SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON
STUDY OF PROMOTION ACTIVITIES OF AIRTEL
FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF
Master of Business administration

Submitted by
Ranjan
MBA
Batch – (2017 – 19)
Roll No.:1717270088

Under The Guidance of

Ms. Kajal chauhan

LLYOD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY,

GREATER NOIDA-201306

(Affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Uttar Pradesh, ˘)

 PREFACE

It's a thing of massive gratification for me to present this Summer Training Project Report on the
topic "Promotional Activities of Airtel Products & Services" completed in an unrivaled
organization.

I know that even in the areas in which I have a little knowledge, I do not know enough. There are
new tasks in these areas for which tarn not yet equipped with tested, proven approaches and
tools. New areas of challenge and new technology problems has arisen, where 1 have done 7
little work so far and where I have so far only ignorance rather than even a modicum of
knowledge.
This project attempts to identify and define areas related to consumer behavior regarding new
connection services. It also attempts to develop at least first approach to these areas, to think
through policies, principles, and practices to accomplish the new tasks and to satisfy the
customer needs. By this practical training I am able to equip the manager with the understanding,
the thinking, the knowledge, and the skills for today's and also for tomorrow's market exigency.
Initially I was just having the bookish knowledge about all Marketing policies, practices and
functions, but after joining this organization,
I got most of the practical knowledge. I have come to know, what actually happens in the
organizations.
Though it is not possible to have the information of all the spheres in market, in such a very short
period, but I tried to get more and more about all functions and practices applied in practical
working, I have particularly stresses on.

This study, complex as it is, has acquired new dimensions with the dynamic social and
technological changes of the past two decades. Changing technologies, cultural diversity, more
educated work force and awareness of rights and privileges have prompted a new look at the
entire organizational structures and systems. This project report has been painstakingly and
thoroughly prepared to cover extensively various facets - both micro as well as macro - of the
field of telecommunication marketing. Its coverage is broad Band up to date and it is balanced in
terms of concept and application.

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Since customers are the most important asset of any organization, there is increased emphasis
on the need for understanding people in a manner to satisfy them through quality of services. The
language of the presentation is highly communicative so that it becomes interesting and
comprehensible.

This project is intended for a wide audience. It will be useful to not only the students of
management, marketing management and consumer behavior, but also to the people in any other
field and management practitioners who want to understand and enrich their understanding of
consumer trends & effectively manage their sales.

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge the sincere assistance provided to me from several rather unexpected quarters
during the course of execution of this study. It would be a mammoth task to place on record my
gratitude to each and every one of them but a whole hearted attempt would be made
nevertheless, least I be branded ungrateful.
I express my sincere gratitude to MS. KAJAL CHAUHAN Lloyd institute of management &

Technology, Greater Noida for Her valuable guidance and support at all time.

I am extremely thankful to Mr. RABISH KUNTAL, (Training Manager) for giving me an

opportunity to undergo training in Airtel (Bharti Airtel Ltd.).

And making my stay at MARKET EXPANSION & PROMOTOIN a memorable learning

experience.

I would again like to thank all the others those who had been connected with the project in some
way or the other, and made this report in front of you timely accessible.

RANJAN

MBA III sem

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project aims at understanding the Promotion strategies at Airtel and its impact on the

perception of Airtel Services.

Research has demonstrated conclusively that it is far more costly to win a new customer than it is

to maintain an existing one. And there is no better way to retain a customer than to exceed his

expectations. For this purpose it is essential to know the level of customer satisfaction. The focus

of my research was the measurement of customer satisfaction level for the services provided by

Bharti Airtel. My role to represent the Corporate Sales Dept. and collect the feedback from the

customer and to get the major complaints and resolve their problem. Finally the results of the

research verify the fact that keeping the customer satisfied is the best strategy to not only retains

the existing customers but also to expand the business to new horizons.

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 INDEX

S.No. CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1. CHAPTER- 1 :- INTRODUCTION 9-27

2. CHAPTER- 2 :-HISTORY OF AIRTEL 28-31

3. CHAPTER- 3:-OBJECTIVE 32-52

4 CHAPTER – 4 :-RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 53-55

5. CHAPTER- 5:-DATA ANALYSIS 56-74

6 CHAPTER- 6:-LIMITATIONS 75-76

7 CHAPTER- 7:-CONCLUSION 77-78

8 CHAPTER- 8:-SUGGESTION & FINDINGS 79-84

BIBLIOGRAPHY 85-86

QUESTIONNAIRE 87-88

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 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

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Economic development of any country depends mainly on savings and investment. Bank is a

financial institution which accepts money in from of deposits and gives loans and advances to

the individuals and industry. Bank performs the function of financial intermediaries, on one hand

it mobilizes deposits and on the other hand it invests these deposits in the industry. It encourage

savings by giving handsome returns in the form of interest and offering security, it mobilizes

deposits through its wider network of branches, offers remittances services and most importantly

provides capital to the industry. Thus development of strong banking network is a key for

economic development. On August 19th 2015, RBI granted ‘in principle’ approval for payment

banks to 11 entities. Payment banks can provides services like accepting deposits, issue of

ATM / Debit cards, remittance through various channels including branches, Automated Teller

Machines (ATMs), Business Correspondents (BCs) and mobile banking but cannot lend money

or issue credit cards. Setting up payment banks is a big step and strong way towards financial

inclusion. The payments banks will provide (i) small savings accounts and (ii) payments /

remittance services to migrant labour workforce, low income households, small businesses, other

unorganized sector entities and other users, by enabling high volume-low value transactions in

deposits and payments / remittance services in a secured technology-driven environment.

Bharti Airtel Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for promoting investments in

telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti Airtel

is India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications services based on a strong

customer base consisting of 50 million total customers, which constitute, 44.6 million mobile and

5.4 million fixed line customers, as of March 31, 20017.

Airtel comes to us from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom

conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include

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Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also

manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest

manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products

to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into Insurance and Retail segment in collaboration

with Multi- National giants. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 23

states covering all four metros and more than 50 million satisfied customers.

The company is a part of Bharti Enterprises, and is India's leading provider of

telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three

individual strategic business units (SBU’s) - mobile services, broadband & telephone services

(B&T) & enterprise services. The mobile services group provides GSM mobile services across

India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business group provides broadband & telephone

services in 90 cities. The Enterprise services group has two sub-units - carriers (long distance

services) and services to corporate.

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All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.

 Business Lines

 Mobile Services

 Broadband and Telephone Services

 Long Distance Services

 Enterprise Services

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

telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into two main

strategic business groups - the Mobility Leaders business group and the Infotel Leaders business

group.

The Mobility business group provides GSM mobile services across India in twenty three telecom

circles, while the Infotel business group provides broadband & telephone services, long distance

services and enterprise services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.

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Telecom industry has grown up very fast all over the world with the rapid changes in

Technology & Service market. They had become the necessity of today’s people. In India only

there are around 10 Telecom services providers.

