auctioned by the Government of India and which
shows the capacity of the Telecom company to provide service to the customer. For
Telecom it starts from 800 MHz to 2300 MHz

Airtel: Airtel owns 1800 MHZ spectrum in 8 circles, 2100 MHZ in 5 circles and 2300
MHZ in 13 circles
JIO: Jio owns 850MHz in 4 circles, 1800MHz in 8 circles, 2300MHz in 16 circles 4G
across all its network sites.
Vodafone: It has 1800 MHz in 11 circles, 2100 MHz in 7 circles, and 2500 MHz in
15 circles
Idea: Idea owns spectrum in 1800 MHz in 12 circles, 2100 MHz 4 circles,
2300 MHz in 3 circles and 2500 MHz in 16 circles.

https://telecomtalk.info/india-
spectrum-data-sheet/134245/

BSNL: BSNL owns spectrum in 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and

2500 MHz bands across the country.

https://www.google.com/search?
rlz=1C1GCEA_enIN835IN835&sxsrf=ACYBGNTZhFdgF
DK7fn0lCHP4XLYhf6lmkg
%3A1573133432478&ei=eBzEXebmHKPhz7sPtYeh2A
4&q=mhz+capacity+vodafone+bsnl&oq=mhz+capacit
y+vodafone+bsn&gs_l=psy-
 MTNL: MTNL owns spectrum in 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and
2100 MHz bands across the country.

https://www.google.com/search?
rlz=1C1GCEA_enIN835IN835&sxsrf=ACYBGNSMhHj4c7lUlZ0pAihICoYJiXhtAg
%3A1573133454646&ei=jhzEXb_7JrSKmgeIj5vQDA&q=mhz+capacity+vodafone+mtnl
&oq=mhz+capacity+vodafone+mtnl&gs_l=psy-
ab.3..33i160.28496.31832..32255...0.2..0.234.1387.0j4j3......0....1..gws-
wiz.......0i71j35i39.W0f4x-FXfBE&ved=0ahUKEwi_-
v3lmtjlAhU0heYKHYjHBsoQ4dUDCAs&uact=5
4. Classification of Leaders, challengers, followers, niechers from the selected
companies (Follow Anexure1):
Category Revenue: (in crore) Subscriber: (in millions)
Leader Reliance Jio 10800.44 Vodafone Idea 383.77
Challengers Bharti Airtel 7468.63 Reliance Jio 331.26
Vodafone 6721.06 Airtel 324.65
Idea
Follower BSNL 2598.61 BSNL 126.86
Niechers MTNL 407.19 MTNL 6.63
(wireline)

https://main.trai.gov.in/release-
publication/reports/performance-indicators-reports

5. Positioning strategy of the selected company:

JIO- Jio has positioned itself as a DATA STRONG NETWORK BUILT FOR
THE INTERNET, which came up with new technology and lowered the prices and
had given the extra benefits which customer had never thought of. It positioned itself
as a technological advanced company which has more focused on digitizing the
activity of the customer and providing more services to the customers, like e-kyc,
home delivery of SIM, My Jio app etc.
Initiatives:
 Promoted the vision of the prime minister
 Free sim cards
 Less charges

Airtel- Airtel positioned itself in a premium category and emphasized more on elite
class of the society. They focused more on network quality and shifted their focus
from speed to experience.
Initiatives:
 Transparency to the customer
 OOKLA speed test
 Network at every place

Vodafone Idea- It has largest spectrum portfolio, a nationwide network of sites and
optical fibre, wide distribution reach and strong customer affinity for its two brands -
Vodafone and Idea, is very well positioned to be successful in this new, consolidated
 marketplace. It has positioned itself as a giant in the Telecom sector by their joint
venture.

BSNL: It majorly focuses on providing services to government department under

wireline connections. BSNL is committed to good corporate governance as laid down
in the relevant statutes.

MTNL: MTNL focuses on improving the wireless networks into metros mainly
Delhi and Mumbai it also plans an expansion of GSM and 3G RF networks and with
this place them in the minds of customers’ requirements of hybrid technologies.

RCom: It positioned as a next generation, network that is capable of supporting best-

of-class services spanning the entire communications value chain. Reliance
Communications owns and operates the world’s largest next generation IP enabled
connectivity infrastructure of fibre optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe,
Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

6. Points of Differentiation such as Product, Price, Distribution, Reach, Brand

value etc.:
A) Airtel--- Fastest mobile network.
According to the reports of OOKLA network test, it shows that airtel has the fastest
mobile network in India, which gives the better service to its customers as competing
to its competitors.

https://www.google.com/search?
rlz=1C1GCEA_enIN835IN835&sxsrf=ACYBGNTH6n8vNfkFbcs4hCeaelIZws
10Xg
%3A1573366178354&ei=oqnHXeGcFaPiz7sPlNWC2A4&q=ookla+speedt
est+india&oq=oo&gs_l=psy-
ab.3.0.35i39l2j0i67l8.1129975.1132505..1134480...1.2..4.270.1211.0j6j1
B) JIO--- Mobile Phones, JioFi, Jio Fibre
Products and services which Jio offers differentiate itself
from its competitors. Mobile phones which are cheap in
price, JioFi a new thing which means your Wi-Fi in your
pocket, Jio Fibre the speed and the technology which
brings the new experience to the user.

https://www.jio.com/fiber/en-in/plans
 C) Vodafone Idea --- Offers
Vodafone Idea differentiate themselves in the offers they provide to its customers as
comparing to its competitors, which make them more attractive than their
competitors.

https://shop.vodafone.in/shop/postpaid/vodafone-redx-
postpaid-plan.jsp?utm_source=website&utm_campaign=redx-
prebook-launch&utm_content=prebook-sofa-
dataspeed&utm_medium=cpm&utm_adtype=banner

D) BSNL --- Landline

BSNL is a market leader in wireline segment as it has its own brand value in this
sector as it is one of the oldest telecom company in India plus it is operated by GOI.

