Professional Documents
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Faculty Guide: Prof. Dr. Madhavi Pandya Marketing & Communication SSIM
Submitted By: Karan Thawani Roll No. - 19059 PGDM-TPS (Major Marketing) TPS
Company Details: Bharti Airtel (telecommunication) Mr. Hemant Mathur (U&R Head, corporate guide) Ms. Nidhi Mehra (B to C Head U&R, Telemedia Services,) (www.airtel.in)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am fortunate to have an opportunity to undergo the Summer Internship at BHARTI AIRTEL. The training has been useful for me in understanding the various pragmatic aspect of the management function in practice in the real world. A work is never the work of individual. It is a combination of ideas, suggestion and contribution of supporting people. This project report is the result of collective efforts made by me, my corporate guide and my faculty guide who give me their full support and valuable time. First of all I express my sincere thanks to my Faculty guide DR. Prof. Madhavi Pandya, Siva Sivani Institute of Management, Secunderabad, who always guided and motivated me. The completion of the project was impossible without my corporate guide Mr. Hemant Mathur marketing U&R head, telemedia services, Bharti Airtel and Ms. Nidhi Mehra, B to C Head, Marketing U &R Telemedia Services, Bharti Airtel who gave me an opportunity to work in a newly started live project of telecalling for VAS (Value Added Services) which was done in Airtels third party vendor Cogent E Services Private Limited and under their guidance I completed my summer internship in Bharti Airtel. I would also like to thanks Ms Monika Paisal, Operations Manager Cogent E Services Private Ltd and Mr. Mohd.Aatif Hussain, Operations Cogent E Services Private Limited who shared their valuable experience in the process of telecalling for VAS with me, and their support was incredible for my project. Indeed working with them had been a memorable experience. By working under these experienced persons I was an opportunity to learn and take advantage of knowing things in a better way with complete understanding the project. At last I would also like to thanks my Agents working in Cogent E Services Private Limited, who supported me and showed a positive response in the live project and shared their view to enhance the revenue generation through VAS. TEAM WORK Coming together is beginning, Staying together is progress, Working together is success.
Karan Thawani
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certifying that Mr. Karan Thawani is a student of Post Graduate Diploma of Management from Siva Sivani Institute of Management. He has undergone Summer Internship Programme and has completed his project work in Bharti Airtel. He worked on the topic Enhancing the penetration of value added services of Airtel Broadband and completed the project successfully under my supervision and Guidance.
Prof. Dr. Madhavi Pandya (faulty Guide) Prof. of Marketing and Communication SSIM
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DECELARATION
I Karan Thawani declare that this project report titled Enhancing the penetration of value added services of Airtel Broadband is an original work done by me in Bharti Airtel under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Madhavi Pandya the faculty of Marketing and Communication, Siva Sivani Institute of Management, Secunderabad. I further declare that this is my original report submitted in partial fulfillment of PGDM TPS (MARKETING MAJOR)
(Karan Thawani)
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope of Project 1.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Literature review CHAPTER 2: 2. Telecom Industry 2.1 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India 2.1.1 Global Scenario of Telecom Industry 2.1.2 Introduction 2.1.3 Global Growth Pattern 2.1.4 Market Structure 2.1.5 Background of Indian Telecom Industry 2.1.6 Major Players 2.1.7 Going Green 2.2 Major Market Trends 2.2.1 Indian Telecom Way Forward to being Global 2.2.2 Constraints 2.3 Introduction - Bharti Airtel 2.3.1 Strategic Business Groups 2.3.2 Companys Vision and Mission 2.3.3 Logo 2.3.4 History 2.3.5 Quality 2.3.6 Branding 2.3.7 Rebranding 2.3.8 Positioning 2.3.9 Current Positioning and way Forward 2.3.10 Marketing Strategy 2.3.11 Bharti Airtels Mantra 2.4 Company Profile 2.4.1 Partners 2.4.2 Business Divisions 2.4.3 Factsheet (7-10)
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2.5 Organization Structure 2.5.1 Board of Directors 2.6 Awards & Recognition 2.7 SWOT Analysis 2.8 Shares 2.9 Human Resource Committee
CHAPTER 3:
3.1. Introduction to VAS 3.1.1. Value Added Service Characteristics 3.1.2. Benefits of VAS 3.2. Telemedia Services 3.2.1 Landline Services 3.2.2 Data Services 3.3 Value Added Services in Broadband 3.3.1 Value Added Products 3.4 Different types of process 3.4.1 Telecalling Process CHAPTER 4: 4.1 Analysis of Telecalling Process 4.1.1 Procedure followed by a telecaller 4.1.2 Tools and methods of data collection 4.2 Types of data 4.3 Process of activation 4.3.1 Activation through ACS twister 4.3.2 Process of Registration 4.4 Important factors for effective telecalling
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CHAPTER 5: Findings and Suggestions 5.1 Problem faced 5.2 Suggestions CHAPTER 6: Recommendations and Discussions 6.1 Recommendation 6.2 Discussion Summary Bibliography (92-93) (94) (82-84) (84-85) (87-92)
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Chapter 1
1. Introduction 1.1 Scope of Project 1.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Literature review
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1. Introduction
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, Indias largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBUs) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers Telemedia services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Bharti Airtel Limited formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited and provides the following services under Bharti Airtel Limited. Mobile Services (using GSM Technology). Telemedia Services (Fixed line and Internet Connectivity). DTH service Long Distance Services. Enterprise Services (Telecommunications consulting for corporate).
Bharti Airtel is among India's largest mobile phone operators. The company is one of the world's fastest growing telecom companies. It offers its mobile services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal, one of India's richest men with a total worth of US$2.6 billion. Bharti Airtel 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 telemedia services, long distance services and enterprise services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
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Chapter 2
2. Telecommunication industry 2.1 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India 2.2 Global scenario of telecom industry 2.3 Introduction to Bharti Airtel 2.4 Company Profile 2.5 Organization Structure 2.6 Awards & Recognition 2.7 SWOT Analysis 2.8 Shares 2.9 Human Resource Committee
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2 TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. The industry has witnessed consistent growth during the last year on the back of rollout of newer circles by operators, successful auction of third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, network rollout in semi-rural areas and increased focus on the value added services (VAS) market.
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Telecom stands as one of the most essential elements of the business world in terms of Connecting the World Volatile Sector Regulatory discord Cut-throat competition Emergence of Technologies Emergence of broadband & wireless technologies pose threat to carriers relying on aging infrastructure To survive, telecom carriers need to consider various options Consolidation Convergence Costly Technological upgrades 2.1.2. Global Growth Patterns
Emerging Markets Driving Volume Growth Low Tariffs (ARPUs) Developed Markets Low Subscriber Base Technological Advancements Indian Telecom depends on the global telecom industry for technology platforms & network management, while Indian market size attracts telecom giants
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4 metros 19 circles Further divided into A, B and C category based on economic parameters and revenue potential Each circle has a licenses Four operators per circle are allowed Licenses are saleable Rural India India has a 700 million people living in 638,000 villages per-capita income of $ 0.40 per day) Business Model Entrepreneur-driven operator assisted telephone booths (STD PCOs) introduced in India in 1987 Today in urban areas: 950,000 such PCOs covering every street of smallest town generate 25 % of total telecom income 300 million people use these PCOs Lessons for Rural Connectivity To serve the telecom needs of rural people with incomes < $ 1 per day, aggregate demand and allow an entrepreneur to run it. Business Model Aggregate demand to a village internet centre to provide voice/computer and internet services Allow a local village entrepreneur to run it Create an organization to provide the connectivity and content linkages
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Landline user base continues to slide, from 34.94 million in January 2011 to 34.87 million at the end of February 2011
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In February 2011, the country added 20.2 million wireless users and now has 791.38 million users. The share of rural subscribers has increased to 33.64% and overall mobile teledensity in India is now at 66.36%. India has a total of 826.25 million telecom (wireless and landline) users as of February 2011, up from 806.13 million in January 2011. The overall teledensity is 69.29%. While urban populace is 66.79% of the total telecom base, rural users form 33.28%.
Key Players
With new players coming in, the intensity of competition in the industry has increased, especially over the last four years. The market share of the telecom companies reflects the fragmented nature of the industry, with as many as 15 players. As of September 30, 2010, Bharti Airtel led the market with 20.8 per cent share, Reliance (17.1 per cent), Vodafone (16.8 per cent), BSNL (11.4 per cent), Tata (11.5 per cent), Idea (10.8 per cent), and Aircel (6.8 per cent), with the remaining share being held by other smaller operators, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) database.
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Wireless
The pie chart below shows all the active players in the wireless segment in Indian tele communication industry.
Companies with their market share as of 30.11.2010 [TRAI Report] Thus, the top six players in the wireless segment in India are: Operator Bharti Airtel Reliance Communications Vodafone BSNL Tata Teleservices Idea Aircel Total Subscriber base 151,293,078 123,351,438 120,038,438 82,739,935 82,817,298 78,023,551 49,019,629 729,572,245 Market Share 20.48%% 16.77% 16.61% 11.48% 11.32% 10.80% 6.68% 100%
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Fixed Landline
The key players in the fixed landline segment continue to be the state-run companies like BSNL and MTNL. Though, privately owned companies like Bharti Airtel and Tata are posing a challenge, the competition is not as stiff as it is in the case of the wireless segment. Operator BSNL MTNL Bharti Airtel Reliance Communications Tata Teleservices All India 2.1.5 Going Green Telecom companies incorporate heavy costs on energy consumption. Besides being expensive, the resources used tax the environment heavily. In the wake of these facts, the ETIG Knowledge Forum in association with Global Group has attempted to articulate the road map to green telecom in India. Constantly evolving professional grade energy management products are leading the revolution and R&D has helped bring costs down. For instance, in the past, to deploy 2G, 3G, 4G technology, one would need separate base-stations. But today, a single base-station puts all the technology in one place such that one needs to simply change the radio configuration. Companies are on a continuous look-out for alternatives like solar panels and other types of sources of energy and their combinations to achieve cost-effectiveness. More than 5 lakhs customers have upgraded to Bharti Airtels high-speed data or 3G services, from voice-based 2G services, within a month after India's largest mobile operator launched this facility in Bangalore. The company is talking to other operators to offer 3G services in the rest of the 22 circles where Airtel did not have permits. Competitors like Reliance Communications, Vodafone, Tata Docomo and Aircel have launched 3G in areas where they hold respective permits. No mobile operator has 3G permits in all 22 circles of the country Subscriber base 27,446,969 3,014,454 2,528,254 1,152,237 1,003,261 35,196,334
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2.2 MAJOR MARKET TRENDS The telecoms trends in India will have a great impact on everything from the humble PC, internet, broadband (both wireless and fixed), and cable, handset features, talking SMS, IPTV, soft switches, and managed services to the local manufacturing and supply chain. This report discusses key trends in the Indian telecom industry, their drivers and the major impacts of such trends affecting mobile operators, infrastructure and handset vendors. 2.2.1 Indian Telecom Way forward to being Global Transparent and truly technology-neutral Government policies Allow full range of private & Public Sector Telcos to compete fairly and fully Adequate spectrum in useable frequency bands advocated by the ITU to wireless service providers Ensure level playing field and No worse-off position for existing license holders Duties on imported telecommunications and related equipment must be reduced to zero To promote competition in IPLC Put in Right Policies for technology multinationals to build business in consumer end user device segments like mobile, handset, PCs and networking product manufacturing Acquisitions with Strategic intent
2.2.2 Constraints:
Slow pace of the reform process. It would be difficult to make in-roads into the semi-rural and rural areas because of the lack of infrastructure. The service providers have to incur a huge initial fixed cost to make inroads into this market. Achieving break-even under these circumstances may prove to be difficult. The sector requires players with huge financial resources due to the above mentioned constraint. Upfront entry fees and bank guarantees represent a sizeable share of initial investments. While the criteria are important, it tends to support the existing big and older players. Financing these requirements require a little more liberal approach from the policy side. Problem of limited spectrum availability and the issue of interconnection charges between the private and state operators.