Airtel is the longest GSM mobile service provider in India having a reach in more than 23

telecom circles. Airtel was established in the year 1995 and within a small time period of 11

years it has achieved a great success. It provides Broadband (DSL) and Telephone services in 15

Telecom circles in India. It provides the quality product at very competitive price. Airtel believes

in providing what customers want. They had a wide variety of plans in GSM as well as in

Broadband and telephone services.

This project aims to provide the whole information about the features & benefits of Airtel’s

products & services. It compares its various plans with other telecom service providers. Airtel

works on the policy of providing maximum satisfaction to its customers by providing effective

and efficient services.

The brand name AIRTEL itself has become the sign of prestige & quality. An analysis has been

drawn from the whole study of the products & by observing people’s minds through customer

interaction & various other resources.

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Bharti Airtel is one of India's leading private sector providers of telecommunications services

based on an aggregate of 42,267,763 customers as on July 31, 2008, consisting of  42,611,732

GSM mobile and 2,158,031 broadband & telephone customers.

The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units

(SBU’s) - mobile services, broadband & telephone services (B&T) & enterprise services. The

mobile services group provides GSM mobile services across India in 43 telecom circles, while

the B&T business group provides broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise

services group has two sub-units - carriers (long distance services) and services to corporates. All

these services are provided under the Airtel brand.

Company shares are listed on The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) and The National Stock

Exchange of India Limited (NSE).

PARTNERS

The company has a strategic alliance with SINGTEL. The investment made by SingTel is one of

the largest investments made in the world outside Singapore, in the company.The company also

has a strategic alliance with Vodafone. The investment made by Vodafone in Bharti is one of the

largest single foreign investment made in the Indian telecom sector.

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The company’s mobile network equipment partners include Ericsson and Nokia. In the case of

the broadband and telephone services and enterprise services (carriers), equipment suppliers

include Siemens, Nortel, Corning, among others.

The Company also has an information technology alliance with IBM for its group-wide

information technology requirements and with Nortel for call center technology requirements.

The call center operations for the mobile services have been outsourced to IBM Daksh, Hinduja

TMT, Teletech & Mphasis.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of the Company has an optimum mix of Executive and Non-Executive

Directors, which consists of three Executive and fifteen Non-Executive Directors.

The Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, is an Executive Director and the

number of Independent Directors on the Board is 50% of the total Board strength. The

Independence of a Director is determined on the basis that such director does not have any

material pecuniary relationship with the Company, its promoters or its management, which may

affect the independence of the judgment of a Director.

The Board members possess requisite skills, experience and expertise required to take decisions,

which are in the best interest of the Company.

THE COMPOSITIONOF THE BOARD IS AS UNDER:

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 Sunil Bharti Mittal

 Kurt Hellstrom

 Donald Cameron

 Professor V.S Raju

 PulakChandan Prasad

 Bashir Abdulla Currimjee

 Gavin Darby

 Syeda Imam

 Ajay Lal

 York Chye Chang

 Arun Bharat Ram

 Paul Donovan

 RajanBharti Mittal

 Akhil Gupta

 RakeshBharti Mittal

 Chua Sock Koong

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  N. Kumar

RBI Guidelines in Respect of Payment Banks

Registration
According to the guidelines issued by RBI the payment banks will be registered as a public
company under the Companies Act 2013. RBI will issue licence to payment banks to those
business entities which fulfil its criteria. The payment bank may be given schedule bank status
once it commences operations and it found suitable as per Section 42 (6) (a) of the Reserve Bank
Act, 1934.

Governing and Controlling Authorities

Payment banks are governed by the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949; Reserve
Bank of India Act, 1934; Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999; Payment and Settlement
Systems Act, 2007; Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961; other
relevant Statutes and Directives, Prudential Regulations and other Guidelines/Instructions issued
by RBI and other regulators from time to time.

Capital Requirement

The minimum paid-up equity capital of the payments bank is Rs. 100 crore. The payments bank
shall be required to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent of its risk
weighted assets (RWA) on a continuous basis, subject to any higher percentage as may be
prescribed by RBI from time to time. Tier I capital should be at least 7.5 per cent of RWAs. Tier
II capital should be limited to a maximum of 100 per cent of total Tier I capital. However, as
payments banks are not expected to deal with sophisticated products, the capital adequacy ratio
will be computed under Basel Committee’s standardised approaches. Further payments bank

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should have a leverage ratio of not less than 3 per cent, i.e., its outside liabilities should not
exceed 33.33 times its net worth (paid-up capital and reserves).

Promoters’ contribution
The promoters of payment bank should hold at least 40% of its paid-up equity capital for first
five years from commencement of its business. If the payments bank is set up as a joint venture
with equity partnership with a scheduled commercial bank, the scheduled commercial banks can
take equity stake in a payments bank to the extent permitted under Section 19 (2) of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949.

Reserve Requirements
Payment banks are required to maintain as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) with RBI on its demand
deposits. Further these banks are required to invest 75 % of its demand deposit balances in
Government securities/Treasury Bills with maturity up to one year that are recognized by RBI as
eligible securities for maintenance of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and hold maximum 25 per
cent in current and time / fixed deposits with other scheduled commercial banks for operational
purposes and liquidity management.

Who can set up Payment Bank?

The existing non-bank Pre-paid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuers authorised under the Payment
and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act); and other entities such as individuals
/professionals; Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), corporate BCs, mobile telephone
companies, super-market chains, companies, real sector cooperatives; that are owned and
controlled by residents; and public sector entities may apply to set up payments banks.

Functions

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1. The payment bank can perform following functions as per the guidelines issued by RBI i.
Payment bank can accept demand deposits from individuals, small business and other
entities up to Rs.100000/- form single customer. These deposits would be covered under
the deposit insurance scheme of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation
of India (DICGC). However Payment banks are restricted to accept NRI deposits. The
payments bank will have to undertake its own KYC/AML/CFT exercise as any other
bank.

2. Payment banks can issue debit cards and ATM cards usable on ATM networks of all
banks, however, cannot issue credit cards.

3. Payments banks, can provides payment and remittances services through various
channels including branches, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Business
Correspondents (BCs) and mobile banking.

4. Issuance of PPIs as per instructions issued from time to time under the PSS Act.
However, the outstanding balances in PPIs will be deployed as per the pattern of
deployment of funds indicated at paragraph 5 below.

5. Payment banks can offer internet banking services to its customers subject to comply
with RBI instructions on internet banking; and information security, electronic banking,
technology risk management and cyber frauds. The payments bank is expected to
leverage technology to offer low cost banking solutions.

6. Payment bank can perform the function as business correspondents (BC). It may choose
to become a BC of another bank, subject to the RBI guidelines on BCs.

7. As a channel, the payments bank can accept remittances to be sent to or receive

remittances from multiple banks under a payment mechanism approved by RBI, such as
RTGS / NEFT / IMPS.

8. Payment bank can provide forex cards to travellers, usable again as a debit or ATM card
all over India.

9. Payment bank can offer forex services such as handling cross boarder remittance
transactions at charges lower than banks.

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 10. Payment bank can also offer card acceptance mechanisms to third parties such as the
‘Apple Pay.’