7. Pricing techniques and Price range:

A) Reliance Jio
Category Price Range
Jio Phone Rs.699 – Rs.2999
JIOFI/Router Rs.999 – Rs.1999
Recharge Plans Rs.10 – Rs.9999
Jio Fibre Rs.699 – Rs.8499
The total price range of Reliance Jio is from Rs.10 – Rs.9999.
https://www.jio.com/index.html

B) Bharti Airtel
Category Price Range
DTH Plans Rs.240 – Rs.558
Airtel Xtreme Rs.1100 – Rs.3999
Recharge Plans Rs.10 – Rs.6999
Airtel Broadband Rs.799 – Rs.1499
Price range of Bharti Airtel is from Rs.10 – Rs.6999.
https://www.airtel.in/

C) Vodafone
Category Price Range
Recharge Plans Rs.9 – Rs.5000
Vodafone is only into mobile networking service whose price range is from Rs.9 to
Rs.5000.
https://www.vodafone.in/?section=consumer
 D) Idea
Category Price Range
Recharge Plans Rs.10 – Rs.2000
Broadband Rs.1499 – Rs.14160
Price range of Idea is from Rs.10 to 14160.
https://www.ideacellular.com/investor-relations/listing-information

E) BSNL
Category Price Range
Recharge Plans Rs.7 – Rs.5500
Price range of Idea is from Rs.7 to Rs.5500
https://www.bsnl.co.in/

F) MTNL
Category Price Range
Recharge Plans Rs.22 – Rs.5000
Price range of Idea is from Rs.22 to 5000
http://www.mtnl.net.in/

G) RCom
Category Price Range
Recharge Plans Rs.5 – Rs.1000
Price range of Idea is from Rs.5 to 1000
http://rcom.co.in/

8. Pricing strategies such as cost based, value based, etc.:

A) Jio: It has used Penetration pricing strategies to enter in the competitive market and
be the competition to the existing players in the market. With the help of Giga fibre
technology, it lowered the prices and increased the supply of the data, which helped it
in becoming the top player in the market.
B) Airtel: It uses meeting and following the competition strategy, to compete with
reliance Jio price, they also lowered the price by improving their technology and to
grab their subscriber back they focused more on the customer experience and quality
services.
C) Vodafone Idea: It uses meeting and following the competition strategy as they also
decreased their price to compete with the pricing strategy of Reliance Jio and Airtel.
D) RCom: As per the news Reliance Communication is going to shut down its business
because of and financial condition
E) BSNL: BSNL uses return on investment strategy as it is recovering itself and trying to
be a major player in the market BSNL is trying to satisfy the customer plus at the
same time they are importantly trying to achieve a predetermined level of return on
the capital to be in the market.
 F) MTNL: MTNL is going through a tough face and to be in the market and survive
they are using survival strategy, to slowly - slowly they can grab their market share.

COMPETITION
1. Nature of Competition and Characteristics of competitive rivalry among the
selected players:
Oligopoly Market (Non-collusive or Non cooperative Oligopoly)

Threat of new entrant (low) Substitue product (low)

1.Strict government regulations There is no substitue product available
2.Extremely high infrastructure setup in market
cost
3.Difficulty in achieving economiesIndustry
of rivalry
1.Customers low
scale switching cost and price Bargaining power of
Bargaining power of
sensitivity is increasing
supplier(high) competition
customer (High)
Bargaing power is high because there 1. Low switching cost and mobile
are just few supplier in sector number portabillity give customers high
bargaining power
2.Customer are price sensetive
2. Economic indicators of Competition and Identification of Key Factors of the
competition among the selected players such as Product, Price, Geographical
Expansion, Promotion, Resource, Capital etc.:

4 Ps of Jio

Price
1.JIO phone price:
Product
starting at 699 to 2999
4G broadband, lyf
2.Recharge Plans From
smartphones, jio-fi, jio
10rs to 9999rs
apps, jio fiber
3.JIo Fibre plans699 to
8499

Promotion
Place JIO has done various
campaign like JIO
It has a reach in about welcome offer, JIO
18000 cities and across modi ad campaign ,
more than two lakh JIO football campaign
villages within the etc
country

4ps of Airtel

Product
Airtel pre-paid, Airtel
post-paid, value added
services, fixed line and
telephony, Broadband
and fixed-line internet
servies, digital
television and IPTV,
DTH operator.
Price
1.Prepaid Recharge start
from 10rs.to 6999
2.DTH plan start from 240
to 558
3.Airtelconnection/Xtrem
e 1100rs - 3999 rs
4. Airtel Broadband 799
to1499

Promotion
Place
Vodafone promote
It mainly sells its Products through celebrities as well
and services through as sports stars like mary
Mobile operators and kom, david beckham,
retailers, which is michael schumacher etc.
common for the industry. and through various ad
It has wide and extensive campaign like
presence even in the #Strongtogether
remotest areas 
#Strongeveryhour

4ps of Vodafone Idea

 Product Price
Fixed line and mobile 1. Prepaid plan of
telephony, Internet vodafone are 9- 5000 and
services, Digital Idea 10- 2000
television, Vodafone 2. Broadband
branded handsets 1499rs – 14160rs

Promotion
Place Vodafone promote
through celebrities as well
It has reach about 27 as sports stars like mary
coutries all over the kom, david beckham,
world michael schumacher etc.
and through various ad
campaign like
  #Strongtogether
#Strongeveryhour

BRAND STRATEGIES
1. Identification of Brand Elements:
Jio

A) Brand logos:

by Unknown Author is licensed

B) Brand Slogan: Digital life
under
C) Brand Differentiation: Mobile Phones, JioFi, Jio Fibre
D) Brand Extension: 4G broadband, lyf smartphones, Jio-fi, Jio apps, Jio fibre

Airtel
A) Brand logos:

by Unknown Author is
licensed under
B) Brand Differentiation: Fastest mobile network.
C) Brand Extension: Airtel pre-paid, Airtel post-paid, value added services, fixed line
and telephony, Broadband and fixed-line internet services, digital television and
IPTV, DTH operator.

Vodafone-Idea

A) Brand logos:

B) Brand Differentiation:

C) Brand Extension: Fixed line and mobile telephony, Internet services, Digital
television, Vodafone branded handsets

2. Brand Value of the selected company:

A) Jio: 4.1 billion
B) Airtel: 10.23 billion with an increase of 3 % from last year
C) Vodafone idea: 21.32 BILLION
D) BSNL: 560 million
E) MTNL: 450 million

3. Brand Equity of the selected company:

Brand Awareness:

1. Surveys and focus groups

2. Web traffic
3. Search volume for your brand and products

Preference Metrix

1. Brand relevance
2. Accessibility
3. Emotional connection
4. Brand value

Financial Metrix

 Price premium over competition

 Average transaction value
 Customer lifetime value

 Rate of sustained growth

https://www.jio.com/ ; https://www.vodafone.in/ ;
https://www.airtel.in/ ; https://www.airtel.in/prepaid-recharge/?
icid=homepageicon ; https://main.trai.gov.in/