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* Bharti Retail * Bharti AXA General Insurance * Bharti AXA Life Insurance * Bharti AXA Investment Managers * Centum Learning Limited * Jersey Airtel * Guernsey Airtel * Bharti Foundation * Bharti Realty * Bharti Infratel Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized telecommunications with its world class products and services. Established in 1976, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector with many innovations to its credit. Bharti has many joint ventures with world leaders like Singtel (Singapore Telecom); Warburg Pincus, USA; Telia, Sweden; Asian infrastructure find, Mauritius; International Finance Corporation, USA and New York Life International, USA. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and 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. 2.3.2. Companys Vision & Promise Vision 2015 Airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions. Enriching lives means putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will meet their needs based on our deep understanding of their ambitions, wherever they are. By having this focus we will enrich our own lives and those of our other key stakeholders. Only then will we be thought of as exciting, innovation, on their side and a truly world class company."
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Vision 2020 To build India's finest business conglomerate by 2020 Supporting education of underprivileged children through Bharti Foundation Strategic Intent: To create a conglomerate of the future by bringing about Big Transformations through Brave Actions. MISSION We at Airtel always think in fresh and innovative ways about the needs of our customers and how we want them to feel. We deliver what we promise and go out of our way to delight the customer with a little bit more
Customer service focus Empowered employees Innovative services Cost efficiency 2.3.3. Logo Airtels unique symbol is an interpretation of the a in Airtel. The curved shape & the gentle highlights on the red color make it warm & inviting, almost as if it were a living object. It represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy that brings Airtel and its customers closer. Our specially designed logo type is modern, vibrant & friendly. It signals our resolve to be accessible, while the use of all lowercase is our recognition for the need for humanity. Red is part of our heritage. It is the color of energy & passion that expresses the dynamism that has made Airtel the success it is today, in India, and now on the global stage.
2.3.4. HISTORY
Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Sunil Mittal was into an agreement with Germany's Siemens to manufacture the company's push-button telephone models for the Indian market. In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and his company became
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the first in India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. This firstmover advantage allowed Sunil Mittal to expand his manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the telecommunications market. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched the country's first fax machines and its first cordless telephones. In 1992, Sunil Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Sunil Mittal incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Sky cell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar. In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel began operating in Bangladesh and 16 African countries. Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and fifth largest in the world. Time line: The chronology of events since Bharti Tele-Ventures was incorporated in 1995:[27] 1995
STET International Netherlands NV, or STET, a company promoted by Telecom Italia, Italy acquired a 20% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures Bharti Telenet launched cellular services in Himachal Pradesh 1997
British Telecom acquired a 21.05% equity interest in Bharti Cellular Bharti Telenet obtained a license for providing fixed-line services in Madhya Pradesh circle (and later Chhattisgarh). Bharti Telecom and British Telecom formed a 51% : 49% joint venture, Bharti BT, for providing VSAT services 1998
Bharti Telecom and British Telecom formed a 51% : 49% joint venture, "Bharti BT Internet" for providing Internet services
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First Indian private fixed-line services launched in Indore in the Madhya Pradesh circle on June 4, 1998 by Bharti Telenet thereby ending fixed-line services monopoly of Department of Telecom (now BSNL). 1999
Warburg Pincus (through its investment company Brentwood Investment Holdings Limited) acquired a 19.05% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures Bharti Tele-Ventures (by acquiring a 63.45% equity interest in SC Cellular Holdings) acquired an effective 32.36% equity interest in Bharti Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the cellular services provider in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles New York Life Insurance Fund, or NYLIF, acquired a 3% equity interest in Bharti Cellular 2000
Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest of 40.5% in Bharti Mobinet (formerly Skycell Communications), the cellular services provider in Chennai Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired a 30.2% equity interest of Telecom Italia in Bharti Telenet and 18.8% from Bharti Telecom thereby making Bharti Telenet a 100% subsidiary of Bharti Tele-Ventures SingTel (through its investment company Pastel Limited) acquired STET's 15.3% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional effective 41.64% equity interest in Bharti Mobile (by acquiring the remaining 36.55% equity interest in SC Cellular) resulting in Bharti Tele-Ventures holding an effective 74% equity interest in Bharti Mobile. 2001
Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired a 44% equity interest in Bharti Cellular from British Telecom, thereby making Bharti Cellular its 100% subsidiary Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional 49% equity interest in Bharti Mobinet from Millicom International and BellSouth International, thereby owning 89.5% equity interest in Bharti Mobinet, which was further increased to 95.3% following an issuance of additional equity shares by way of rights issue Punjab license restored to Bharti Mobile by the Department of Telecom (DOT) and migration to NTP 1999 accepted Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide cellular services in eight new circles following 2003
Airtel breaks interconnectivity with Tata Teleservices in Andhra Pradesh "Airtel" and "Touchtel" jointly offer free Touchtel land line for post-paid Airtel connection Airtel rolls out voice mail service for pre-paid customers Airtel unveils new scheme for pre-paid customers giving away free talk time worth Rs 10 crore Airtel surpasses 4 lakhs subscriber base in Karnataka Bharti announces new tariff plan Airtel 012
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Offers 0-1-2, a new cellular package for the customers, which means zero charges on incoming calls, Re 1 on mobile-to-mobile outgoing calls, Rs 2 on mobile-to-mobile STD calls On December 16, 2003, Airtel announced the launch of expense tracker service, which provides customers the option of tracking their day-to-day expenses on a daily or monthly basis. This service will allow a user to track expenses, while on the move by sending an SMS. Airtel introduces MTV Club Card in Chennai 2004
Airtel launches Rs 50 prepaid recharge Airtel launched a family pack for its post-paid customers in Chennai on January 29. Bharti Tele-Ventures enters into a three year service agreement with Ericsson Bharti launches 2-in-1 card Airtel, a private telecom services provider, has commissioned its first 24x7 customer service centre in Andhra Pradesh Airtel unveils Rs 199 pre paid card Airtel join hands with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) to offer executive MBA program Rolls out Enhanced Data Rate for Global Evolution (EDGE) network in Pune on September 9, 2004, Ties up with Nokia for sale of Nokia 6230, an EDGE-enabled handset. Airtel unveils first virtual calling cards in India BTVL rolls out EDGE services in Bangalore Airtel rolls out Full Talktime Advantage card Airtel rolls out Wi-Fi services in Mumbai BTVL launches new 'Airtel Broadband Friendly Offer' 2005
Airtel launches video services for its GPRS customers on February 22, 2005 Airtel unveils new TV ad featuring Sachin Tendulkar and Shahrukh Khan Bharti Tele-Ventures launches telecom network in Andaman & Nicobar BTVL unveil fixed line, broadband services Bharti inks 5-m deal with Nokia for rural network expansion Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd has announced that Airtel, ICICI Bank & VISA have joined hands to launch mCheq - a revolutionary new service - a credit card on the mobile phone Airtel introduces BlackBerry Connect in India Bharti Tele Ventures announces agreement with Vodafone Airtel unveils 'free flight' offer Bharti Tele-Ventures launches undersea cable system 2006
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Airtel launches Post2Pre recharging service on April 04, 2006. Airtel sets up customer centre Airtel announced the launch of `Save My Phone Contact' service for its pre-paid and post-paid customers in Delhi Bharti Tele Ventures bags 'Wireless Service Provider of the Year' & 'Competitive Service Provider of the Year' awards Cellebrum join hands with Airtel Airtel Mega unveiled in Coimbatore Bharti Airtel Ltd and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership that will offer a range of software and services for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. Bharti Airtel Ltd on Nov 8, announced a first-of-its-kind alliance with the Adani Group for establishing an end-to-end modern telecommunication network infrastructure for the latter's multi-sector special economic zone (SEZ), located near Mundra Port in Kutch district of Gujarat. 2007
Bharti Airtel has come out with a slew of initiatives including buying out SingTel's 50 per cent stake in joint venture undersea cable company Network i2i Bharti Airtel on Feb 11 has been awarded QCI-DL Shah National Award on Economics of Quality. Bharti Airtel Ltd has announces changes in the operational leadership structure and roles in the Company effective April 01, 2007. Bharti Airtel Ltd on April 01, 2007, has announces the reduction in ISD Tariffs for all its mobile customers in India. 8Airtel signs agreement with HTC for touch screen mobile. 2008
Bharti Airtel Ltd on February 13, 2008 has announced that it has achieved the 60 million mobile, fixed line and broadband customers. Bharti Airtel tied up with US-based Apple Inc to bring the popular GSM-based iPhone in the country. Bharti Airtel Ltd has forged a technology alliance with Infosys Technologies Ltd to launch its Direct-toHome (DTH) television services. Infosys, through its digital convergence platform, will offer a suite of products including devices, application servers and interactive applications for Airtel's DTH services. 2009 Bharti Airtel signed a five-year managed services deal with Alcatel-Lucent for its fixed-line and broadband operations.