11. Payments banks can provide other services such as distribution of mutual fund units,
insurance products, pension products, etc. with the prior approval of the RBI and after
complying with the requirements of the sectarian regulator for such products.

12. The payments bank may undertake utility bill payments etc. on behalf of its customers
and general public.

Foreign shareholding
The foreign shareholding in the payments bank would be as per the Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) policy for private sector banks as amended from time to time. As per the current FDI
policy, the aggregate foreign investment in a private sector bank from all sources will be allowed
upto a maximum of 74 per cent of the paid-up capital of the bank (automatic upto 49 per cent
and approval route beyond 49 per cent to 74 per cent).

Voting rights and transfer/acquisition of shares:

As per Section 12 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, any shareholder’s voting rights in
private sector banks are capped at 10 per cent. This limit can be raised to 26 per cent in a phased
manner by the RBI. Further, as per Section 12B of the Act ibid, any acquisition of 5 per cent or
more of paid-up share capital in a private sector bank will require prior approval of RBI. This
will also apply to the payments banks.

Corporate governance:
i. The Board of the payments banks should have a majority of independent Directors.

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 ii. The bank should comply with the corporate governance guidelines including ‘fit and
proper’ criteria for Directors as issued by RBI from time to time.

Other conditions
i. The payments bank will be required to have at least 25 per cent of physical access points
including BCs in rural centers. Further, a controlling office for a cluster of access points should
also be established for control over various outlets and customer grievance redressal.

ii. The operations of the bank should be fully networked and technology driven from the
beginning, conforming to generally accepted standards and norms; while new approaches (such
as for data storage, security and real time data updation) are encouraged, a detailed technology
plan for the same should be furnished to RBI.

iii. The bank should have a high powered Customer Grievances Cell to handle customer
complaints. The payments banks will come under the purview of RBI’s Banking Ombudsman
Scheme, 2006.

iv. The compliance of terms and conditions laid down by RBI is an essential condition of grant
of licence. Any non-compliance will attract penal measures including cancellation of licence of
the bank.

Entities Granted In-principle Approval to be a Payment Bank:

1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd

2. Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd

3. Cholamandalam Distribution Services Ltd

4. Department of Posts -FinoPayTech Ltd

5. National Securities Depository Ltd -Reliance Industries Ltd

6. Dilip ShantilalS hanghvi

7. Vijay Shekhar Sharma

8. Tech Mahindra Ltd

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 Strengths of Payment Banks

Tap Ideal Cash Savings in the Hands of People under Low Income Group

Payment banks will tap ideal cash savings in the hands of India’s migrant labourers, low income
households and small business. These banks will offer them savings accounts and remittance
services. Thus payment banks bring poorer citizens who transact only in cash into formal
banking channel.

Speed up Capital Formation

Economic development of a country is mainly depends on savings and investment. Payment

bank on one hand brought ideal savings in the form of cash with the masses and on the other
hand invests these savings mainly in government securities. This will provides funds to the
government for investment in infrastructure and carrying out other developmental activities.
According to a report on The Economic Times Payments banks can annually free up a whopping
Rs 14 trillion in incremental credit for the fund-starved infrastructure sector.

Lower Transaction Cost

Payment banks will enjoy benefits of lower transaction cost over traditional banks as it would be
uneconomical for traditional banks to open branches in every village but the mobile phones
coverage is a promising low-cost platform for quickly taking basic banking services to every
rural citizen. The innovation is also expected to accelerate India’s journey into a cashless
economy

Better Service to Customers

Introduction of payment banks in Indian banking structure will increase competition among all
existing commercial banks in terms of collection of deposits. To serve in the competition banks
are required to give better service at lower cost. It is ultimately beneficial to the customers.

Use of Advanced Technology

Payment banks are expected to use advances technology in rendering banking services to its
customers. The entities like Vodaphone M-pesa, Airtel Money have track record of proving
mobile based as well as technology- intensive payment processing services. Further, these banks

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will have to make continuous innovation for upgrading technology to withstand in the
competition.

Elimination of Black Money:

Prime International Research Journal Double Blind, Peer Reviewed, Indexed Journal ISSN:
2349-2139 Prime International Research Journal, Vol. II, Issue 5, October, 2015 Page 26
Payment banks are the best way to reduce or even eliminate black money when these are used in
a proper way. It will make habit to the people to make payment by way of internet banking or
mobile banking. It will reduce the use of paper money and coins for making payments. As a
result it helps to reduce black money.

Implementation of Social Welfare and Subsidy Scheme:

Government can implement social welfare scheme and subsidy scheme in a better way by using
the wide network of payment banks. It will reduce corruption in the system and disappear the
waiting queues for pensions.

SERVICES

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Airtel Prepaid

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti Enterprises,

India's leading integrated telecom service provider. Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new

way of life. With a host of great features, also simple to use, Airtel Prepaid makes everything

that you dreamt and believed, possible.

Total Cost Control

You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more rentals or deposits – simply

recharge as much as you need to from as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.

Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals

You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your Airtel Prepaid. No more paying deposits or

having a minimum balance in your account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-free calls are here

to stay!

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel’s world-class technology and unbreakable

network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each chargeable call.

You can also call 123 from your mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or simply

dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will be displayed on the screen

of your handset.

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Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing as you make calls or use any

other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that’s right for you, from a

variety of tailor– made recharge coupons with different denominations, which are available at a

number of outlets across your city. Simply follow the procedure mentioned below, to recharge

your phone.

Prepaid Roaming

Airtel Prepaid comes preactivated with 'National Roaming', so you stay connected no matter

wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS, check your email and access other GPRS

services while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While traveling abroad you can

receive calls & send or receive SMS.

Other Services

Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try them

and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement.

Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation– all with your

Airtel prepaid connection.

Voice Mail

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When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail

will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost

for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you don't have much time.

It's the way to share those interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with

anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Subscription Alerts

Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone with

Subscription Services. SMS <SUB NEWS> to 3333 for News, <SUB JOKE> for Jokes, <SUB

BIZ> for Business News, <SUB SPO> for Sports Alerts &<SUB VAASTU> for Vaastu tips.

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings, with MMS from Airtel! To

activate MMS on your phone, SMS 'MMS' to 56465 and save service settings.

Airtel Live!

Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel Live! Airtel brings

you the latest in entertainment and information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live! WAP Services: Download the latest ring tones, games, wallpapers, videos and

much more. You can also get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on your phone.

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To get Airtel Live! Settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the settings that you

receive as your preferred connection. Airtel Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS

enabled phone, by sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services: Just Dial 56465, and name the service. For e.g. say ring tones to

download your favorite ring tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like Live

Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie Reviews or Stock Market

Updates.

Airtel Live! SIM Services: Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket,

stocks, on your phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your

SIM card menu. To download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose the "What's new" option

under the "Airtel services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by sending a keyword as an SMS

to 56465! Choose Astrology / Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring

tones. In case you need assistance SMS, Help to 56465.