4. Online presence and initiatives of the selected company:

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE TWITTER

YOUTUBE
TWITTER

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE TWITTER

YOUTUBE
TWITTER
 https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-
demographics/#Twitter  , Facebook.com,
Instagram.com, Twitter.com, YouTube.com

MODULE 2

(PROMOTORS AND MANAGEMENT ETHOS)

A) CMD of the selected companies

TOP 3
Reliance Jio Mr.Sanjay Mashruwala
Vodafone Idea Mr. Ravinder Takkar
Bharti Airtel Mr. Gopal Vittal
BOTTOM 3
MTNL Mr. Sunil Kumar
BSNL Mr. Pravin Kumar Purwar
Reliance Communication Mr. Anil D. Ambani

B) CEO of the selected companies

TOP 3
Reliance Jio Mr. Mukesh Ambani
Vodafone Idea Mr. Takkar
Bharti Airtel Mr. Gopal Vittal
BOTTOM 3
MTNL Mr. Sunil Kumar
BSNL Mr. Pravin Kumar Purwar
Reliance Communication Mr. Anil D. Ambani

C) Brief Profile and Career of CMD and CEO

Title Company Since

CEO/Managing Director Bharti Airtel Ltd 04/2014–PRESENT

Vice Chairman Cellular Operators Assoc 07/2014–05/2016

India
Joint Managing Director Bharti Airtel Ltd 02/2013–03/2013
Group Dir: Special Projects Bharti Airtel Ltd UNKNOWN–02/2013

Exec Dir: Home & Personal Hindustan Unilever Ltd 07/2008–01/2012

Care
Joint Mng Dir/CEO: India Bharti Airtel Ltd 03/2013–UNKNOWN
Director: Marketing Bharti Airtel Ltd FORMER
Airtel- Mr. Gopal Vittal
 https://in.linkedin.com/in/gopal-vittal-866a981b

Reliance Jio- Mr. Sanjay Mashruwala

Title Company Since

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Managing Director --
Reliance Jio Digital Director --
Services Ltd.

Mukesh Ambani

 Dhirubhai Ambani has started Reliance. In 1981 Mukesh Ambani joined his family
business. Mukesh Ambani started the expansion of the company’s activities from just
textiles to areas as diverse as polyester fibres, petroleum refining and petrochemicals.
 He moved on to oil and production and exploration of natural gas. The petroleum refinery
started by Ambani at Jamnagar can produce 660 thousand barrels of oil in a day.
 Later on, he also started the Reliance Infocomm Limited, which was rebranded as
Reliance Communications Limited. It focused primarily on communications and
information technology programmes. At present, Reliance Industries Limited also has the
rights to the natural gas obtained in the Krishna-Godavari Basin.
 He revolutionized the Indian network communications by setting up the digital
infrastructure of 4G network and forming the ‘Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited,’ popularly
known as ‘Jio,’ which was made available in September 2016.Ambani has also expanded
4G broadband wireless and retail services offered by Reliance with a view to become one
of the top 50 companies of the world.

VodafoneIdea- Mr. Ravinder Takkar

Title Company Since

MD and CEO Vodafoneidea Aug 2019
Chairman Vodafone Group Services Aug2017-
India
President & Partner Market Jun 2014-Aug
CEO 2017
CEO Partner Market Jan 2012-Jun2014
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravinder-takkar-2ab54046/

MTNL- Mr. Sunil Kumar

Title Company Since

Chairman and Managing MTNL Jul 2019
Director
Director( HR & MTNL Board Jun 2013- Present
 Enterprises Business)
Chairman Millenium Telecom Sep 2013- Present
Limited (Owned
subsidiary of
MTNL)
Executive Director Telecommunication Sep 2011- Jun 2013
Consultants India
Limited
Sr. General Manager- Bharat Sanchar April 2008-Sep 2011
Enterprise Business Nigam Limited
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunil-kumar-a0970315/

Title Company Since

Chairman/Managing Bharat Sanchar Nigam 6/2019-PRESENT
Director Limited
Chairman/Managing Mahanagar Telephone 06/2016–06/2019
Director Nigam Ltd
Director:Finance Mahanagar Telephone 06/2013–06/2016
Nigam
BSNL- Mr. Pravin Kumar Ltd
Purwar
General Manager Bsnl FORMER

D) Companies CSR Initiatives

In terms of the provisions of section 135 of the Companies Act, read with companies
(Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, the Board of Directors of your
company has constituted a Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) Committee.

1) VodafoneIdea:
 Swachh Iconic Place, Somnath Temple under Swachh Bharat Mission The project
supplements the Government of India’s initiative to enhance cleanliness across India’s
rich heritage sites. It endeavours to create infrastructure for cleanliness at Somnath
temple. It also aspires to raise awareness among people about cleanliness. Construction
of toilets, mobile toilets, safe drinking water facilities, drainage treatment, cleaning of
river, cleanliness campaign using IEC materials, clean beach site near temple etc.
 The focus areas for Company’s CSR activities were health care, education, sustainable
livelihood, infrastructure development and social change.
  Kerala's largest operator, Vodafone Idea Ltd. cares for people and believes that every
life saved, every distress call connected makes an invaluable difference.
 Vodafone Idea extends a helping hand for the flood hit Assam Offers Free & Call
benefits to 10 Lakh customers in Assam.
 Girl Child Education – ‘Vidya Har Beti Ka Adhikar’ addresses the need of KHEL,
KITAB and KHANA in the government schools. The key activities taken under the
initiative are renovation of basic school infrastructure, refurnishing of library,
computer & science laboratory, smart class, construction of toilets etc.
file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/VIL-Annual-Report_2018-19.pdf