Bharti Airtel launched the 'Airtel Advantage' initiative. The initiative is aimed at offering the added advantage to Airtel customers to be in touch with each other at an affordable rate of 50 paisa per minute, be it a national long distance call (STD) or a local call.
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In order to create products and services for the small, medium and large enterprises, Bharti Airtel and Cisco announced a strategic business alliance. The alliance would combine the strengths of Airtel's network service and Cisco' Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. Airtel and m Check announce milestone of 1 Million users and introduce a broad range of new m Commerce services. 2010
On 14, February 2010, Zain Ghana issued a resolution to accept a $10.7 billion buyout offer from Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti) to enter into exclusive discussions until 25 March 2010, regarding the sale of its African unit, Zain Africa BV. Bharti Airtel submitted its bid for 3G spectrum auction which starts from April 9, 2010. On May 18, 2010, Airtel won 3G spectrum in 13 circles: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East, Jammu & Kashmir for Rs. 12,295 crores.[28] Bharti Airtel wins broadband spectrum in four circles: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Kolkata for Rs. 3314.36 crores.[29] On 8, June 2010, Bharti Airtel completed a deal to Zain Telecom's businesses in 15 African countries for $10.7 billion On 20 September 2010, Bharti Airtel said that it has given contracts to Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Huawei Technologies to set up infrastructure for providing 3G services in the country. On 18 November, 2010, Bharti Airtel announced a re-branding campaign wherein, they would be referred as Airtel, with a new logo.[30] On 20 December 2010, Airtel launched its new identity for Bangladesh subscribers. 2011
On 23 February 2011, Bharti Airtel launched the Europe-India gateway cable system, along with 16 other global telecom firms. A 15,000 kilometer long cable, between Mumbai and London.[33] On 27 February 2011, Bharti Airtel launched its speech recognition based service, 'One Number, One Voice'.[34] 2.3.5. QUALITY Quality is an integral element of Bharti Airtels DNA. Lean Six Sigma Process Standardization, Performance Variance Reduction (PVR) and Knowledge Management are some of the quality initiatives which are deeply ingrained in Bharti Airtels processes. The Company continuously invests in training and development of its employees to champion these initiatives. It continually raises the benchmark by getting assessed by external quality agencies. In this regard, its ISO27001implementation is among the largest in the world. Bharti Airtel isTL9000and PCI DSS compliant and its IT infrastructure and processes are compliant with COBIT and ITIL best practices.
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2.3.6. BRANDING Bharti Airtel has been rated as the Strongest Brand by the Economic Times - Brand Finance Brand Power Rating. Brand Airtel was the only corporate brand to be awarded the AAA rating which means extremely strong and it improved its rating from the previous AA+. Airtel was also rated as the 7th Most Valuable Brand in India with a brand value of USD 2.5 billion and was the only telecom player to feature in the top 10 most valuable brands. Airtel also crossed the 100 million customer base and extended its brand in DTH and IPTV services. In mobile services, the overarching brand philosophy focused on celebrating the idea of people and relationships. It continued the segmented approach, which strengthened the brands relevance across various socio-economic segments of close to 600 million mobile users in the country. Airtel marked its milestone of crossing 100 million customers with a thematic campaign on Together Good Things Happen. The concept acknowledged each individual as an accumulation of people, relationships and experiences. The refreshed logo used in the campaign comprised of faces of people customers, employees and partners, who have made the brand what it is. The brand campaign was endorsed by the movie icon, Shahrukh Khan, who resonated with Airtels belief that his People and relationships define him. For urban centers, the brands belief in togetherness was extended to an onground manifestation through the ownership of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. In the midst of hyper competition with new players in the market, Airtel offered multiple competitive advantages to its customers, most significant of which was a network with over 110 million people on it, who could now talk with each other at 50 paisa per minute, local and STD. Affordability as a proposition to the customer was further driven through consecutive campaigns on roaming at 60 paisa per minute and 1 paisa per second, and the recent value series featuring Sharman Joshi. In the DTH segment, Airtel digital TV continued to gain a strong mindshare and market share in the year 2009-10 through key brand campaigns aimed at building differentiation based on technology and Product superiority. A high decibel campaign featuring superstars Kareena and Saif along with former Miss India Sarah Jane Dias brought to the audience the advantage of Picture clarity which triggered faster adoption for DTH. This campaign was supported by MPEG 4 DVB S2 Technology which only Airtel offered at that point of time. The next Campaign announced the launch of digital TV Recorder. Airtel was the Second player to launch this product. To create a strong differentiation and consumer benefit, the campaign talked about the Record from mobile feature. With the record from mobile feature, one can record live TV with ease anytime, anywhere. 2.3.7. Rebranding On 18 November 2010, Airtel rebranded itself in India in the first phase of a global rebranding strategy. The company unveiled a new logo with 'Airtel' written in lower case. Designed by London-based brand
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agency, Brand Union, the new logo is the letter 'a' in lowercase, with 'Airtel' written in lowercase under the logo.
Airtel, unveiled its new brand identity in its latest campaign, and also talks about new offerings, which include mobile commerce and 3G services. The brand has also recently unveiled its new positioning, 'Dil Jo chahe paas laye'. The idea as told by company representatives was to give the brand a uniform presence across all these markets. Also, the world is moving towards digitalization. From now, it's also going to be about social media, commerce and 3G. Therefore, keeping the evolution of the telecom business as well as our expansion in mind, they decided to take brand Airtel to the next level. Reason The logotype is modern, vibrant and friendly and signals our resolution to be accessible to our customers and stakeholders. The lowercase is our recognition for humility. The red color, which is an integral part of the brand, continues to represent heritage, energy and passion. The new curved and the gentle highlight almost gives the impression of a living object; at the same time, it represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy, brings us closer to consumers and is a symbol which will help ensure instant recognition across diverse international markets (Source: http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html...n+for+consumer) Campaign Evaluation 2.3.8. Positioning: Power to keep in touch Touch tomorrow Live every moment Express yourself Dil Jo chahe pass laye (current) The Good The new positioning of the brand Dil 'Dil jo chahe paas laye' Meaning whatever heart wants, the Airtel brings it to its customer is good strategy to advertise about value added services which would come along with 3G services The new logo also symbolizes youth and freshness which is important to tap the youth population, which constitutes around 60% of the customers.
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The Bad The company didnt communicate the change to existing customers via a message. It reflected badly on the relationship. The new advertisements are more targeted towards the upper strata of the society thus it makes company vulnerable to lower strata customers. The Ugly The Airtels new logo has strong resemblance with its competitor Vodafone, which makes it look like a copycat. The brand has been damaged due to this inadvertent or deliberate similarity being crept in. (Source: http://studyshare.in/share/showthread.php?1858-Airtel-RebrandingCampaign&p=2146&viewfull=1#post2146) On November 23, 2010, Airtel's Africa operations were rebranded to 'Airtel'. Sri Lanka followed on November 28, 2010 and on December 20, 2010, Warid Telecom rebranded to 'Airtel' in Bangladesh. Signature tune in Rebranding: The signature tune of Airtel is composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. The tune became hugely popular and is the world's most downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads. A new version of the song was released on 18 November 2010, as part of the rebranding of the company. This version too was composed by Rahman himself. Sponsorship On May 9, 2009 Airtel signed a major deal with Manchester United Football Club. As a result of the deal, Airtel gets the rights to broadcast the matches played by the team to its customers. Bharti Airtel signed a five-year deal with ESPN Star Sports to become the title sponsor of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament. The tournament itself is named "Airtel Champions League Twenty20. Positioning in the world & in India Third largest wireless operator in the world. Largest private integrated Telecom Company in India. 5th largest integrated telecom operator in the world. Largest operator in NLD, ILD and VSAT business Largest Telecom Company listed on Indian stock exchanges
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NON FINANCIAL
VITALS
COST
Revenue
_ Improving cost efficiencies _ Lowest cost GSM network _ Brand _ Distribution _ Churn lower than industry _ Spectrum Mix (900/1800 MHz
Cost
NEW REVENUE STREAMS
MAXIMIZING USAGE
NEW ADDS
Driven by rural strategy Increasing the usage through U&R drive Wallet share
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Targeting
Elite Up market professionals Entrepreneur with business plans Low income mass category Youth Women and senior citizens by post paid connection
Advertisement
Airtel basically uses two appeals to connect to the users Emotional Humorous
2.3.11. BHARTI AIRTELS MANTRA: Focus on Core Competencies and outsource the rest!
Product Innovation
Pricing
Core Competencies
VAS
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Network Equipment
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2.4.2 Business Divisions The Company Bharti Airtel is divided into 4 business units that are:
Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services Enterprise services Mobile services Digital TV services Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services Among the various services that the Bharti Airtel Limited Company provides to its customers, the services of broadband and telephone (B&T) are one of them. The company provides broadband Internet services of high speed for it has the best network in India. The company Bharti Airtel also provides telephone services in around 94 cities of the country and this helps the people to stay connected with one another. The company plans to expand its broadband and telephone services by providing IPTV services and DTH operations. Enterprise services Further Bharti Airtel provides enterprise services to its customers. Enterprise Services provides a broad portfolio of services to large Enterprise and Carrier customers. This division comprises of the Carrier and Corporate business unit. Enterprise Services is regarded as the trusted communications partner to India's leading organizations, helping them to meet the challenges of growth. The services of enterprise provide telecom end-to-end solutions to customers who belong to the corporate sector and also long distance services to international and national carriers. The company Bharti Airtel has more than 35,016 kilometers of optic fiber, a submarine landing station, and is also a member of South East Asia- Middle East- Western Europe- 4. All this has helped the company to provide the best enterprise services to its customers. The company Bharti Airtel Limited plans to expand its enterprise services so that it can achieve the status of a global carrier within a period of 2- 3 years. Enterprise Services provides a broad portfolio of services to large Enterprise and Carrier customers Corporate: Single point of contact for all telecommunication needs for Top 2500 corporate customers, Providing full suite of voice, data, and managed communications solutions Carriers: Wholesale voice and data services to over 130 domestic and 450 international Telecommunication carriers, as well as ILD and NLD carriage for Airtels own customers. Extensive national and international infrastructure Pan-India network with 134,026 Route kms of optical fiber, over 4,150MPLS and SDH POPs
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Access network (terrestrial) in 88 cities, Wimax network in 143 cities, and over 1,500 local POIs International network with 225,000 Route Kms, connecting over 50 countries and 5 Continents. Key Performance Indicators (Q3 11) NLD Minutes Carried: 18.1 Billion ; ILD Minutes Carried: 3.2 Billion Revenue: Rs.10,503 Million (9 % Segment Contribution Share) EBITDA: Rs. 2,260 Million (21.5% EBITA Margin)
Mobile services The company Bharti Airtel Limited provides mobile services to its customers. The company provides fixed and mobile wireless services in around 23 telecom circles by using the GSM technology. Bharti Airtel Company has become the biggest mobile service provider in India on the basis of the number of customers. The company in the future plans to expand its network in order to establish its presence in more than 500,000 villages all across the country by 2010. Digital TV services Bharti Airtel limited provides digital TV services to its customers. It Discover the magical experience of digital entertainment with Airtel. From DVD quality picture and sound, the best and widest variety of channels and programmes to the best on-demand content on Airtel Live, your TV viewing experience change forever with digital TV from Airtel!