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 CHAPTER - 2

HISTORY OF AIRTEL

26
 HISTORY OF AIRTEL

COMPANY PROFILE

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is the fifth largest in

the world and is the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the

fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for UK companies in the

stagnant global scenario. Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in 1999, has shown an

impressive jump to 9.5% in 2006 and 10.5% in 2007 and is set to increase to 20% in the next five

years beating the Govt. target by three years. Accordingly, India requires incremental

investments of USD 20-25 bln for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164% p.a.) in India.

With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and GSM), wireless is the principal growth engine

of the Indian telecom industry. Given the current growth trends, cellular connections in India will

surpass fixed line by late 2004/early 2005. Intense competition between the four main private

groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector incumbents-BSNL and

MTNL has brought about a significant drop in tariffs. There has been almost 74% in cell phone

charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25% drop in NLD charges, resulting in a boom time for the

consumers.

The Government has played a key enabling role by deregulating and liberalising the industry,

ushering in competition and paving the way for growth. While there were regulatory

irregularities earlier, resulting in litigation, these have all been addressed now. Customs duties on

hardware and mobile handsets have been reduced from 14 percent to 5 percent.

27
The Indian government has merged the IT and Telecom Ministries to speed up reforms and

decision on the Communication Convergence Bill to enable the common regulation of the

Internet, broadcasting and telecoms will be taken after the new Government assumes

responsibilities in may this year. An independent regulatory body (TRAI) and dispute settlement

body (TDSAT) is fully functional.

INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to be the country's largest cellular

operator, with 50 lakh subscribers.JIO, which operates in 22 circles, has a subscriber base of 37

lakh subscribers. Thus BSNL stands second largest cellular operator in terms of subscriber base

at the end of the fiscal ending March 31, 2007, displacing Vodafone from the second position.

Vodafone, which operates in only eighteen circles, is the third largest operator with a subscriber

base of 32 lakh. Unlike fellow public sector undertaking, MTNL, which operates in Mumbai and

Delhi, BSNL has been a very aggressive player in the market. "Cellular operators who expected

BSNL to go the MTNL way, were taken by surprise and did not take effective steps to counter it,

till it was too late in the day," said a telecom analyst.

Belying fears of a slowdown in cellular subscriber acquisitions, the cell club has reported a

7.92% growth, the highest growth in any month so far, during March 2005. Year-on-year, the

cellular subscriber base in the country has almost doubled in March 2005, and is expanding at

the rate of 25% per year thereafter.

The cellular subscriber club expanded by 21.31 lakh last month. This is much higher than 5.9

lakh subscribers added in February 2005 and 2.13 lakh in January 2005. Idea, which operates in

Seven circles, is the fourth largest operator with a subscriber base of 17.80 lakh, higher than

28
BPL's 11.31 lakh subscribers across four circles. The subscriber numbers per operator drop

sharply with the sixth largest operator, Spice Communications, having a subscriber base of 9.40

lakh, followed by Reliance Telecom's 8.9 lakh subscribers. MTNL is the ninth largest operator,

with a base of 8.32 lakh subscribers.

While the subscriber base-jumped by 3.38% to 44.39 lakh in the metros, subscriber base of

category A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu jumped

by 10.18 % to reach 43.64 lakh. Category B circles of Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh

(West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal recorded a jump of

10.69%, with a total base of 33.74 lakh subscribers. Circle C has reported 12.74 % growth with

subscriber numbers jumping to 5.08 lakh.

Among the metros, while Mumbai added 1,63,180 subscribers, higher than the 1,58,646 added

by Delhi, the Capital's cellular subscriber base of over 80 lakh is still higher than Mumbai's

66.89 lakh. While the cellular industry has been on roll for the first three quarters of the previous

financial year with an average of 16.75 lakh monthly additions in the third quarter, the first two

months of 2007 had seen the growth slowing down.

29
 CHAPTER – 3

OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Objectives:

30
 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in highly

competitive cell phone industry.

 To study the importance and development of tele – communication industry in today’s

scenario.

 To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.

 To know the concept of payment banks.

 To know RBI guidelines in respect of payment banks.

 To know advantages and limitations of payment banks.

FEATURES

31
Airtel Broadband Services - Put it to work for you!

Redefined to provide a refined experience

The internet connection of Airtel Broadband Services is

approximately 10 times faster than an analog one and at far lower

costs than a dial up one. Large data applications, faster ftp access,

audio/video requirements or simply web browsing is a dream on this

extensive broadband infrastructure with an i2i international gateway.

An "always on" assurance of excellent quality of service.

All Speed, No Breakers!

Airtel Broadband Services offers a dedicated bandwidth with speed

of upto 512 kbps, available at a single click and supported by a
superior technology infrastructure. You can attach, download,
upload and exchange large data files at amazingly unbelievable
speeds.

Scaling New Heights

Airtel Broadband Services offers you a wide range of tariff plan

32
 packages that suit your needs; with the flexibility to scale up your

connections as your needs and your business grow.

The ease of upgradation and the price-performance value make

business sense. Superior server technology and a dedicated port

provides total security to data storage and information exchange

through the internet.

Cost Effective - Added Benefits, Lower Costs

Two built-in static IP addresses to facilitate scalability.

You can configure your own mail or web server or even your own

mail domain without adding any significant burden to your capital

expenditure.Avail of an easy to install, state-of-the-art WiFi wireless

access solution, configured with your with Airtel Broadband

Services connection. This allows wireless mobility within your

premises.

The New Seat of Power - Your Home!

33
Power Surfing @ Home

An "always on" connection, it is a dedicated bandwidth, facilitating

fast and instant net access at speeds of up to 128 kbps. Shop,

download MP3, exchange heavy files and chat at an enviable speed-

all thanks to an extensive Broadband Services infrastructure. No more

disconnections in the middle of downloads and the added advantage of

internet access at a super pace!

Inexpensive! Affordable!!

Speak of unmatched features at unmatched prices! You can get a

Airtel Broadband Services package for as low as Rs. 200 and there is a

wide range of tariff plans for internet and voice access. The special

tariff rates on night-time usage gives added value for money. With the

Airtel Broadband Services internet packages, you are assured of the

most cost-effective plan available. No additional telephone bills to

deal with and you are set to telecommute in the fast lane!

34
 A Customer Care that cares

Airtel Broadband Services customer support executive is just an email

or a phone call away. Round-the-clock, 365 days a year! To ensure

that you are satisfied with the service provided, we have designed a

feedback mechanism whereby any inputs given by you are acted upon

at the earliest.

Surf while you talk

And finally, what makes Airtel Broadband Services truly the no-ordinary internet is
that you can use the phone line to surf and talk at the same time - no more missed
calls. no more fights for the phone line

Development of tele communication industry in today scenario

35
Development of Broadcasting

Radio broadcasting was initiated in 1927 but became state responsibility only in 1930.
In 1937 it was given the name All India Radio and since 1957 it has been
called Akashvani. Limited duration of television programming began in 1959, and
complete broadcasting followed in 1965. The Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting owned and maintained the audio-visual apparatus—including the
television channel Doordarshan—in the country prior to the economic reforms of
1991. In 1997, an autonomous body was established in the name of Prasar Bharti to
take care of the public service broadcasting under the Prasar Bharti Act. All India Radio
and Doordarshan, which earlier were working as media units under the Ministry of I&B
became constituents of the body

Pre-liberalisation statistics
 While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during
the British period, the total number of telephones in 1948 numbered only around
80,000. Post independence, growth remained slow because the telephone was seen
more as a status symbol rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of
telephones grew leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in
1991, the year economic reforms were initiated in the country.