2) Reliance Jio:
 During FY 2018-19, Reliance spent `904 crore on CSR initiatives on these focus areas.
 Reliance engages the community members in planning and implementation of the
village development plans, empowers them through trainings, and works towards
scaling and sustaining the initiatives.
 Village Leaders Appreciated: Nishaben Choudhri, a women leader and a farmer from
Zankhvav village of Surat district, Gujarat, was conferred with the Pandit Deen Dayal
Upadhyay Krishi Vigyan Protshahan Puraskar for farm innovation. She was also
awarded prize money of `50,000.
 Empowerment Through Digital Platforms- Reliance collaborates with an ecosystem
that comprises 1,171 knowledge and infrastructure partners, thematic experts,
including research institutions, government departments, NGOs and grassroots
organisations. These partners provide invaluable information on crop management,
livestock care, ocean state forecasts, cyclone warnings, schemes and subsidies,
technology, healthcare, civic services and other topics.
 Reliance also provided support to people affected in the Gaja Cyclone in Tamil Nadu,
Titli Cyclone in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and floods in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
 The cancer prevention and control programme screened around 15,000 individuals for
oral, breast and cervical cancers. file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/ril-annual-report-2019.pdf
3) Bharti Airtel:
 Initiatives in the field of education, women empowerment, sanitation, employment
generation and healthcare, validates our steadfast commitment to making the world we
operate in, a better place.
 Airtel's network spreads to remotest pockets of India, where rural communities suffer
from poverty and lack of access to education and healthcare facilities.
 Bharti Foundation: ‘Satya Bharti School Program’, the Foundation provides free
quality education across primary, elementary as well as secondary level education to
thousands of underprivileged children, with a special focus on the girl child.
 Satya Bharti Abhiyan: Launched in August 2014, the Satya Bharti Abhiyan, improves
sanitation conditions in large geographic areas by providing access to toilets for
households file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/Bharti-Airtel-Limited-Integrated-Report-Annual-Financial-
Statements
2018-19.pdf

4) MTNL
The Telecom industry globally is cognizant of the fact that it needs to lighten its carbon
footprint. and, in Indian telecom sector, MTNL is leading the search for green options.
  Contribution towards corpus of MTNL Education & Charitable Trusts.: This
Education and Charitable Trust will be constituted for awarding scholarships to
meritorious and needy students and for grant of awards to the top ranking performers
in select National competitive examinations as decided by the Trust.
 Contribution towards Natural Calamities or Disasters
 Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing
vocation skills especially among children, women, elderly, and the differently abled
and livelihood enhancement projects
 Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, paralympic sports and
Olympic.
http://mtnl.in/csr_2014.pdf
5) BSNL:
 Natural disasters and calamities.
 Provision of ambulances.
 Provision of Broadband connections.
 Provision of GSM Mobile PCOs.
 Provision of WLL data connection.
https://www.bsnl.co.in/opencms/bsnl/BSNL/about_us/others/New_CSR_Policy_of_BSNL.pdf

E) Philosophy of Social Inclusion of the selected companies

a) Reliance’s social initiatives are based on a three-pronged strategy:
 Direct engagement with the community- To generate meaningful change, which is
sustainable, Reliance directly engages with the community. A team of trained
professionals from Reliance Foundation directly engage and collaborate with the
communities, right from understanding their needs, planning and implementing the
programmes, and measuring the values and impact they have created.
 Forging Partnerships and Collaborations- It collaborates with the organisations for
sharing technical knowledge, human resources and infrastructure. These partnerships
support in delivering Reliance’s commitment by intensively engaging with the
communities and penetrate into the critical issues that are physically untouched
through direct interventions.
 Leveraging Technology: Reliance leverages technology to provide sustainable
solutions. These technological interventions connect communities on multiple digital
platforms for optimum use of resources, informed decision making and capacity
building. Through the use of technology, Reliance has made significant progress in
reaching out to people with various services such as information advisories, digital
classrooms, virtual sports clinics and record keeping of patients.
b) VodafoneIdea:
 As the average net profits calculated for last three financial years is negative, the
Company is not obligated to spend on CSR activities for the Financial Year 2018-19.
However, believing on giving and caring for the underprivileged and inclusion of all,
the Company spent ` 15 Mn towards CSR activities.
 The CSR projects reached out to around 1.11 lakh people including children across 9
States. The Company has received accolades from Ministry of Drinking Water and
 Sanitation for Somnath Temple Complex, Golden Peacock Award for Corporate
Social Responsibility 2018, Voice and Data Award for CSR.
c) Airtel:
 In FY 2018-19, over 149 Mn customers came from rural areas.
 Airtel contributed H 94.78 Mn to Bharti Foundation towards furtherance of its
objectives, H 300 Mn to Satya Bharti Foundation towards setting up of Satya Bharti
University and H 100.87 Mn for other community development and philanthropic
initiatives.
d) BSNL:
 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited committed to the Socio-Economic growth and
development of the country that will help the community to enhance the cost of living
and their economic well-being by paying attention to the weaker section of the
society.
 The company’s CSR activities are promoted under the company’s brand name with
“Connecting India” as a punch line, which captures the spirit and commitment of the
company’s CSR policy to protect, preserve and promote the social, cultural and
environmental heritage and wealth for sustainable and equitable development.
F) Inclination and policies regarding environment of the selected companies

Airtel:

I. climate change interventions:

 Auto shutdown in non- peak hours.
 Low Power consuming BTS.
 Power factor correction.
 Real time energy monitoring.
 Hybrid battery bank solutions Free Cooling Units (FCU) & Natural Cooling
Units(NCU).
OUTPUT:

 7,678.58 KL of diesel saved since FY 2017-18 in our own mobile network

infrastructure.
 Reduction in network emission intensity for mobile (carbon emissions per terabyte)
from FY 2017-18.
II. Data Centres:
 Excess load surrender
 Equipment optimization and utilization
 Cooling optimization Cold Aisle Containment
 Diesel usage optimization Hot spot rectification
 Power utilisation efficiency correction
 Improved Power Usage Efficiency
 ISO 14001:2015 implemented to enhance environmental performance
OUTPUT:

 7% Reduction in CO2 emission per rack from FY 2017-18.

 5000 MWH Energy saved in our data centres.
III. Exploring Green Energy Solutions
 Solar-DG Hybrid Solution
 Migration to Battery solution
 Rooftop Solar Energy at Main Switching Centers (MSC)
 Green Wheeling.
 Project Green City
OUTPUT:

 71% Reduction in network emission intensity for mobile (carbon emissions per
terabyte) from FY 2017-18
 98.7% Reduction in network emission intensity for mobile (carbon emissions per
terabyte) from FY 2011-12
 Reduction in diesel consumption in our mobile network infrastructure from FY 2015-
16.
IV. Resource and Waste Optimization: We significantly reduced the total waste disposed
from our operations in FY 2018-19 to 20.07 tonnes.
V. Moving towards a Greener Paperless Future: 142.4 Mn. E-bills were sent to our
customers. This led to saving of over 427 Mn sheets of paper, 82.7% increase since FY
2011-12.
VI. Waste management: In past 5 years, almost more than 10,000 tonnes of e-waste
generated was recycled. In addition, over 4,168 tonnes of e-waste from IT and network
infrastructure was responsibly recycled in the FY 2018-19 through our authorised
partners.