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2.4.3 Factsheet
Name business description Bharti Airtel Limited. Provides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles in India, Srilanka, Bangladesh and now in 16 Countries of Africa. Provides telemedia services (fixed line and broadband services through DSL) in 88 cities in India. We also offer suite of Enterprise solutions, DTH and IPTV Services July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company Rs. 157,560 million (ended December 31, 2010-Audited) Rs. 103,053 million ( ended December 31, 2009-Audited) As per IFRS Accounts
proportionate EBITDA Rs. 49,816 million ( ended December 31, 2010 - Audited) Rs. 40,823 million ( ended December 31, 2009 - Audited) As per IFRS Accounts shares in issue Listings market capitalization customer base India: 157,485,000 GSM mobile and 3,257,000 Telemedia Customers. (status as on December 31, 2010) Africa: 42,124,000 GSM mobile. (status as on December 31, 2010) Provides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles in India, Srilanka, Bangladesh and now in 16 Countries of Africa. Provides telemedia services (fixed line) in 88 cities in India. Provides an integrated suite of Enterprise solutions, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both Nationally and Internationally. We also offer DTH and IPTV Services. . registered office Bharti Airtel Limited (A Bharti Enterprise), Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj Phase II New Delhi - 110 070 Tel. No.: +91 11 4666 6100 Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411 3,797,530,096 as at December 31, 2010 The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)
operational network
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2.5 Organization Structure As an outcome of a restructuring exercise conducted within the company; a new integrated organizational structure has emerged; with realigned roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships of Bhartis key team players. With effect from March 01, 2006, this unified management structure of One Airtel' will enable continued improvement in the delivery of the Groups strategic vision. Bharti Airtel Organization Structure
2.5.1
Board of Directors
The board of directors of the Company has an optimum mix of executive and non-executive directors, which consists of two executive and fourteen 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
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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 composition of the Board is as under:
Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, one of Indias leading business groups with interests in telecom, financial services, retail, realty, manufacturing and agriculture. Sunil started his career at 18 after graduating from Punjab university in India in 1976 and founded Bharti. Today, at 52, he heads a successful enterprise which employs over 30,000 people. Bharti Airtel, the flagship group company, has a market capitalization of approximately US$ 25 billion. Sunil has been recognized with the padma bhushan, one of Indias highest civilian awards. He has also received the Lal bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for 2009. He is a past president of the confederation of Indian Industry, the premier industry body in India (2007-08). Sunil has been awarded numerous awards and recognitions including the Global Economy Prize 2009 by The Kiel Institute, Germany. The US-India business council has also honored him with the 'global vision' award 2008. He has received the GSM association chairman's award for 2008. Sunil was Co-chairman of the World Economic Forum in 2007 at Davos and is a member of its international business council. He is a member of the leadership council of The Climate Group. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a member of several premier international bodies International Advisory Committee to the NYSE Euro next Board of Directors, the International Business Advisory Council of London and the Advisory Board of the Global Economic Symposium. Sunil is also on the Telecom Board of the International Telecommunication Union, the leading UN Agency for
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Information and Communication Technology. He is also a member of the Indo-US CEOs Forum. He serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business. He is also a member of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Sunil believes a responsible corporate has a duty to give back to the community in which it operates. This belief has resulted in Bharti Foundation, which is committed to providing education to under-privileged.
Manoj Kohli is the CEO (International) & Joint MD, Bharti Airtel. He heads the International Business Group. He is a Director on the Board of Bharti Airtel. Sanjay Kapoor Chief Executive Officer Bharti Airtel Ltd. (India & South Asia)
Sanjay Kapoor has over 25 years of experience, of which 12 years have been in the telecommunications sector.
Atul Bindal is President, Mobile Services of Bharti Airtel Ltd. He is a member on the Airtel Management Board (AMB), and chairs the Mobile Management Board (MMB).
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K. Srinivas
K Srinivas is a Mechanical Engineering graduate and a PGDM from IIM Bangalore (1987). Srinivas joined Bharti Airtel in Nov02 and as a CEO, led the operations of mobile services in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.
Ajay Puri
Ajai Puri is Director & CEO for Airtel digital TV - DTH Services. Airtel was the 5th entrant to DTH space, however, during last 7 Quarters; Airtel has clearly emerged as market leader in acquiring new customers under Ajais leadership. Drew Kelton Enterprise Services, Bharti Airtel Limited
Drew Kelton joined Bharti Airtel in July 2010 as President, Enterprise Services. .
Jyoti Pawar
Jyoti Pawar is a Director Legal and Regulatory of Bharti Airtel Limited and a member of the Airtel Management Board.
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Joachim Horn
Joachim Horn, Executive Director Network Services Group, joined Bharti Airtel in April 2009. S. Asokan Executive Director - Supply Chain
Asokan was appointed as Director Supply Chain in June 2006. He is a member of the Bharti Airtel management board.
Krishnamurthy Shankar joined Bharti Airtel in March 2007. He is a member of the Airtel Management Board.
Srikanth Balachander joined Bharti Airtel as CFO in November 2008. He is a member of the Airtel management board.
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Amrita Gangotra is the Director for Information Technology at Bharti Airtel Ltd. and is a member of the Airtel management board
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Bharti Airtel bagged the Best Carrier India Award and the Ovum Telco-Transformation Award at the Telecom Asia Awards 2009. Bharti Airtel was ranked sixth among the top 100 best performing technology companies in the world, compiled by Business Week for the year 2009. The company is placed ahead of global technology leaders like Apple (19), Microsoft (22) and Google (37) in this exclusive list. Sunil Mittal received the Madras Management Association (MMA) Business Leadership Award for 2008-09 for revolutionizing Indian telecom.
Bharti Airtel was selected as one of the top 10 winners of the IDC Enterprise Innovation IT Awards 2009 across APAC region for its BSS Transformation Project. Sunil Mittal was awarded the Global Economy Prize by The Kiel Institute (Germany). Sunil Mittal was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa by the University of Leeds, UK. Bharti Airtel received the Best Content Service Award for the Airtel-IFFCO Farmer Information Dissemination Platform at the World Communications Awards in London. Bharti Airtels low cost computing device Airtel Net PC was recognized by Hindustan Times as one of the Top 9 Best Tech Products of 2009.
Bharti Airtel has been ranked among six best performing technology companies in the world by Business Week. Bharti Airtel was awarded the Most Preferred Cellular Service Provider Award at the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2009. Bharti Airtel has been awarded the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Award 2009 in the Telecom Sector. NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards have been instituted to award organizational excellence. The awards promise to acknowledge the best, the brightest and the most dynamic of Indian organizations that have emerged leaders in their respective verticals.
Bharti Airtel was named the Top Telecom Services Provider of the Year 2009. Manoj Kohli, CEO and Joint MD of Bharti Airtel, was named the Voice & Data Telecom Person of the Year 2009. The Awards also named Bharti Airtel, the Top VSAT Player 2009, the Top NLD Player 2009 and Top Cellular Services Provider 2009 Bharti Airtel bagged top honors in the Voice & Data 100 Survey, winning five of the Voice & Data
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2.7.1. Strengths
Affirms strength is its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage. Companys reputation -: Airtel has a strong brand name among the customers. -: Bharti Airtel Limited is the group company of Indias No. 1 conglomerate The Bharti Group, the largest and fastest growing, most valuable business group. Promotion Effectiveness-: The Company has spent a large amount of money in sales promotion by means of media advertising, through celebrity endorsements, hoardings, road shows and various discount schemes. Shopkeepers dont have to pursue the customers, they come asking for it. Geographical coverage-: Airtel has set up a terabit capacity, integrated and a converged digital network offering a wide spectrum of telecommunication services spanning wireless and wire line technologies, having a PAN India presence of 23 circles and 854 towns.
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2.7.2. Weaknesses
Promotion- Airtel should adopt a more aggressive strategy to promote their fixed line services in order to attract potential customers. There should be more of advertising both print and electronic similar to the advertising of their mobile services. Network- Airtel needs to improve Interconnectivity problem especially with BSNL. Payment system-Payment system needs to improve drastically. A consumer court has pulled up private telecom major Airtel for charging customers for calls that never "materialized" and levying STD tariff on local calls, even as it termed the actions as a "fraud" on consumers. 2.7.3. Opportunities The external environment analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth. Rural market-The largest bet could be to look at the hitherto untapped rural market. This is a big opportunity for Airtel to participate in a social revolution while at the same time looking for profits. Land line-Explore new niches to increase market share and Cover up on the loop holes left by BSNL, especially in the fixed line segment. Second line of products- Apart from mobile services Airtel has lot of opportunity as far as its second line of products are concerned life the fixed line phones and Telemedia services.
2.7.4. Threats
Credit control: Airtel needs to improve its credit control policy system. Due to improper credit control policy, Airtel faces many problems regarding with customer each month. Bad debts: Airtel needs to improve its payment collection system. Airtel still ended the previous year with a net loss of Rs 390 crores on account of bad debts. Competition: Reliance as the competitor for broadband in the market And BSNL being a government body there is a high sense of security among the people.