TELEPHONY
The telephony segment is dominated by private-sector and two state-run businesses.
Most companies were formed by a recent revolution and restructuring launched within a
decade, directed by Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of
Telecommunications and Minister of Finance. Since then, most companies
gained 2G, 3G and 4G licences and engaged fixed-line, mobile and internet business in
India. On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are
considered long distance calls. Foreign Direct Investment policy which increased the
foreign ownership cap from 49% to 100%.

The Government is working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For
long distance calls, the area code prefixed with a zero is dialled first which is then

36
followed by the number (i.e., to call Delhi, 011 would be dialled first followed by the
phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialled first followed by
the country code, area code and local phone number. The country code for India is
91. Several international fibre-optic links include those to Japan, South Korea, Hong
Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major telecom operators in India include the
privately owned companies like, Vodafone Idea Airtel, and Reliance Jio and the state
owned companies- BSNL and MTNL.

Mobile telephony

August 1995, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu made the first mobile
phone call in India to then Union Telecom Minister Sukhram. Sixteen years later 4G
services were launched in Kolkata in 2012.
With a subscriber base of more than 1,179.32 million (as of July 2018), the mobile
telecommunications system in India is the second largest in the world and it was thrown
open to private players in the 1990s. GSM was comfortably maintaining its position as
the dominant mobile technology with 80% of the mobile subscriber market, but CDMA
seemed to have stabilised its market share at 20% for the time being.
The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state
boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long distance
telephone services. Competition, especially after entry of Reliance Jio, has caused
prices to drop across India, which are already one of the cheapest in the world. The
rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the
Information Ministry.
In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed the number of
fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wire line segment substantially. The
mobile subscriber base has grown from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over 1,179.32
million subscribers as of July 2018. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in
the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant
players are Vodafone Idea, Airtel, Jio, and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller
players, with operations in only a few states. International roaming agreements exist
between most operators and many foreign carriers. The government allowed Mobile
number portability (MNP) which enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile
telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.

Subscriber base by circle

India is divided into 22 telecom circles:

37
 Landline Wireless
subscriber base in subscriber base in Teledensity
Telecom circle
million (December million (December (September 2014)
2017 2017

Andhra Pradesh &

1.52 84.31 81.06
Telangana

Assam 0.14 22.60 50.41

Bihar & Jharkhand 0.27 84.28 47.66

Delhi 3.22 55.54 232.22

Gujarat & Daman &

1.29 70.59 93.34
Diu

Haryana 0.30 25.46 80.31

Himachal Pradesh 0.12 10.57 109.55

Jammu and Kashmir 0.11 13.12 69.98

Karnataka 2.25 67.20 94.20

Kerala &
1.99 41.01 95.96
Lakshadweep

Kolkata 0.81 29.06 73.0

Madhya Pradesh &

0.97 73.10 57.04
Chhattisgarh

38
 Landline Wireless
subscriber base in subscriber base in Teledensity
Telecom circle
million (December million (December (September 2014)
2017 2017

Maharashtra & Goa

1.76 94.38 92.20 *
(including Mumbai )

Mumbai* 3.02 38.32 Not available *

North East ^** 0.11 12.81 72.00

Orissa 0.27 34.02 63.41

Punjab 0.88 36.06 103.49

Rajasthan 0.61 67.80 76.18

Tamil Nadu(including
2.37 87.02 114.71
Chennai since 2005)[57]

Uttar Pradesh(East) 0.48 100.77 58.09(Combined)*

Uttar Pradesh(West) &

0.35 62.32 58.09(Combined)*
Uttarakhand

West Bengal(including
0.28 58.00 73.40 *
Kolkata)***

Internet

39
The history of the Internet in India started with launch of services by VSNL on 15
August 1995.[58] They were able to add about 10,000 Internet users within 6 months.
[59]
 However, for the next 10 years the Internet experience in the country remained less
attractive with narrow-band connections having speeds less than 56 kbit/s (dial-up). In
2004, the government formulated its broadband policy which defined broadband as "an
always-on Internet connection with download speed of 256 kbit/s or above." [60] From
2005 onward the growth of the broadband sector in the country accelerated, but
remained below the growth estimates of the government and related agencies due to
resource issues in last-mile access which were predominantly wired-line technologies.
This bottleneck was removed in 2010 when the government auctioned 3G spectrum
followed by an equally high-profile auction of 4G spectrum that set the scene for a
competitive and invigorated wireless broadband market. Now Internet access in India is
provided by both public and private companies using a variety of technologies and
media including dial-up (PSTN), xDSL, coaxial cable, Ethernet, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA
(3G), 4G, WiFi, WiMAX, etc. at a wide range of speeds and costs.
According to the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Internet user
base in the country stood at 190 million at the end of June, 2013, which rose to 378.10
million in January 2018. Cumulative Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of broadband during
the five-year period between 2005 and 2010 was about 117 per cent .

Television Broadcasting

Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 by Doordarshan, a state run medium of

communication, and had slow expansion for more than two decades.The policy reforms

40
of the government in the 1990s attracted private initiatives in this sector, and since then,
satellite television has increasingly shaped popular culture and Indian society.
However, still, only the government owned Doordarshan has the licence for terrestrial
television broadcast. Private companies reach the public using satellite channels; both
cable television as well as DTH has obtained a wide subscriber base in India. In 2012,
India had about 148 million TV homes of which 126 million has access to cable and
satellite services.
There are no regulations to control the ownership of satellite dish antennas and also

for operating cable television systems in India, which in turn has helped for an

impressive growth in the viewership. The growth in the number of satellite channels was

triggered by corporate business houses such as Star TV group and Zee TV. Initially

restricted to music and entertainment channels, viewership grew, giving rise to several

channels in regional languages, especially Hindi. The main news channels available

were CNN and BBC World. In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels

sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they

offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are Aaj Tak (run by

the India Today group) and STAR News, CNN-IBN, Times Now, initially run by

the NDTV group and their lead anchor, Prannoy Roy (NDTV now has its own channels,

NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit and NDTV India). Over the years, Doordarshan services also

have grown from a single national channel to six national and eleven regional channels.

Next-generation networks (NGN)

Historically, the role of telecommunication has evolved from that of plain information

exchange to a multi-service field, with Value Added Services (VAS) integrated with

various discrete networks like PSTN, PLMN, Internet Backbone etc.

41
However, with decreasing ARPU and increasing demand for VAS has become a

compelling reason for the service providers to think of the convergence of these parallel

networks into a single core network with service layers separated from network layer .