Reliance:

CONTRIBUTION TO SWACHH BHARAT-

 ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ campaign reaching more than 42 lakh people across 429 locations
in the two-week long campaign that ended on October 2, 2018.
 More than 2 lakh volunteers (employees, rural and urban community leaders and
groups) supported by Reliance through various initiatives participated in various
cleanliness activities.
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND ANIMAL WELFARE:

 Reliance Veterinary Hospital in Padana attended to more than 15,000 animals during
the year; of these, over 13,000 were given medicinal treatment, surgery was
conducted on 376 animals and 1,298 animals were treated for gynaecology issues.
 Apart from conducting various veterinary camps, an artificial insemination (A.I.)
programme was initiated in August, 2018 under which about 800 A.I. cases were
successfully handled.
MTNL:
  Through conserving energy, recycling, or finding innovative solutions to
environmental and social challenges, MTNL is committed to being a respectful,
responsible and positive influence on the environment and the society in which we
operate.
 Efficient power management, infrastructure sharing, use of eco-friendly renewable
energy sources, leveraging the latest technology to reach out to a large audience in
most energy efficient manner such as video and teleconferencing, smart logistics, etc.
are some of the best practices in our network infrastructure and day-today business
operations, to ensure a clean and green environment.
BSNL:

 Ensuring Environment Sustainability, Ecological balance, Protection of Flora and

Fauna, Animal welfare, Agroforestry, Conservation of natural resources and maintain
quality of soil, air, water.
G) Integrative framework of their social inclusion and initiatives (Purpose and Process
should be mentioned) file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/VIL-Annual-Report_2018-19.pdf
file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/ril-annual-report-2019.pdf
file:///D:/Syllabus/tri%20sem5/SIA/Bharti-Airtel-Limited-Integrated-
Report-Annual-Financial-Statements-2018-19.pdf

VodafoneIdea Reliance Jio Airtel

Objectiv  The average net profits
e calculated for last three
financial years is
negative.
 The Company is not
obligated to spend on
CSR activities for the
Financial Year 2018-19.
 However, believing on
giving and caring for the
underprivileged and
inclusion of all, the
Company spent 15 Mn
towards CSR activities.
Activitie  The focus areas for
s Company’s CSR
activities were health
care, education,
Reliance’s social initiatives  Airtel contributed H
are based on a three-
pronged strategy:
 Direct engagement with
the community
 Forging Partnerships and
Collaborations
 Leveraging Technology
 Rural Transformation
 Kerala Flood Relief
 Reliance Foundation
Youth Sports (Rfys)
94.78 Mn to Bharti
Foundation.
 300 Mn to Satya Bharti
Foundation towards
setting up of Satya
Bharti University.
 100.87 Mn for other
community development
and philanthropic
initiatives
 Our initiatives in the
field of education,
women empowerment,
sanitation, employment
 sustainable livelihood,  Reliance Foundation generation and
infrastructure Young Champs (Rfyc). healthcare
development and social  Dhirubhai Ambani  Bharti Foundation:
change. International School ‘Satya Bharti School
 Vodafone Idea extends a  Sir H.N. Reliance Program’
helping hand for the flood Foundation Hospital And  Satya Bharti Abhiyan:
hit Assam Offers Free & Research Centre Launched in August
Call benefits to 10 Lakh  Community Health 2014
customers in Assam Outreach Operations
 Swach Iconic Place,
Somnath Temple under
Swach Bharat Mission.
 Girl Child Education –
‘Vidya Har Beti ka
Adhikar’ addresses the
need of KHEL, KITAB
and KHANA in the
government schools.
Output The CSR projects reached out  75% programme villages  In past 5 years, almost
to around 1.11 lakh people were made water secure more than 10,000
including children across 9  83% farmers reported tonnes of e-waste
States. saving in input cost on generated was recycled.
agriculture  4,168 tonnes of e-waste
 73% families are food from IT and network
secure throughout the infrastructure.
year  In FY 2018-19, 105.30
 77% farmers reported tonnes of paper was
enhancement in income used, of which 17.1%
levels was recycled.

MTNL BSNL

Objective Enhancing the quality of life & economic

well being of the local population.
Activities  MTNL Education & Charitable Trusts  Natural disasters and
 Contribution towards Natural
Calamities or Disasters
 Promoting education, including
special education and employment
 Training to promote rural sports
The company’s brand name with
“Connecting India” as a punch
line, which captures the spirit
and commitment of the
company’s CSR policy to
protect
calamities.
 Provision of ambulances.
 Provision of Broadband
connections.
 Provision of GSM Mobile
  paralympic sports and Olympic sports PCOs. Provision of WLL
data connections

MODULE 3

(EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT AND REGULATORY BODIES)

1. Controlling ministry in government of India:
Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology

2. Number and Name of regulatory body for the selected Industry and companies:
There are 3 regulatory bodies for telecom sector in India which are as follows:

 DOT = Department of Telecommunications

 TRAI = Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
 TDSAT = Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal
dot.gov.in

3. Brief introduction of each regulatory body:

D) DOT = Department of Telecommunications: The Telecom Commission was set
up by the Government of India governed by the resolution dated 11 th April,1989
with powers to deal with the various aspects of telecommunications. The
Government then amended and re-designated the ‘Telecom Commission’ as the
‘Digital Communications Commission’ with a resolution dated 22nd October,2018.

The Digital Communications Commission is responsible for:

(4) Formulating the policy of Department of Telecommunications for approval of
the Government;
(5) Preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for each
financial year and getting it approved by the Government; &
(6) Implementation of Government's policy in all matters concerning
telecommunication.
dot.gov.in

E) TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India): The entry of private service

providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulation. The
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect
from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including
fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the
Central Government.
 TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of
telecommunications in the country in a manner and at a pace which will enable
India to play a leading role in emerging global information society.
One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy
environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition.
In pursuance of above objective TRAI has issued from time to time a large
number of regulations, orders and directives to deal with issues coming before it
and provided the required direction to the evolution of Indian telecom market
from a Government owned monopoly to a multi operator multi service open
competitive market.
main.trai.gov.in

F) TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal): The Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997 (as amended) provides for the
establishment of the TRAI and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate
Tribunal (TDSAT) to regulate the telecommunication services, adjudicate
disputes, dispose off appeals and to protect the interests of service providers and
consumers of the Telecom, Broadcasting & Cable sector and to promote and
ensure orderly growth of the Telecom, Broadcasting & Cable sectors and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The TDSAT was created in the year 2000 by the Central Government under the
TRAI Act, 1997 (as amended) to settle and adjudicate disputes involving licensor,
licensee, and a group of consumers. In January, 2004 the jurisdiction of TDSAT
was extended to include broadcasting and cable services besides
telecommunication services. In May, 2017 the jurisdiction of TDSAT was
further extended to include erstwhile jurisdiction of Airport Economic Regulatory
Authority Appellate Tribunal (AERAAT) and Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CyAT).
The jurisdiction of TDSAT is exclusive and an appeal against its order lies to the
Hon’ble Supreme DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS. However,
under the provisions of IT Act, appeal against order of TDSAT on cyber matters
lies before High Court. Statutory appeal does not lie against the interim order of
TDSAT. TDSAT exercises both original as well as appellate jurisdiction. TDSAT
is an expert body and comprises of a Chairperson and two Members.
Annual Report DOT 2018-2019

4. Classification of regulatory body between national and state. Brief description of

their functionaries:

A) DoT (Department of Telecommunications): NATIONAL REGULATORY

BODY
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS (SANCHAR MANTRALAYA)
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS (DOOR SANCHAR
VIBHAG)

(1) Policy, Licensing and Coordination matters relating to telegraphs, telephones,

wireless, data, facsimile and telematic services and other like forms of
communications.
(2) International cooperation in matters connected with telecommunications
including matters relating to all international bodies dealing with
telecommunications such as International Telecommunication Union (ITU), its
Radio Regulation Board (RRB), Radio Communication Sector (ITU-R),
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), Development Sector
(ITU-D), International Telecommunication Satellite Organization
(INTELSAT), International Mobile Satellite Organization (INMARSAT),
Asia Pacific Telecommunication (APT).
(3) Promotion of standardization, research and development in
telecommunications.
(4) Promotion of private investment in Telecommunications.
(5) Financial assistance for the furtherance of research and study in
telecommunications technology and for building up adequately trained
manpower for telecom programme, including-
a. assistance to institutions, assistance to scientific institutions and
to universities for advanced scientific study and research; and
b. grant of scholarships to students in educational institutions and
other forms of financial aid to individuals including those going
abroad for studies in the field of telecommunications.
(6) Procurement of stores and equipment required by the Department of
Telecommunications.
(7) Digital Communications Commission.
(8) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
(9) Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal.
(10) Administration of laws with respect to any of the matters specified in
this list, namely:
a. The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885);
b. The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 (17 of 1933); and
c. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of
1997).
(11) Indian Telephone Industries Limited.
(12) Post disinvestment matters relating to M/s Hindustan Teleprinters
Limited.
(13) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
(14) Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited.
(15) Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited and Telecommunications Consultants
(India) Limited.
(16) All matters relating to Centre for Development of Telematics (C-
DOT).
(17) Residual work relating to the erstwhile Department of Telecom
Services and Department of Telecom Operations, including matters relating to:
 a. cadre control functions of Group 'A' and other categories of
personnel till their absorption in Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Limited;
b. administration and payment of terminal benefits.
(18) Execution of works, purchase and acquisition of land debitable to the
capital Budget pertaining to telecommunications.
dot.gov.in

B) TRAI (Telecom Authority of India): NATIONAL REGULATORY

BODY
(1) To regulate telecommunication services, adjudicate disputes, dispose appeals
and protect the interest of the service providers as well as the consumers. The
Act also aims at promoting and ensuring orderly growth of the telecom sector.
(2) The recommendations made by the TRAI are not binding on the Central
Government. However, the Central Government has to mandatorily ask for
recommendations from TRAI with respect to need and timing of new service
provider and terms and conditions of the licence to be granted to the service
provider. TRAI has the obligation to forward the recommendation to the
Central Government within 60 days from the date of the request for
recommendation. TRAI may also request for relevant information or
documents from the Central Government to make such recommendations and
the Central Government has to furnish such information within seven days
from the date of the request.
(3) The Central Government can issue licence to the service provider, if TRAI
fails to give any recommendation within the stipulated period. Where the
Central Government is of the opinion that the recommendations made by
TRAI cannot be accepted or need modification, then it can send them back to
TRAI for reconsideration. TRAI may reply within a period of 15 days from
the date of reference.
(4) TRAI also has the power to notify in the official gazette the rates at which
telecommunication services are being provided in and outside India. TRAI
shall ensure transparency while exercising its powers and discharging its
functions.

TRAI under section 12 has the power to call for information and conduct
investigation. It also has got powers to issue directions under section 13.
https://cis-india.org/telecom/resources/trai-act-1997

C) TSDAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal):

NATIONAL REGULATORY BODY
1) The Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (Tribunal) is
established under section 14 of the Act. It is the sole dispute resolution
body in the communication sector. It can adjudicate upon any dispute
between:
2) Licensor (Central Government) and a licensee.
3) Two or more service providers.
4) Between a service provider and a group of consumers.
However, the Tribunal does not have any jurisdiction to try any matter which
deals with anti-competitive trade practices or any consumer complaint.

https://cis-india.org/telecom/resources/trai-act-1997
5. Details of legal violations done by the selected companies, if any:

A) TRAI issues notice to Airtel for violating transparency order

Case: The TRAI first of its kind show – cause notice was issued to airtel seeking
its details on kind of tariffs they were offering, when were they launched and
when were the tariffs got reported to the regulator. As per these rules it was
airtel’s responsibility to give a similar kind of package to each and every customer
and report it to the authorities about the same. In lieu of maintaining its subscriber
base, they cannot offer a make shift plans or personalised plans as per the
requirements of the subscriber. After finding details about the violations by Airtel
TRAI sent them a notice seeking all the details to which Airtel didn’t respond
after which the regulator sent them another notice giving them a final opportunity
to stop such malpractices and report to the authorities as soon as soon as possible.
To which the incumbent Telco’s such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular
opposed and asked TDSAT to put an interim stay on such orders by saying that
segmented offers for individuals fell within their rights of operations.