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2.8 Shares
The equity shares of Bharti Airtel are currently listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and The Stock Exchange, Mumbai, (BSE). Bharti Airtel offered 185,336,700 equity shares in the initial public offering (IPO) and raised Rs 8,340.15 million through this process. The shares were oversubscribed 2.56 times. With this IPO, Bharti Airtel established certain important landmarks in the history of the Indian capital market. Together with being the first 100% book building process that this country has seen, the listing was completed within a record time of ten working days of the close of the issue. Moreover the process of allotment and issue of shares was also completed within one day of the last day of pay-in. The book running lead managers for the IPO were JM Morgan Stanley and DSP Merrill Lynch and the registrars to the issue was Karvy Consultants Limited
key Functions The key functions of the HR Committee includes the followings: Attraction and Retention strategies for employees. Employees Development Strategies. Compensation (including salaries and salary adjustments, incentives/benefits bonuses, stock options) and performance targets for the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) and Joint Managing Directors (JMDs) Executive Directors. Other key issues / matters as may be referred by the Board or as may be necessary in view of Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement or any statutory provisions.
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3.1. Introduction to VAS A value-added service (VAS) is popular as a telecommunications industry term for non-core services, or in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. However, it can be used in any service industry, for services available at little or no cost, to promote their primary business. In the telecommunication industry, on a conceptual level, value-added services add value to the standard service offering, spurring the subscriber to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their ARPU Value-added services (VAS) are unlike core services. They have unique characteristics and they relate to other services in a completely different way. They also provide benefits that core services cannot. 3.1.1. Value added Services Characteristics All VAS share the same characteristics: Not a form of basic service but rather adds value total service offering Stands alone in terms of profitability and/or stimulates incremental demand for core services Can sometimes stand alone operationally Does not cannibalize basic service unless clearly favorable. Can be an add-on to basic service, and as such, may be sold at a premium price May provide operational and/or administrative synergy between or among other services not merely for diversification Relationship to other Services There are two types of VAS. The first service type is those value-added services that stand alone from an operational perspective. These types of services need not be coupled with other services, but they can be. Many non-voice services fall into this category. They are often provided as an optional service along with voice services, but they could be offered and used by themselves without the voice service. For example, SMS could be offered and used as a service without voice calling. The second, and arguably more numerous and important type of VAS, are those services that do not stand-alone. Instead, this category adds value to existing services. While it seems implicit in the definition of value-added, this is an important principle that makes value-added services stand apart from other services.
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Value Added Services It doesn't matter whether we like it or not, but the cost advantage (for those who entered the market earlier) for the Indian Telecom companies has vanished in within air. The Telecom business has become more modernized than ever, largely due to the discovery of digital switching, cellular radio and optical fiber. The worrying part, however, is that the value in traditional services is diminishing continuously and they are not sure anymore whether (constantly evolving) technology is their friend or foe?
3.1.2. Benefits of VAS
The benefit of Value Added Service (VAS) are as follows: Business is high flexibility to update the service. Value Added Service (VAS) business will be able to meet any telecommunication service required by subscriber and able to provide it immediately. It is can be done due to Value Added Service (VAS) is application client server base which means that Value Added Service (VAS) can be executed anytime to generate final result. Competition is Heating Up New competitors just keep coming up relentlessly, thus driving the margins further down. More than the conventional services, it is the unique capabilities of the telecom companies, in other words the value added services, which are expected to provide them with the much needed competitive edge in the market especially in fixed lines, broadband and mobile networks. At the same time, the importance of customer relationships and understanding cannot be underestimated. VAS Generated Revenue is growing Even for the bigger mobile service providers, the revenue generated by data traffic or VAS services is close to 30-40%, though largely it has been dominated by ringtones and SMS. Slowly but surely, other services such as email and mobile broadband are also joining the fray. The astonishing success of App Store from Apple is a clear pointer towards the way where the telecom VAS markets are headed today. In fact, within the first year of operation, users downloaded 1.5 billion applications. The lesson for the telecom companies was clear, if the experience was right, people were willing to look for new ways to add to their mobile experience (main point: they are willing to pay for it too). SMS Remains the Most Successful While we are yet to see any application which may go on to succeed like SMS did, the networks and devices are experiencing continuous development, thus enabling the growth of new offerings for the customers right from productivity tools to games and other fun activities. VAS services drive the revenues directly, and enhance performance in myriad other ways. The result is a stronger relationship with the customer, which in turn leads to better customer databases (and more customized products) thus ensuring consistent profits.
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You are in the Right Market In terms of VAS telecom markets, India is probably the best country to be in. This is the second largest mobile market, with about 450 million subscribers and still counting (should we say growing?). The number of minutes used per user by Indian subscribers is also one of the highest in the world, therefore the potential for growth remains unmatched.
FUTURE VAS
Future of Value Added Services (VAS) Market in India 2009-13 The Indian telecom industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and India is projected to become second largest telecom market globally by 2010. This has helped the VAS Industry in India to come out of its infancy. Even the global economic slowdown has done less to affect its growth. The mobile VAS market has grown by around 60% year on year and is estimated to touch INR 251 billion in FY 2009-10. This trend is expected to increase in future, as VAS services will become a major revenue source for telecom operators in India. This becomes critical, as the Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for telecom operators is decreasing despite the overall increase in consumer base. The growth in tier 2-3 cities has helped increase the overall consumer base of mobile services in India but this has created problems of its own.
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Airtel introduced huge cuts in Landline rates up to 42%. Customers calling from an Airtel landline to any other local landline, can now talk for as little as cost for 3 minutes pulse, which is the lowest local landline rate in India. Airtel's off-peak Period is from 7pm to 7am and also includes full 24-hours on Public Holidays and weekends. The peak rate, from 7am to pm, was also reduced by 10% to 70 cents for 3 minutes. The Landline services offered by Airtel works on a 62 kpbs copper wire line and ensures crystal clear communication and there are various value-added services from party conferencing to Calling Line Identification (requires a CLI telephone terminal). The Airtel Landline can also be used for data transmission and is ideal for your Internet needs or access. Airtel reduced its Internet dial-up rates up to 42%, now offering the best dial-up rates in the country.
Telephone
Airtel Voice Services go beyond basic telephony to offer the users a whole host of Value Added Services as well as premium add-ons. Each Telephone connection from Airtel is backed by a superior fibre-optic backbone for enhanced reliability and quality telephone. Get in touch with the Customer Care centre in your City.
Dial-up
Airtel Voice Services provide FREE dial-up internet access that is bundled along with your Telephone connection from Airtel. Its fast, reliable, gives you unlimited Internet access. All you need to do is dial 1500 through your dialer. The default username should be "register" and password is "Airtel". You can log- in and change your Username and Password. All you need is: A computer and a modem. And a Telephone connection from Airtel.
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Airtel Voice Services give you unlimited free internet access, allowing you to pay only for the number of hours spent online. Paying for it is convenient as well-you can pay along your Airtel phone bill.
Features
Airtel Voice Services bring you a range of world class features. These enable you to organize and control your communication needs. They make your life a lot simpler and convenient. They empower you like never before. The best part is that many of these services are free along with your telephone connection.
Unified Messaging
The Unified Messaging from Airtel Telemedia Services brings you the unmatched convenience of receiving your e-mail, fax and voice messages on one number. This service allows you to store all your messages in one mail box. You can access your mail box from anywhere, any number by dialing your phone number and entering a four digit password. You can access your e-mails, fax messages and voice mails through the phone by dialing into your Unified Messaging mail box. It will read out your e-mails, play back your voice messages and store your faxes, which you can divert a number near you to view them. You can view your fax messages on screen of your computer (fax card is not required), and listen to
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your voice mails as well as read your e-mails by accessing your mail box on the net. Now, you don't have to check for your messages in three different places. All your messages are stored in one mail box. On subscribing to Unified Messaging from Airtel Telemedia Services you get: A mail box attached to your Airtel Telephone number. An e mail account with the ID: yy51xxxxxx@airteltelephone.com.
Both these accounts are protected with a 4 digit password. The Unified Messaging mail box stores voice mails and fax messages sent to your number as well as e-mails sent to your e mail account. Your Unified Messaging mail box can store up to 10 Voice messages, 10 sheets of fax and 2 MB of e-mails. You can retrieve your messages from the Unified Messaging mail box in 3 ways: Through the telephone Through the web Through your computer
Retrieving messages
Through the telephone: You can check messages through your phone by dialing the Airtel Telephone mail service number and then entering your 4 digit password. You can access your messages through any other phone also by dialing Airtel Telephone number and then entering your 4 digit password. Fax Messages: You can download your fax messages through any pre-configured fax
machine or you can divert the fax to a fax machine near you. E-mails: You can listen to your e- mails on the phone through the text-to-voice conversion
software you can even take a print-out through any pre-defined fax machine.
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Voice mails: You can listen to your voice mails. You can also forward them to any other
number. Through the web: You can check your messages on the site, enter your username and password to retrieve e-mail, fax mail and voice massages. Fax Messages: You can view your fax messages on the screen of your computer and take a printout through a printer. E-mails: You can view your e mails on the screen. Voice mails: You can listen to your voice messages through your computer's speakers/headphones.
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Network
Airtels high-speed optic fibre network currently spans 25000 kms covering almost all the major cities in the country. On completion, by 2004, the network had span 35,000 Km, covering well over 200 cities. The network is configured in multiple "self-healing" rings to ensure error free service. In addition, the flexible IP/ ATM layer, built on an optical core allows rapid service delivery time frames and highly customized solutions to meet diverse requirements. The network follows both Trans-Atlantic and Trans Pacific Path which is connected through a sea optic fibre cable from Singapore and has a Notch in Chennai. From Chennai the Main Switch Unit (MSU) comes out a DLC (Digital Loop Carrier) for selected cities all over India. The DLCs are connected to the pillars, pillars to the sub pillars, to the Distribution Point and to the Splitter. The Splitter divides the data and the voice signals which further go into the modem and the fixed lines. The network follows an optic fibre network till the DLC and a copper wired network from the DLCs and further. The network generally follows the trans-Atlantic path and is routed to the Trans Pacific path if the trans-Atlantic path is cut.
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This is especially important because the market for high-speed broadband services in India has grown rapidly due to an ever-increasing subscriber demand for IP bandwidth. And this growing demand over time will translate to more profit for service providers. In such a scenario, the provider that offers more value-added services over plain connectivity option will win. Value may be added in the form of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), bandwidth prioritization, security services, and bandwidth on demand. And these value-added differentiated services should be provided without sacrificing the wire speed of the connection. This can turn out to be an important part in a provider's growth model.
From which sector do you see revenue generated for broadband service providers in India?