Regulatory environment

LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which

summarises stakeholders' perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into

how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most

recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including

Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the

Philippines. The tool measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce

resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi)

universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors.

Revenue and growth

The adjusted gross revenue in the telecom service sector was ₹160,814

crore (US$22.4 billion) in 2017 as against ₹198,207 crore (equivalent to ₹2.0 trillion or
US$28.2 billion in 2017) in 2016, registering a negative growth of 18.87%. [The major
contributions to this revenue are as follows (in INR Crores):

42
 Calendar Year Calendar Year Q2 18 (June)
2017 %
Service Provider 2016 (in INR
Change
(in INR Crores) Crores)[3]
(in INR Crores)

Vodafone Idea 64,116 59,538 -7.14 8226.80

Airtel 52,017 39,050 -24.92 6809.78

BSNL 13,110 10,564 -19.42 2273.58

Reliance Jio -303 7,466 2563.90 7125.69

Tata 9,957 6,478 -34.94 553.98

Aircel 11,164 5,082 -54.48 -

Reliance
5,825 3,061 -47.45 149.12
Communications

MTNL 478.61 556.87 -14.05 440.24

Quadrant 140 4 -97.04 5.89

Videocon 4,712 0 - -

Total 1,63,605 1,22,613 -25.06 25585.07

Comparative study of telecom service providers in

India

Growth is the prime aim for any company. With the changing times and growing

competition, it has become essential for the technology-driven companies to identify

their core competencies and have a competitive edge over others.

Business matrices like net sales, profit after tax, market capitalization and level of

satisfaction of the customers are important indicators depicting the stand of the

43
companies in the market. A comparative analysis of the leading telecom service

providers such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Reliance

Communications, Tata Indicom in India has been presented in this paper on the basis of

secondary data which includes last five year figures of nets sales, market capitalization

and profit after tax. Primary data has been collected to measure the level of satisfaction

(LOS) of the Indian telecommunications' customers. The LOS was determined for

various factors like network coverage; tariff rates, plan, accountability of bill, customer

service, etc. To achieve this objective, an empirical study has been done and

conclusions have been brought out on the basis of the data collected though an online

field survey. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was prepared and was distributed

to mobile phone users via email and social networking sites. The collected data was

analyzed with the help of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version

12.0 for Windows. A sensitivity analysis was done to verify the significance of the

factors considered for determining the LOS. It was concluded that Bharti Airtel is the

overall leader in all three business matrices mentioned above.

Airtel Payment Bank

44
Airtel Payments Bank is a public limited company with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
The company is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.
It is the first company in India to receive a Payment Bank license from the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) and it became the first live Payment Bankin the country.
[2] On April 11, 2016 the Reserve Bank of India issued the license under Section 22 (1) of
Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to Airtel Payments Bank.
[3] Airtel Payments Bank is a joint venture between Bgharti Airtel LTD and Kotak Mahindra
Bank Kotak Mahindra Bank holds 19.9% stake in the Airtel Payments Bank

History

In 2015, eleven companies received In-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set
up payments bank under the guidelines for Licensing of Payments Bank. Airtel was one of them,
and it launched Airtel Payments Bank in September 2016. Airtel's first payments bank went live
with its pilot project in Rajasthan in November 2016.

45
UPI Digital Payments

In September 2017, Airtel Payments Bank launched UPI enabled digital payments to facilitate

secure digital payments for its customers. Customers need to link their bank accounts
on BHIM before they can make UPI payments. For UPI-based payments and transfers,
customers are not required to furnish their bank details to enable transactions.

AirTel Money

AirTel Money is a digital wallet by AirTel Payment Bank that allows users to make payments
using "My Airtel app" or USSD.

46
PMJJBY

Airtel Payments Bank and Bharti Axa Life Insurance have started to provide government's
insurance plan Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana in August 2018.

Legal challenges

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) suspended Bharti Airtel and Airtel

Payment Bank's licence for eKYC of Aadhar on 16 December 2017, following complaints from
customers that their accounts were being opened without their consent. Some even received their
LPG subsidies in their Airtel Payment Bank accounts.
However, on July 12, 2018, Airtel Payments Bank received requisite approvals from the
Reserved Bank of India and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to resume on-
boarding new customers using of Aadhaar based e-KYC.

47
Investment

The bank's capital at its establishment was ₹3,000 crore ($441 million). Airtel Payments Bank
reported deposits of Rs 68.33 crore at the end of the financial year ended 31 March 2017, which
was its first year of operation.

Awards

1-IAMAI 7th India Digital Awards for Money Transfer Programme 2017
2-Asian Banker Risk Management Award 2018

48
 Advantage of Payment Bank

Cash Deposits /Withdrawals

To encourage people to deposit money in Airtel Payments Bank, Airtel has announced

a new offer where the company is offering one minute of Airtel to Airtel free talk time on

their number for every one rupee the user deposits/withdraws from his account.

Interest Rate of 7.25

Airtel is offering an interest rate of 7.25 percent for all the people who open an account

in their Payments Bank, which is a cool feature that is missing from other wallet apps.

Transaction Limit of 1 Lakh

With the Airtel Payments Bank account, every user can transact an amount of up to Rs.

1 lakh per month, whereas other payment apps allow only up to Rs. 20,000.

Accidental Insurance of 1 Lakh

Another huge benefit in getting an Airtel Payments Bank account is it offers an

accidental insurance of 1 lakh, which no other apps offer in the same segment.

OTP Based Secured Transaction

49
All the transactions made through Airtel Payments Bank requires an additional two-step

verification. Having said that, other apps also have support for this two-step verification,

but they’ll ask the otp for just the first time.

The Airtel Payments Bank service is currently available in only limited states, but with

the overwhelming response, Airtel will soon roll out the service to other states shortly.

Limitation of Airtel Payment Bank

 These are not allowed to give loans

 they are not allowed to issue credit cards
 cannot accept NRI deposit
 cannot setup subsidiaries

CHAPTER - 4

50
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DESCRIPTIVE METHOD

The methodology adopted for this project is exploratory in nature since there is no hypothesis

that has to be tested. The conclusions have been drawn by exploratory research work. The data is

collected from various books, journals, research articles and web-sites form internet. There have

been two sources of information collected:

a) Primary Sources

The data which are collected from the field under the control and supervision of an
investigator. Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the

51
 purpose in mind This type of data are generally afresh and collected for the first time It is
useful for current studies as well as for future studies.

For example: your own questionnaire.

I have met retailers and customers of the Airtel company and have been able to get first
hand information regarding the product, its features and the buying patterns of the product.
Their input has been valuable.

I was working for Bhartiairtel limited hence, I had completed my research work from(A
Bharti enterprise) Address: Qutab ambience at qutabminar, meharuli road, new Delhi-110030
Tel. No: +91114166600

b) Secondary Sources

Secondary source has played a vital role to play in this report. A good amount of data has

been collected from various published articles and reports found in magazines and journals.

Another vital source has been the Internet and particularly the companies own website.

SAMPLE SIZE AND AREAS COVERED

A customer based survey was conducted in which 100 peoples were asked to fill the questionnaire about

the network of mobile phones. The people belong to New Delhi.