Result: Telecommunication companies were denied the interim stay plea and
were asked to either put the offer for all the subscribers or remove such offers to
retain subscribers and all other telecom companies to boost their subscriber base
and maintain a healthy competition.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/polic
y/trai-issues-notice-to-airtel-for-violating-transparency-
order/articleshow/63320060.cms?from=mdr

B) Jio accuses Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL of cheating; asks TRAI to slap
penalties
Case: Airtel, Vodafone Idea and BSNL have implemented a process under which
various enterprises are offered mobile numbers as their customer care or helpline
numbers the mobile numbers were just used as a virtual number for routing their
calls to call centres which in turn changes the nature of the calls from a mobile to
wireline to a mobile to mobile which is a fraudulent attempt made to illegally
extract interconnect charges which is at Rs. 6 paisa per minute from the
competitors. Where Jio the telecom regulator to slap the heaviest penalties on both
incumbents and BSNL for alleged violations of various telecom regulations,
which it claimed had cost Jio hundreds of crores, and the government as well. It
has also sought a refund of the termination charges it had paid the incumbents due
to the alleged fraud.

Result: TRAI Chairman R S Sharma levied a high penalty for fraud equivalent to
Rs. 3050 crores on the incumbents.
 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tele
com/telecom-news/jio-accuses-airtel-voda-idea-bsnl-
for-alleged-cheating-airtel-
rejects/articleshow/71619894.cms?from=mdr

C) Bharti Airtel Vs Reliance Jio

Case: As per the complaint by Airtel it states that Jio has gone further for “Free
Services” on its network to its potential customers than the allowed time period by
TRAI. As with the entry of Jio in Indian markets Reliance Jio launched a
“Welcome Offer” launched on 5th September,2016 which offered free voice, data
and messages for three months, which was further extended till march,2017 but as
per TRAI regulations any company with the entry of theirs in the market can offer
such services or the offers only for a period of 90 days to which Jio didn’t comply.

Result: CCI(Competition commission of India) reject the plea on the basis that
however the Jio’s two successive initial plans – the welcome offer and the happy
new year offer – didn’t violate any rules around predatory pricing, among others
and dismissed the pleas filed by Bharti Airtel, VIL(Vodafone Idea Limited) on the
basis of its incumbents dominant position in the market. Also, the CCI directed
TRAI to take appropriate action in accordance with provision in clause 7 of TTO
1999(as amended) or non- compliance of the reporting requirement in respect of
“Welcome Offer”

https://www.medianama.com/2017/06/223-heres-why-cci-dismissed-airtels-
complaint-against-jio/ ,
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/tdsat-directs-trai-to-
act-against-jio-for-violating-tariff-reporting-rules/articleshow/62746321.cms?
from=mdr

D) Written Submissions regarding telemarketing issue (Consumer against

Bharti Televentures)
Case: A consumer Ms. Nivedita Sharma filed a case with the regulator against
Bharti under the brand name Airtel regarding the regular frequency of
Telemarketing calls received by her on a daily basis and increase in its number on
a regular basis due to which she lodged multiple complaint to which she never
received a solution.
Result: Stringent Tele marketing rules came into being

df

E) Reliance Jio wants govt to stop Airtel eSIM on Apple watches

 Case: Jio has filed a complaint with the Department of Telecommunications
(DoT) alleging that Airtel has located the network node, crucial to provide eSIM
service on Apple Watch Series 3, outside India. This goes against the terms and
conditions of Unified License rules that require the node to be located within the
country. Airtel, however, has denied the charge saying DoT was duly notified
prior to the launch of Apple. The eSIM is paired with the iPhone SIM wirelessly
through a dedicated network node. The node used for eSIM profile allocation
contains network and user information such as operator identifier, SIM details,
PIN and remote SIM file management.
Jio alleged that Airtel has deliberately chosen to install the critical eSIM
provisioning node outside the country.

Result: DoT allowed e-sim in India, Paving the way for Apple watch 3 and other
devices
https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/telecom/reliance
-jio-airtel-esim-on-apple-watches/story/276812.html

F) MTNL faces heat over licence violation

Case: The home country direct service is a method whereby an operator can use a
network abroad to send and receive calls directly into its network in India, without
going through that of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).
DoT now plans to initiate action based on the responses from private operators to
the query sent last month to ascertain whether there has been a violation of licence
condition because of the practice of masking international and STD calls as local
calls.

Result: No certain action was taken by DoT as Reliance Infocomm indicated to

reach to Supreme court soon with certain issues

https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/mtnl-
faces-heat-over-licence-violation/cid/669001

6. Identification of national and global issues affecting the selected industry and
companies:
GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES
A) CUSTOMER LOYALTY: Customer switching to other service provider is high
Rate of acquisition per customer has also gone high in terms of costs for the service
providers. Also, due to high competition in the market a service provider charging a
little less cost from the customers they tend to shift their focus from one to another
and switch between the operators as India is a price sensitive market and customers in
wake of price are not loyal to one service provider and switch frequently.
media-and-
telecommunications/articles/telecommunication-
industry-challenges-opportunities.html#
B) AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT SPECTRUM: To be able to provide access,
mobile operators need spectrum, which is a scarce resource. In comparison to other
countries the amount of spectrum available for commercial use is low. Since the
practice of the government is to auction it at an exorbitant cost. Therefore, it becomes
difficult for mobile operators to provide services at reasonable speeds and at low
prices that encourage adoption and usage. The probable solution is not to rely fully
on licensed spectrum but there is a need to depend on unlicensed spectrum i.e. Wi-Fi
which operates in 2.4 GHz band. We should also think of offloading their data onto
fixed networks and SP-Wi-Fi network. It is because of the fact that 80% of the time
customers are either in office or their homes or some static places. They should be
using licensed band only when they need mobility and rest of the time, they should be
latched on to either fixed line work or Wi-Fi network available at various strategic
points.
http://www.ijerd.com/paper/vol13-
issue9/Version-4/B130940508.pdf

C) INCREASING FINANCIAL OVERHEAD: Revenue continues to remain under

pressure for the industry saddled with high debt, and for most players the earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA generated is not
enough to meet the interest expenses.
The Issue of Double Taxation in this industry had a cascading effect on the same.
The Income from Interest, Dividends, capital gains from sale of fixe assets, gains
from forex fluctuations, income from rent, insurance claims, and distributors margin
was included in the revenue of the telecom operators for the purpose pf computation
of license fee and spectrum usage charge which contributed highly to the increasing
financial overheads with the telecom service providers.
https://www.quantzig.com/tags/telecom-industry-challenges ,
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telec
om-news/coai-seeks-clear-roadmap-for-resolution-of-issues-
plaguing-telecom-sector/articleshow/68688270.cms?from=mdr

D) DATA TRAFFIC JAMS: Meeting the challenges of this explosion in demand for
data will piggyback on new technologies such as the 5G and virtualization, as well as
upgrading and improving technologies like deep packet inspection (DPIs).
However, this trend also represents an opportunity for telecoms. So far, it has been
mainly over-the-top (OTT) players who have reaped the benefits of traffic growth.