In India the revenue for broadband service providers is mainly driven by services in the corporate sector. The success among enterprises will pave a path for residential access. And revenue figures from the residential sector will pick up fast. But there will always be a mix of access technologies. For example, India has a very large cable TV penetration. It's much more than the telephone user base. Service providers already offering DSL or leased lines can also think of offering services through cable. The provider does not need to build a separate platform for cable, Ethernet, ATM, and leased lines. He can use routers that support all these technologies and build a single network to deliver these services. No matter what access technology and physical location, the platform stays the same. Many successful providers today may strictly sell bandwidth per rupee. But as it works out, it's not a long term success story. Airtel broadband reaches more than a million households in India, This portal provides a variety of VAS services to Airtel Users including entertainment, live TV, educational content and utilities like Antivirus Airtel is largest Telecom company in India with more than 150 million customers, Airtel Telemedia services includes Landline, DSL and variety of VAS offerings. Benefits Create VAS off take through self service channel by better discovery and buying process.
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1.Learn next:
Learn Next powered by Next education private limited. LearnNext is the new way of learning that combines traditional teaching with modern technology. The smartest way to learn the syllabi of CBSE Maths and Science - on Your own from the comfort of your home! Features: No Internet connection required 100% compliant with CBSE and CCE Free virtual library and lab Free Study Planner Over 5000 practice questions Performance tracker How does it help? Airtel LearnNext delivers highly interactive, easy to use and effective course content with audio-visuals to understand complicated concepts. It uses 2D/3D animation to ensure that the student learns by observing rather than just by listening. NCERT exercises Contains videos of Maths and Science exercises from NCERT textbooks, which have been solved by a teacher.
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Audio-visual content More than 250 lessons explained with audio-visual course content, solved examples and experiments. Cost effective Costs just a fraction of what you would pay for private tuitions! Monthly pack @ Rs.99 Quarterly pack @ Rs.199 Study packages CBSE X Maths & Science, CBSE IX Maths & Science, CBSE VIII Maths & Science, CBSE VII Maths & Science, CBSE VI Maths & Science
What does a customer get in this package? These packages contain the entire syllabi for CBSE Mathematics and Science subjects for the academic year 2010 - 2011. Included are lessons in audio-visual format, solved examples, practice exercises, experiments, tests and much more. Lessons: Learn and understand the concepts effectively, clear the doubts with ease and score higher in the exams. These multimedia lessons are marked by conceptual clarity, resourceful knowledge and practical effectiveness Examples: Benefit from the visually rich examples used to illustrate the concepts for easier and faster learning. Experience a real-time classroom explanation of examples with special attention to memory techniques Experiments: Acquire deeper knowledge of the subject through our practical experiments. Our experiments are conducted on an innovative visual medium that can be simulated by changing various parameters and specifications. Exercise: Put all your learning into practice to determine the understanding of the lessons. Get a stepby step solution to every exercise with an option to revise and review your understanding of the
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chapter. Summary: Summary is the gist of every lesson and chapter in an easy-to-remember format for revising and reinforcing your learning. It's a great feature to revise all the important concepts before the exams. Website : www.learnnext.com/airtel
2.Airtel broadband TV
Bharti Airtel adds another dimension to its strategy of multi screen convergence- launches Airtel broadband TV powered by Apalya Technologies. Now enjoy live TV on computer - includes 31 Live, 19 Video on Demand (VoD) channels and 12 Movies Watch TV without having to buy an extra TV set or cable connection or set top box or air antenna Attractive Monthly Subscription Packs starting at INR 49 with no additional bandwidth consumption charges Airtel broadband TV is a unique service which enables the customers to watch live TV on their computers or laptops. Customers can now watch TV without having to buy an extra TV set or cable connection/set top box or an air antenna by simply subscribing to Airtel broadband TV with attractive monthly subscription packs starting at INR 49! The 31 Live TV channels are across genres, languages and include the likes of UTV Bindass, UTV Movies, Bloomberg UTV, NDTV, Zoom, NDTV profit, TLC, National geographic, Animal Planet, and all Discovery channels, Sakshi TV, Live India, NE TV, Otv News, Suvarna News, Tarang Music and many more. Airtel broadband TV also works on Wi-Fi giving customers the freedom to watch TV anywhere in their homes. Besides, while watching Airtel broadband TV one can multi-task like browsing the net and working on the laptop or computer at the same time. Revolutionizing the TV watching experience, this initiative is part of our larger commitment to offer an enhanced broadband experience to our customers. We will soon be adding more content under news, soap and infotainment categories." What's more-bandwidth consumption for watching Airtel broadband TV will not add to the customers' Broadband Plan data usage, except for users in Noida and Punjab. To avail this service all that Airtel broadband customers need to do is visit www.airtelbroadbandtv.com and subscribe to their Monthly Subscription Pack of choice by clicking on the Live TV option. Currently, customers have the option to watch 31 Live, 19 VOD (Video on demand) channels and 12 movies basis the chosen subscription plan. Watching broadband TV requires standard Macromedia Flash player version 10.2 and no other specific software.
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Details of Monthly Subscription Plans: It offers 31 live channels, preloaded movies and videos Package Gold Pack (All channels + VoD + Movies) Night Pack (All channels + VoD + Movies ) (can be viewed at night only) (9pm to 9am) My Pack (Choose any 3 channels) Rs 49/One Month Rs 49/One Month Rs 99/One Month Price Validity
3.Website builder
Website builder is powered by WebsiteForever.com. Customer can Create, Grow and Manage a successful web presence with the Airtel Website Builder solution. Special features of website builder are: Choose from over 15,000 High quality Template Possibilities Get a Free Domain Name Get Unlimited Hosting Space and Data Transfer Sell Online with an Ecommerce Shopping cart Add from over 100+ Unmatched Features Use Readymade pages with Industry specific content Build a Mobile Website with Countrys only Mobile Website Builder Customer can register and create a website, complete with a domain name in a matter of minutes! Airtels large collection of templates and the easy to use application helps the customer to design a professional website from scratch to a complete online business or personal identity. A customer can now have a completely customizable web presence by building and maintaining websites with minimum time and effort and at an affordable price without needing to bother about scouting for a website developer. Package and price Standard Pack - Ideal for a first website, Rs-250/- per month.
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Professional Pack - Ideal for a growing business web site, Rs-500/- per month E Commerce Pack - Ideal for businesses wanting to sell online, Rs-1000/- per month Website : http://www.airtelwebsitebuilder.com
4.Games on demand
Games on demand powered by India games.com bring a wide collection of games and unlimited access to more than 3oo games. Games on demand Airtel Choose from the largest collection of free to play Action online games, play some of the worlds best, addictive, online action packed games here and fun. India's No.1 games destination to play online casual, single player and multiplayer, action, sports, educational, arcade, racing, puzzle. Benefits of Games on Demand: Games provided by Airtel through indiagames.com are 100% legal Games which are provided are of full version Games which are provided are with copy rights. Games are completely safe and virus protected. Games which are provided, downloading is absolutely free and no data is charged additionally even if customer is not using unlimited plan. Packages and offer: Premium Pack: download over 300 games in just Rs.199/-month Nano Pack: download and play 30 games in just Rs.30/Whiz-kid pack 50 educational games in just Rs.99/Two weekly pack only one game can be downloaded from Nano pack in just Rs. 15/Play daily one game only in Rs. 5/The website for this VAS : http://airtel.indiagames.com/airtel/
5.Britannica Encyclopedia
Britannica Encyclopedia powered by Britannica. The trusted destination for information on the Internet for more than 100 million people around the world. Packages and offer: A. Britannica Encyclopedia online: Free subscription for two years for every Broadband customer of Airtel. Special features: Learn from the best!
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The premium reference resource for young adults and lifelong learners, written by the world's trusted experts and brightest minds Easy to access The complete text of the 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica - all online Bonus features News, Multimedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Atlas
B. Britannica online for kids: Charges Rs.75/- only per month. Enjoy Britannica for Kids Online at this special Airtel price.
Special features one-stop homework help: Content developed especially for kids by teachers, educators, and children's editors Learn & play: Fun, interactive learning adventures based on grade and subject Explore: Discover new people, places, and ideas with the games in the Learning Activity Zone. Website : http://airtel.britannica.com
6.PC Secure
PC Secure is an antivirus package powered by F-Secure. F-Secure is global leader in IT security solution since 1988. Headquartered in Europe, it offers security to more than 180 ISPs and Mobile operators across over 100 countries.
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Packages and offers Antivirus Anti spywar e Firewall Parental Control Spam Control Price (INR) Monthly Annually
Basic Pack Advanced Pack Premium Pack Special features of PC Secure: Automatic updates: Your antivirus is as good as the last update.
85 100 125
Parental Control: You can block undesired content for your children and view logs of the sites visited. Time Lock: Lets you define at what time your children can access. 360-degree Security: Scans not only your PC, but also CDs, USB sticks, Internet surfing & downloads. Best Protection: Extra fast virus protection provided by the world's most reputed antivirus research team. Firewall: Ideal for 'always-on 'broadband connection with protection against hackers, Trojans, worms & other malwares. Spyware Protection: Surf without fear of personal information being send to third parties. Website : http://app.airtel.in/pcsecure/
7. Airtel photo Airtel photo service enables people around the world to share and print their photos and create personalized gifts easily and affordably.
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Airtel photo service is powered by Zoomin.com. Zoomin.com is a leading online service that enables customers to store, share, and print their digital photos easily and affordably. ZoomIn allows customers around the world to upload unlimited photos and securely share them for free, with friends and family. They can order photo prints or personalize gifts with their favorite photos, a theme and message - delivered to any doorstep in India. ZoomIns photo prints and gifts are of the highest professional quality, using world class technology and infrastructure. On ZoomIn, our Members enjoy a ton of great product features and service promises that help them get the most out of their online photo experience in an easy and intuitive manner. Fanatic about customer rights: No limits on free storage, no need to make purchases to continue to store photos. Download your originals for free at anytime - we believe you own your photo. We provide friendly return policies. Online Editing Tools: We offer a host of options to color correct your images, crop photos or add borders. Personalization: Add a personal touch to gifts such as calendars, t-shirts, mugs, photo books using photos, themes and a personal message. In-house Manufacturing: We have a completely vertically integrated infrastructure we do not outsource. Super Fast Delivery: We deliver to any doorstep in India Products of Airtel photos: Photo prints: Professional photo print quality comes from real photo paper (No inkjet prints here!) to the finest processing equipment - all to complement our easy ordering process.
Price:
4" x 6" - Pack of 25 5" x 7" - Pack of 25 8" x 10" - Pack of 1 8" x 10" - Pack of 2 8" x 10" - Pack of 4
Photo books: Instantly create books of memory, smiles, and fun: make books that track your child's growth, your good times with friends, your family celebrations, or your most memorable vacations.