52
 CHAPTER - 5

DATA ANALYSIS

53
 DATA ANALYSIS

Airtel is one of India’s leading Telecommunication Service Provider. Airtel provides Broadband

& Telephone services in 23 Telecom circles in India. Airtel keeps focus on creating consumer–

oriented Products & Services to increase the profit as well as market or sales share. Airtel has

long been committed to serving society as a contributed members both Economically & Socially.

They do this providing Products & Services that offers maximum satisfaction to the customers.

Airtel was launched in the year 1995. Airtel provides a Host of Voice & Data Products &

Services including high speed GPRS service. Airtel also offers a wide array of Post – Paid & Pre

– Paid Mobile offers with a range of Tariffs plans that target different Segments

A comprehensive range of value added customized services are part of the unique packages from

Airtel. This shows that how much Airtel understand & offers products & services that are created

accordingly to the needs & requirements of Targeted Segments.

Airtel gas also spread its Business outsides India. It has strategic alliance with SINGTEL &

VODAFONE. Thousands of rupees have been invested in R & D for designing a product for a

54
particular market. Airtel sells its product & services because of its brand name & that is only due

to providing quality product at reasonable price.

As I am doing my training at the Airtel Ltd. Mostly I hear from the customer’s mouth only that

Airtel provides quality product & services & they feel proud to use the Airtel products &

services. People have built a confidence in the company & to some extent it is right because

Airtel is selling its products &services because of its name & quality. This study depicts the

different business segments of AIRTEL.

Things you didn't know about Airtel

 Every 5th mobile user in India talks on Airtel.

 About 91% of mobile owners in India reside in Airtel's circles.

 At 150,000, Airtel has the largest family of retailers.

 Airtel also has the largest network of exclusive outlets - over 400 - and the largest share of
'prepaid' subscribers.

 Airtel provides telecom services to an entire nation outside India.

55
 Airtel monitors 300 customer touch points through a continuous customer satisfaction
research process.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted AirTel cellular service will go in for repositioning of its brand

image. The new brand ethos is portrayed in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch

Tomorrow", which underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The

Good Life", which underscores a more caring, more customer centric organization. Aimed at re-

engineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all out information

communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to embrace the new generation of

56
mobile communication services and the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that

come along with it

The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular category that goes beyond the

Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the whole gamut of wireless digital

broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The new campaign is in two

phases - the first of which will communicate overall brand philosophy and the second products

and services. According to Mr. Jagdish Kini, Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Mobile Limited,

Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand- platform - Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our

corporate ethos but also business strategy".

The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and White colours along with lower case

typography to convey warmth. AirTel will incorporate the latest branding in all of its

communication and will soon be going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish the

brand's presence.

LIFE TIME PLAN

PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging their coupons every month.

Company has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime

validity for a one time payment of Rs. 999. Subscribers availing themselves of this scheme will

also get full talk time for the recharge coupon they purchase and also have the option to buy

Taiwanese manufactured Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs. 1,399.

The move is aimed at stopping the churn in the pre-paid subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes

this plan, he will always be an Airtel subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not.

57
 MARKET SITUATION

At the time of launch

The first mover in the market was Airtel which launched its services in Delhi in Aug 1995

(Informal launch). Essar Cellphone followed by launching its services informally in Oct 95. At

this point of time, the market was at a nascent stage, awareness level was low and both operators

independently tried to spread awareness and educate the people

Once the networks were commercially launched, it became a number game with a multitude of

schemes being offered to woo customers Initially the cellphone was perceived as a status symbol

and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi were corporate and the high income

group. The average capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with the steep

license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly expanding their

markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of schemes being offered and prices

crashing.

58
WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?

With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that lets him/her be in touch,

always, but also gets a host of benefits that let him/her manage his/her time like never before.

An Airtel subscriber is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM card) - that is the

key to operating his/her cellular phone. His card activates Airtel cellular services and contains a

complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's cellular phone

thoroughly. Each SIM card contains a PIN code (Personal Identity Number) which may be

entered by one. Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN code and it

becomes 'your' personal phone'.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The pattern of cell phone subscriber growth observed elsewhere in the world reveals that the

growth in the market is Initially slow followed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has not

happened in India. As far as the Product Life Cycle is concerned. Indians are at the beginning

of the maturity stage.

59
 Introduction Growth Maturity

MARKETING Maximise market Maximise profits whole

share defending
OBJECTIVE Create product
awareness and trial market share

Strategies

Product Offer a basic Offer value added Increase in number

product/ service. services of value added

services.

Price Charge cost- plus Price to penetrate Price to match or

market best competitors

Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more

distribution distribution. intensive

60
 distribution.

Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand

awareness among and interest in the differences and

early adopters and mass market benefits.

dealers.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Increase to build Increase to

promotion to entice and maintain encourage brand-

people to subscribe. relationships with switching.

customers.

SWOT ANALYSIS

61
STRENGTHS

 Cost advantage

 Current leaders in quality service

 Largest distribution network

 Ability to constantly innovate

 Highly skilled workforce

 Entrepreneurial zeal

 Airtel’s increased equity and market cap.

WEAKNESSES

 To prove credibility

 Price pressures

 Need for Government support

 Awareness

 Sales and Marketing

OPPORTUNITIES

 To sustain passion and commitment

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 Airtel’s market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe

it out.

 Attain higher value services

 Collaborative business needs to be explored

 Vertical repeatable solutions.

 Low penetration level in rural markets.

THREATS

 Foreign investment

 Global trends moving from GPS to WLL.

 Lack of global parity in telecom tariff

 Other competition

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 DATA ANALYSIS

1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service

providers in the world?

YES NO
76 24

As according to the above table 76 (76%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the above

specified Indian mobile users are of belief that India is potentially one of the most exciting

mobile service providers in the world, whereas some 24(24%) of them do not agree to this view.

64
2.Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the

development of mobile service providers?

YES NO
69 31

As according to the above table 69 (69%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the

above four specified Indian mobile service providers find that the government’s telecom policy

has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers, whereas some

31 (31%) of them deny this.

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X

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity

of the coverage regions?

YES NO
85 15

As according to the above table 85 (85%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in the mobile

service providers are of belief that one of the challenges facing mobile operations in India is the

diversify of the coverage regions, whereas interestingly another 15 (15%) of them deny this.

66
4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers is a very complex standard?

YES NO
50 50

67
As according to the above table 50 (50%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the above

four major the mobile service providers in Indian Cellular industry find only to some extent that

GSM is a very complex standard, whereas the another 50 (50%) respondents find to great extent

that mobile service providers is a very complex standard.

5. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements

for a personal communication system?

YES NO

68
 70 30

As the above shows 70 (70%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that mobile service

providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system,

whereas 30 (30%) of them are in no way to this belief.

69
 6

. Do you find that vitual bank service providers as the most exciting and satisfying payment

standard?

YES NO
80 20

As the above shows 80(80%) out of total 100 respondents find that mobile service providers as

the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard, whereas the remaining 20(20%) respondents

deny this.