https://www.cyient.com/enabler/future/six-telecom-
trends-for-operators-to-watch-out-for-in-2018.php

E) INFORMATION ASYMMETRY ON PRICE AND QUALITY: Regulators

generally adopt a range of disclosure and transparency norms to address the
information asymmetry between telecom providers and their consumers. A part of this
problem arises from the complexity of tariff structures. Bundling of voice, short
message service (SMS) and data services have become the norm. Increasingly, access
to internet content, and now devices, are being bundled with telecom packs. While
 these packages provide better utility to some users, it also tests their ability to
understand and compare the real value of the bundled components. Similarly,
consumers also do not have the knowledge or the technical expertise to assess the
quality of service (QoS) being offered by a provider or easily compare it with others.
https://macrofinance.nipfp.org.in/PDF/Parsheera2018_Re
gulation-in-the-Telecom-Sector.pdf

F) DIMINISHING ROLE FOR TARIFF INTERVENTIONS: At present, TRAI has

allowed the market to set its own prices for all but a handful of services (national
roaming, fixed rural telephony and leased line services). This stems from the
realisation that the distortionary impact of price intervention in competitive markets
would almost always exceed its perceived benefits. Tariff forbearance being a given,
the debate has now shifted to whether the telecom regulator should continue to apply
principles like non-discrimination and non-predation in the context of the “nuanced
dynamic pricing policy that the sector is currently witnessing”.

https://macrofinance.nipfp.org.in/PDF/Parsheera201
8_Regulation-in-the-Telecom-Sector.pdf

G) INEFFECTIVE DIGITAL GROWTH AND DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY:

Industry surveys confirm that digital services are the top priority for telco leaders. Yet
generating growth from these services remains a challenge, with most of the early
forays into adjacent markets, such as financial services, remaining small-scale and
yielding mixed results. As 5G and the IoT move to centre stage, Telco need to
maximize their addressable market by developing innovative business models, and
seizing opportunities for inorganic growth, service innovation and diversification
file:///C:/Users/ITIKA/OneDrive/Desktop/ey-the-
through M&A and strategic alliances. top-10-risks-in-telecommunications-2019.pdf

H) UNDERESTIMATING CHANGING IMPERATIVES IN PRIVACY,

SECURITY AND TRUST: Heightened by regulations such as the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), consumers’ concerns about the use of their online data
are continuing to increase — a trend evidenced by our consumer research. With
digital trust now a white-hot issue for consumers and enterprises alike, and regulators
prioritizing data protection, Telcom service providers face the growing challenge of
ensuring that their customers’ data and experiences are safe and secure. While
operators recognize this imperative, many could still do more to put security and trust
at the heart of their customer interactions — including making “security by design” a
cornerstone of their digital transformation strategies.
file:///C:/Users/ITIKA/OneDrive/Desktop/ey-
the-top-10-risks-in-telecommunications-2019.pdf

7. Identification of Key Initiative to promote the selected industry:

A) TRAI MyCall App: TRAI MyCall is an intuitive and user-friendly application

for Crowdsourced Voice Call Quality Monitoring. The Application helps Mobile
 phone users to rate their experience about voice call quality in real time and help
TRAI gather consumer experience data along with Network data. A pop-up
requests the user to rate the call after it ends. Callers simply select their rating in
the form of stars and indicate if the calls were made in indoor, outdoor or while
travelling. Callers can also provide additional details such as noise or audio delay
or mark a call-drop.

B) DND 2.0 App: DND (Do Not Disturb) Services App enables smart phone users to
register their mobile number under DND and report spam messages or calls to
avoid Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC)/Telemarketing Calls/SMS.

https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=181622

C) Department of Telecom (DoT) Launches Tarang Sanchar: A web Portal for

Information sharing on Mobile Towers and EMF Emission Compliance
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=161464

D) Making ICT Accessible for Persons with Disabilities: Telecommunication and

broadcasting services have become ubiquitous in the last two decades. These
services now reach out to the most remote and underserved areas of the world,
thereby empowering millions of people. Telecommunication services also provide
the underlying infrastructure through which several services of the economy such
as banking, education, healthcare and public services etc. are delivered. Currently,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is fundamentally transforming
the way agriculture, trade/commerce, and transportation is being carried out.
Future advances in ICTs—including mobile broadband, the Internet of Things
(IoT), robotics and artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, and others—will provide
the tools for additional, unprecedented advances in healthcare, education, energy
services, agriculture, and environmental monitoring and protection etc.
An equal and inclusive society involves providing equal opportunities to all
sections of society irrespective of their physical, economic, social or religious
identity in all spheres of life viz education, skill development, economic
empowerment etc. and ensuring full participation of all persons including PwDs.
Consequently, programmes such as ‗Digital India ‘envisage an inclusive growth
and digitally empowered society.

https://main.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/CP_ICT_20122017.pdf

E) Extensive expansion of the Wi-Fi eco-system in rural areas, with an outlay of

Rs. 10,000 crores: Telecommunication and broadcasting services have become
ubiquitous in the last two decades. These services now reach out to the most
remote and underserved areas of the world, thereby empowering millions of
people. Telecommunication services also provide the underlying infrastructure
through which several services of the economy such as banking, education,
healthcare and public services etc. are delivered. Currently, Information and
 Communication Technology (ICT) is fundamentally transforming the way
agriculture, trade/commerce, and transportation is being carried out. Future
advances in ICTs—including mobile broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT),
robotics and artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, and others—will provide the tools
for additional, unprecedented advances in healthcare, education, energy services,
agriculture, and environmental monitoring and protection etc.
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=187358

F) The National Digital Communications Policy, 2018: Digital infrastructure and

services are increasingly emerging as key enablers and critical determinants of a
country’s growth and well-being. With significant capabilities in both
telecommunications and software, India, more than most countries, stands poised
to benefit from harnessing new digital technologies and platforms to unlock
productivity, as well as to reach unserved and underserved markets; thus
catalysing economic growth and development, generating new- age jobs and
livelihoods, and ensuring access to next generation services for its citizens.
India needs to particularly ensure that its communications infrastructure supports
the entire population, whose demographic profiles vary widely across various
indices such as literacy, economic conditions and urbanisation. It is important for
India to remain sensitive to these factors and promote policies that increase
opportunities for their social and economic development. Accordingly, this policy
aims for Universal Coverage rather than revenue maximization.
http://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/EnglishPolicy-NDCP.pdf