Price: 11" x 8.5" Rs. 325 9" x 9" Rs. 285
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6" x 9" Rs. 275 6" x 6" Rs. 245 Photo mugs: Your protein drink, your favorite Darjeeling tea, your chocolate milkshake or your hot latte
does not need to be in one standard issue mug. Our Photo Mugs come in varied sizes. Type Size Color Price sample
Magic Mug
11 oz. Black
Rs. 495
Name Mug
Coffee Mug
Chai Mug
6 oz.
Photo calendars: Get organized in the New Year with our personalized, stylish photo calendars. No more generic waterfalls and scenes of snow falling on cedars. Style Size Price sample
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Wall Mount
8.5"x11"
Rs. 595
Desktop
4.5"x10"
Rs. 290
Poster
12"x18"
Rs. 125
6"x6"
Rs. 170
6"x8"
Rs. 300
It provides digitally printed on 100% super soft cotton for a comfort fit. Customize with text and graphics. Men's T-Shirts
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* All sizes are approximate and may vary upto 1 inch in some cases. Size S M L XL Women's T-Shirts * All sizes are approximate and may vary upto 1 inch in some cases. Size S M L XL Length 19 1/2 20 1/2 22 23 1/2 Shoulder 13 1/4 13 1/4 15 1/2 16 5/8 Sleeve 5 1/2 5 3/4 6 1/2 7 Price Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00 Length 26 1/8 27 28 28 1/2 Shoulder 16 1/4 17 1/2 18 20 Sleeve 8 1/4 9 9 1/4 10 3/8 Price Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00 Rs. 425.00
Kid's T-Shirts * All sizes are approximate and may vary upto 1 inch in some cases. Age 2 years
3 - 4 years 5 - 6 years 7 - 8 years 9 - 10 years
Length 16 1/2
18 1/2 20 21 1/2 23
Shoulder 13
14 15 15 1/3 16 1/4 17 1/4
Sleeve 4 1/4
4 1/2 5 1/3 7 1/4 7 1/4 7 1/2
11 - 12 years 24 1/3
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SMS: An SMS blast is made over group of numbers regarding VAS of Airtels Broadband. If the customer is interested in any of the particular VAS he may forward his request in a given number in SMS. Then customer is contacted regarding activation of VAS in his/her Broadband connection. It is seen that the response of customers is very poor in this process. So there was a need of a new process to enhance the penetration of VAS. The request through sms is also called sms leads. Limitations: 1. 2. 3. 4. EDM: Mails are sent to a group of ids regarding VAS of Airtels Broadband. Website is provided in all EDMs, a customer can visit the site and explore the VAS, and if any customer becomes interested for any particular VAS he may forward the request for activation of VAS in their Broadband connection. Response of customers is also not too good to follow this process only to make it reach to the customers. So there was a need of a new process to enhance the penetration of VAS. Their request is called as webleads. Webleads are also called to that request which is registered online by a customer while visiting the site. Limitations: 1. E-mail ids can be incorrect. 2. Creativity in the mail matters a lot as it must be attractive and with complete basic knowledge. 3. Many customers who are not professionals may not check their E-mail daily or weekly. 4. Many customers may delete the mail without reading as soon as they receive the mail from companys name Only a small sms plays a major role in informing the customer. Limited information is transmitted to customers. Simple text sms can only be sent to the customers. Long process as it has to pass through many stages till activation.
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three months only to check the revenue which we can generate through telecalling process and to reach more and more customers. This is done only for North India as a start. If this process of telecalling gets success then it may be done in allover India.
Limitations: 1. Calls can be done only to the broadband users of Airtel in north. 2. Calls can be done only on a prescribed data base of customers. 3. Calls can be done only on the basis of few applications like infotouch and catalyst. 4. All the guidelines provided by Airtel and third party vendors is to be followed by agents. 5. Calling has to be done on all the true facts available at present.
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CHAPTER 4
4.1 Analysis of Telecalling Process 4.2 Types of data 4.3 Process of activation 4.4 Important factors for effective telecalling
4.1.
Cogent E Services Private Ltd, C-100, Sect-63, Noida, is a third party vendor for Airtel with whom a contract for three months have been signed for selling VAS through telecalling. As on start only four seats of agents are allotted to make calls on VAS of Airtel broadband. Total six agents were kept, four as
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regular agents and additional two as buffers. This process was started with the four VAS of Airtel broadband, they were: VAS PRODUCTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Broadband TV Learn next Games on demand Website builder Britannica encyclopedia VENDORS Apalya technologies next education indiagames.com websiteforever.com Britannica
Separate training sessions were given to the agents by all the vendors in the start of the process. It was necessary because of the following reasons: a. b. c. d. e. f. Product knowledge Features of products Different important aspects related to product Service availability by the vendors Building strong and positive environment Motivation to agents
2. X-LITE (DIALER) : Agents sit in their respective seats and open a dialer set up which is installed in their PC, i.e. X-LITE. This is helpful in dialing the numbers to the customers for pitching for the VAS of Airtel broadband. A call is made through this dialer set up only.
3. LOGIN TO CRM and ENC CRM : After opening the dialer, agents login into CRM (customer relationship management) used by cogent as only they can access this CRM. It is an online application used by an agent to get customer base which is inserted by the operations people. By getting number through CRM a call can be made dialing through X-LITE. ENC CRM is E-mail
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and complaint CRM which is used by Cogent for internal usage as it helps to tag the customers who have some complaints regarding broadband or VAS, or asking for emails. This CRM and ENC CRM are the most important online application run on the PC of agents. An agent has to open all this at the same time while a telecalling process. 4. Infotouch & catalyst : An agent is also required to open another online application named as infotouch & catalyst which contains the details of Airtels broadband users. An agent can know about the plans a customer is using and also see the billing of particular customer. All the details regarding the customer is available like contact numbers, billing address, email address, plan used, billing details which is very essential for an agent at the time of a call. It makes convenient to inform customers about their plan they using if any query made by a customer. If this goes off calling process goes off. It is the most important part for telecalling.
5. Calling : After opening all the important application, now an agent is ready for calling. He/she may track number from the customer base provided in CRM and check the persons name in Infotouch & catalyst then make call through X-LITE dialer box. Before Calling an agent must be clear about the product he/she is going to pitch for the sale. Products details and their packages and offer are very clear to them in advance as the agents have personally experienced the demo version for all the VAS.
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VAS HEAD NORTH (CRITERIA) CLM FACTORY MANESER (SEGREGATE) DATA AFTER NDNC SCRUBBING
This process can be explained here in detail: 1. VAS head North: There are over all 6 lakhs Airtel broadband customers in north region. In the entire customer base calls cannot be made directly. So this customer base is transferred to the CLM Factory Manesar with the criterias made by the VAS Head (north), marketing telemedia services, Bharti Airtel. There are some important criteria which are kept in consideration for database: 1. From all the customers who ever have more than two complaints, will be removed from data of VAS 2. Rs.1599/- revenue generated from customers, Will be included for VAS telecalling. 3. New acquisition of broadband connection within 3 months, they will be included in data of VAS calling. 4. The customers using broadband of 4 Mbps speed will be included for calling
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5. Sms leads which are generated through blasting sms on entire base for VAS are included in data of VAS. 6. Web leads which are generated through sent EDM on entire base for VAS are included in data of VAS.
2. CLM factory: Criteria are prepared by VAS head for north is received by the CLM factory situated in Manesar. There the data base is prepared according to the criteria given by Airtel. Data base is made accordingly and then it is segmented into commercial and general. Segmentation is very important for pitching for a particular VAS product. When data is segregated then it moves further for other process. 3. Data After NDNC Scrubbing: Next process is checking the data in NDNC. NDNC is National Do not call Registry. Whole data is scrubbed in NDNC. It is an online application in which a database can be uploaded and scrubbed. A telemarketer is required to be registered with NDNC so that he/she can upload file and check that is a particular number is registered or not so that call can be made according to that only. Atleast 24 hours time is required for scrubbing. NDNC is updated on 15th and 30th of every month. In one day only two files can be uploaded by a telemarketer. A telemarketer who is not registered under NDNC cannot upload any file but he can check single number one by one in online site. Website http://ndncregistry.gov.in and http://www.nccptrai.gov.in/nccpregistry/search.misc. 4. Received by VAS head north: After segmenting, segregating and scrubbing data is sent back to Airtel and received by VAS head north. He transfers to the third party vendor i.e. Cogent E Services private limited. 5. Third party vendor: Data is received by the third party vendor i.e. Cogent E Services. And then this data is inserted in CRM, so that the agents may get customer with according to the segments required for sale of VAS.
6. Agents: Finally data comes in the CRM which is used by the agents, all data is divided and given in CRM for particular agent so that agent may start calling effectively to the customers number provided in the data base.
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4.2.
Types of data
The types of data in which calling is done is divided into two: 1. Existing database 2. Response database a. Existing database: This is the main database on which calling is made, and it is very essential to make customer subscribe the VAS in his broadband connection. This database is again classified into two: i. ii. Commercial Residential
Commercial and residential data are helpful for agents to focus and call according to the nature of VAS product. This segmentation gives high support in subscription of VAS. b. Response database: This is another most important database on which calling is essentially made as it contains the request forwarded by the customer itself through two means: i. ii. SMS leads Web leads
Sms leads are generated when sms blast are made to a group of numbers and revert back through sms is the request by the customers end to activate the service in their broadband connection. Web leads are generated when EDMs are sent to the group of mail ids and revert back through web or request tagged by customer in website is captured as web lead. So calls are made by agents on this data first because there are high chances of subscription of VAS in the customers broadband connection as the request was from the customers end itself.
4.3.
Process of activation
VAS is activated in customers account only after confirming their mobile number, Email address and billing address, so that customer can receive the login ids and password to access the service which the agent activate it to the customers.