70
7. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient
PAYMENT SYSTEM?

YES NO
89 11

As the above shows 89(89%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that their service

providers have a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications

whereas the remaining 11 (11%) respondents deny this.

71
CHAPTER - 6

72
 LIMITATIONS

LIMITATIONS

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in this

world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of following

limitations-

(1) Respondent’s unavailability.

73
(2) Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.

(3) Courtesy bias.

(4) Payment Banks cannot lend money.

(5) Payment banks cannot issue credit cards.

(6) Payment bank can accept deposits up to Rs. 100000/- form single customer

(7) Payment banks cannot accept NRI deposits.

(8) Majority people in India prefers for cash transaction.

CHAPTER - 7

74
 CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion it can be concluded that issuing licenses to the payment banks is a big

step of RBI towards financial inclusion. Payments banks are certainly useful from consumer

perspective as it will increase the competition among existing banks, it is useful from economic

development perspectives as it will give funds to government by investing funds in government

securities, it will gives new platform to government for implementing social welfare and subsidy

scheme, it is beneficial from social perspectives as it will brings low income and financially

deprived people to formal banking channel and it will brings new technological innovations in

75
banking and payment industry. However the base of banking business is trust. It is expected that

the payment banks entities will comply with the corporate governance guidelines and became

most trusted entities by focusing on customer satisfaction.

70% Airtel users preferred to remain with Airtel. Also good no. of users who were willing to

switch from their respective subscribers showed interest in Airtel. Hence, these statistics imply a

bright future for the company. Also the company is now providing more services like the door to

door services which is you dial the Airtel customer care and would like to send someone flowers

the Airtel company delivers those flowers to the person concerned. Also Airtel is providing free

text messaging service and free voice mail service. Call conferencing is also another feature

Airtel provides.

76
 CHAPTER - 8

SUGGESTIONS & FINDINGS

SUGGESTIONS

As per my observation to increase the service efficiency as well as satisfaction level of customer

the following suggestions are given below:-

1. Effective promotion strategy for village level.

2. Regular visit of sales officer to customer care.

3. Proper coordination with the outlets.

77
4. Service personnel would tackle customers properly.

5. Frequent availability of DP.

6. Landline network should be increased.

7. More outlets in all cities.

8. All hospitals in Kota should get good facilities because they are one of the major revenue

payers in the telecom sector.

9. All colleges must get good services from Airtel, because they use their services of road

band and telephone for their whole academic session.

10. MIGRATION must be done in all places.

11. All executive must give correct information about all services of Airtel to each and

every customer because many of Airtel customer are unaware of DSL and

BROADBAND etc.

12. Transport sector in Kota should be given more emphasis in the Telecom Sector as they

are major revenue payers in the telecom sector.

13. Provide details of actual tariff plan and schemes to the customers.

14. Network quality conscious.

15. Provide exact information to the customers.

16. Some improvement is required in the after sale service also.

78
 FINDING

 Value Added Services revenue expected 1/3 of the total services by 2009. This will
be one of the biggest achievements that a company is thinking of.

 Total Value Added Services revenue will reach $160 billion in 2009. In fact the
monthly income of the company through these services is about 20 lac which is
almost a good amount.

 Most of the growth in telecom services likely out of data services.

 Currently data accounts for 20-25% of total service revenue.

79
  Expected to increase to around 35% in another 3-4 years.

 The definition of telecom VAS has evolved:

1. From itemized billing CLI-I

2. To SMS (peer to peer)-II

3. To SMS (p to e), MMS, RT’s, RBT’s, wallpaper-III

4. To E-cheque, commerce payment-IV

 Estimated to be about 9-12% to total mobile service revenue ($5 billion in 2005-
2006)

 SMS (peer to peer) continue to dominate about 60% of VAS.

 Premium VAS market revenue currently estimated to be between $220 million presently.

 On February 12, 2007Vodafone sold its 5.6% stake in AirTel back to AirTel for US $1.6
billion; and purchased a controlling stake in rival Hutchison Essar.

 BhartiAirtel added the highest ever net addition of 53 lakh customers in a single
quarter (Q4-FY0607) and also the highest ever net addition of 1.8 crore total subscribers
in 2006-07

 The company will invest up to $3.5 billion this fiscal (07-08) in network expansion.

80
 It has a installed base of 40,000 cellsites and 59% population coverageAfter the proposed
network expansion, an additional 30,000 towers will result in the company achieving
70% population coverage

 Bharti has over 39 million users as on March 31, 2007

It has set a target of 125 million subscribers by 2010

 Prepaid customers account for 88.5% of Bharti’s total subscriber base, an increase from
82.7% a year ago

 ARPU has dropped to Rs 406

 Non-voice revenues, (SMS, voice mail, call management, hello tunes and Airtel Live)
constituted 10% of total revenues during Q4, lower than 10.7% in the Q4 of the previous
year

 Blended monthly minutes of usage per customer in Q4 was at 475 minutes

 Has completed 100% verification of its subscribers and in the process disconnected three
lakh subscribers

81
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

 Cooper Donald R. & Schindler Pamela S., 9th edition, 2006, Tata McGraw-Hill

Publication Company Ltd., New Delhi. Ch-6 Research Design(pg.136), Ch-14

Questionnaire & Instruments (pg.356), Ch-15 Sampling (pg.400)

 Kotler Philip and Keller Kevin, Principles of Marketing, 11th edition, 2006, Prentice hall

Inc, Published by Ashoke K. ghosh, Connaught circus, New Delhi. Ch-15 Advertising,

promotion & public relations

82
ARTICLE

A Research article by CSK consulting Pvt. Ltd., ―Rural Marketing practices for

Telecom Services‖, 2008, Nokia Siemens networks.

WEBSITES

 Cellular Operators Association of India, History of Cellular telephony

http://www.coai.com/history.php, 20 July 2015.

 Instablogs, 10 Aug. 2016, VarinderKaur

http://varinderkaur.instablogs.com/entry/vodafone-zoozoo-a-successful-

marketingstrategy/, Vodafone Zoo Zoos – ―A Successful Marketing Strategy‖.

 Prahalad C. K., ―Bottom of the pyramid‖ article

http://www.12manage.com/methods_prahalad_bottom_of_the_pyramid.htm

 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,

http://www.trai.gov.in/annualreport/TRAIAR2008_09E_Add.pdf, 25 JULY 2010.

 Vodafone History, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airtel_Essar. 2Aug 2015.

 http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2010/

prelim_ 2015.html

83
 QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: ____________________________________

ADDRESS: ____________________________________

OCCUPATION: ____________________________________

1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service providers
in the world?

A. YES B. NO

84
2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the
development of mobile service providers?

A. YES B. NO

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity
of the coverage regions?

A. YES B. NO

4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers is a very complex standard?

A. YES B. NO

5. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements
for a personal communication system?

A. YES B. NO

6. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile
standard?

A. YES B. NO

85
7. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a
modern and efficient communications?

A. YES B. NO

86