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Till 22nd of April activation was done through a long process. Agents were bringing customer online and then agents were asking customer only to subscribe the VAS step by step by himself following the agents guideline. It was so lengthy process. It was really wasting time and moreover customers were also showing their disinterest to come online and follow this long process. From 23rd April agents of cogent received the login ids for ACS Twister. ACS Twister is an online application of Airtel broadband customers in which total plan used by them and all the other facility or any service activated is visible. In this an agent can directly activate VAS through login by their own ids and password provided to them after confirming to the customer about their mobile number, Email address and billing address. There is no need to bring the customers online. Whenever the customer want to use this service he/she can just login through the id and password which is forwarded to the customers at the time of activation of VAS in their broadband connection. This was really helpful in many senses: 1. It was time saver as lot of time was wasted in activation through bringing customer online. 2. It was really of the interest of customers as they were not willing to come online and follow such a long process. 3. It was really helpful for the agents as they can now call more and more customers as time is not wasted in activation. 4. It helped in increasing the sales and revenue step by step. 5. It was the biggest drawback for poor sale of VAS in the first three weeks of April. 6. Now the targets can be achieved easily as they can do it without any waste of time. 4.3.1. Activation through ACS Twister Activation of VAS can only be done only to the customers who are registered in ACS Twister. If they are not registered then the agents need to register the particular customer in ACS Twister.
4.3.2.The process of registration 1. Login by ids and password in the following site https://login.airtellive.com/ACSTwister/ 2. Home page of ACS twister will appear showing three option: a. Admin.
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3. After selecting customer care, two option will appear on the screen a. Callback customer support b. Search by DSL Select search by DSL
4. After selecting search by DSL, it will show a pane for inputting the DSL number and email address. So DSL number in filled in that and checked whether the customer is registered under twister or not.
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5. If customers DSL number is not registered under ACS Twister then automatically a registration form will open and agent need to fill the form so that customers DSL number can be registered and Upon submission a mail and an SMS will be sent to the customers email ID and mobile number confirming the registration.
6. Agent can now activate the desired VAS on the concerned account.
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1. Product knowledge: A telecaller must be well aware of the product he is going to pitch for. Complete product knowledge may help agent to answer the query of customers and acknowledge him about the best features about the product, so that the customer gets attracted and ask to activate the VAS in his/her broadband connection. Clarity will be there in thoughts if once there is complete knowledge about the product. For better product knowledge agents are asked to personally use the demo version of all the VAS, so that they can have better knowledge and can think on behalf of customers perception. In Cogent E Services every agent is with good amount of product knowledge. They are even trying to learn more and more about the products in details. 2. Calling script: Calling script is the script made and given by the quality executive of the Cogent E Services. Agents are required to call the customers according to the script provided to them. Script plays a major role in convincing the customers. In Cogent E Services every agent is provided with the scripts for all the five products. They are using their scripts effectively. If there are any changes, then new scripts are provided. Changes are essential in script to check in which way we can pitch well through scripts.
3. Pitching : Pitching is the skill which is very much essential to be in an agent to influence the customers. The pitching majorly plays a vital role in influencing the customers. It is how agents makes it sure to customer and pull him to activate the VAS. It is a special skill which makes
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agents different from each other. Agent with good pitching skill sales more and attract well to the customers. Script given to an agent is mandatory according to the norms of Airtel, but pitching according to that script is completely depended on the agents itself. Creative thinking and using innovative way may develop with in an agent with good pitching skill.
4. Motivation: The only way to get people to like working hard is to motivate them. Today, people must understand why they're working hard. Every individual in an organization is motivated by something different. In today's economy, more so in knowledge based industry IT, ITES/BPO, the biggest task in front of a HR Manager is to motivate and retain employees. All the attempts made in this direction are big failure and no one knows what a route to employees heart is. Motivation acts as fuel. As a motor can't run without fuel, workers in an organization need motivation as such to achieve their goals. A positive motivation always works no matter it's an organization or a personal life. Agents are motivated continuously so that they may not be disheartened. Agents must be confident enough to tackle the customers on call and even at the time when there is no sale. 5. Incentives: Incentives play a vital role in motivation the agents. Incentive forces them to put their efforts and work effectively. Agents of Cogent E Services are getting the cash incentives on target basis fixed by the HR department on their sales. In the start of the process there was no such incentive but as soon as incentive was fixed, we could see the changing figures of sales very fast. Incentives only drive an intention to work hard and it was seen here live, how agents are serious to gain their incentive along with their salary. Incentives can be given by Airtel, product owners and Cogent E Services. Once the incentive was provided by Indiagames.com for their product Games on Demand on a target basis. Incentive was IPL match tickets. And we seen the power of incentive as the target for games on demand was fulfilled by the agents to see the live match of IPL. This way I can say incentive plays an important role to boast up the agents and fill it up with energy.
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1. Data: Problem regarding the data is very serious; here the calling is made on data which is provided from Airtel, the data base provided to cogent for telecalling Many times it is found not segregated, inappropriate and its not segmented. Just name of customers, their number and DSL id is given. As I came to know that it will become easy to cogent if the data base is segmented and their current plans in which they are into is provided to them. Calling to whole 100000 bases will be useless, its waste of man power and waste of time as well. Like most of the data given is of corporate not residential, they wont activate in their office for games on demand, learn next type, broadband tv of VAS and for website builder we get commercial data in which customer already have their websites built. For this it may become easy if data will be segmented with complete detail. Its said that we are taking it very lightly in terms of data base. 2. Product problem: All the VAS products have some problems which are experienced by me as well as agents making telecalling here. Our perceptions regarding the products are as follows: a. Broadband TV: This product faces a major problem when point comes of channel in telecalling. Customer demand different channels from different categories as youth, business class, residential, kids which includes channels like: CBN, IBN, STAR PLUS, SONY, ZEE, COLOURS, CARTOON NETWORK, SPORTS CHANNELS, MTV. Majorly customers have the demand of these channels which covers all the categories of channels. Currently broadband TV is doing well but if some of these channels will be included then it will definitely rule the charts of sales. Another problem a customer finds that the demo which is provided in the website it buffers a lot. After seeing the demo a customer refuses to activate. b. Website builder: This product faces a major problem in its cost; charges are high as compared to the website available in market. Here we are giving free domain name, hosting space but its of no use as in market its available in market at Rs.450 to 500 and no extra charge, so our rental is high as compared to market.
c. Learn next: This is one of the best products in VAS. Its really effective and efficient. This product also faces some problems like: 1. Demo is available of only 10th class.
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3. Restricted to only CBSC pattern. 4. Available for only 6th to 10th class, whereas there is demand of 5th board and 12th board the most in telecalling process. 5. A customer can access only on the particular computer or laptop not anywhere and everywhere. d. Games on demand : There is no such problem is found. Only the demand of customer is games like quality games like NFS, Which is available in high value pack. The value and package of games on demand is really good. 3. Customer perceptions regarding products: In the process of telecalling we came across the perceptions of customers which are as follows: a. A customer says no time to see demo and come online. b. A customer says that he do not have time for a test drive of website builder. c. Many customers say that the demo of broadband TV buffers a lot. d. They say that if demo of broadband TV is like this then original TV will be horrible.
e. If a customer is using broadband of office and he is willing to activate a VAS, he wants a bill personal which should not include in the broadband bill of his office.
f. Giving only domain name and hosting space for website builder is not at all worth as they are not so expensive in market. g. Need of additional channels in Broadband TV is required from the beginning as the commonly seen and loved channels are not available. h. Customers dont want their kids to play games at any cost. They are even not interested in the educational games which are available in Games on Demand.
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i. j.
Customer doesnt want their child to do any work online. Toll free number provided by broadband TV is useless. It is unavailable and not reachable for customers.
k. The Sms leads on which calls are made, many customers says that we made a request 3 to 4 months back, now you people are getting time to call. 4. Activation problem: Activation problem was being observed as we need to bring the customer online and then we ask customer only to subscribe the VAS step by step. It was so lengthy process. It was really wasting time and moreover customers were also showing their disinterest to come online. It was clear that sale cannot be increased till the activation process becomes easy. Later on this problem was solved and now activation is done by our end itself, now no need to bring customers online and tell him to activate step by step. Now we just need to confirm his billing address, email address and phone number, with this detail we can activate in their broadband connection.
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7. In Games on demand Nano pack, the games are all casual, one or more quality games should be included to attract people. 8. Agents must get some incentives or goodie bags from Airtel to motivate them. It may surely help to increase sale. 9. Script is to be checked properly which is to be used in telecalling. 10. Pitching techniques can be created only after good sessions with the quality people in Cogent E Services with agents. 11. Proper motivation and cool atmosphere is required for the agents working in Cogent E Services. 12. We can try to customize. We delight the customers by making them feel that it is for their betterment.
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Recommendations
In my training of two months I tried and planned out for many alternatives while analyzing the live project of telecalling process of Airtel broadbands value added service (VAS) in Cogent E Services. I came out with following recommendations from my side according to my understanding.
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I changed the script for telecaller as the current script was not working at all. I want the telecaller to start the call with the customers as a service call not as a call for sale of VAS products, like asking them how your broadband is going on, is it working well or not. If its working well then ok fine, if there is some problem faced by the customers then the telecaller must note down the problem and make him assure that the problem will be solved at the earliest, It may give a different type of introduction which will be based on customers interest and this will be a interactive one in which a customer will really involve himself or herself, and further he or she may introduce the VAS products to the customers. So I want that this script should be used by the telecaller to make the customer at least listen them happily first and if they are interested they can further proceed with the different VAS products, because in real if someone will call me directly asking them to purchase the service, then i may too cut the call and not listen to the telecaller. So according to me by using this strategy we can get multiple benefits as given below: Benefits for using this strategy
Track problems from broadband: We can track and note down the problems which are faced by the customers and we can pass it to the concerned department for their solution. We are getting a chance to improve the service. This is the biggest benefit. Customer will be delighted: Customer will be happy saying that its good and unexpected that Airtel people called from their own side to ask the problem to us. And moreover their problem will be solved. Airtel brand will reflect its name: If we use this way of telecalling then automatically Airtel Companys name will increase in market. And can make a long lasting special place in market.
More Customers will be interested for VAS: Customer will also think that that Airtel has asked them about their problem by themselves generally which does not happen, so they may surely solve their problems and they may be happy and interested to listen about the VAS products.
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Trustful relationship: While doing all this strong trust worthy connection will be created between the customers and Airtel which is very important. I received an appreciation by Mr. Hemant mathur , marketing , U&R, telemedia services, my corporate guide, for this script as this was the first change made by me suddenly after the date of joining.
Incentive base system: Agents in Cogent should be given incentives so that they can work effectively and subscribe more and more VAS. Their performance should be judged on two bases:
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1. Weekly base 2. Monthly base Incentives should be given on both weekly and monthly performances. If an agent is capable of subscribing weekly targets then he may also fulfill monthly also. As a start targets should not be too high or very low. If an agent follows: Daily structure: For per agent daily target should be will be 12 and above subscriptions Weekly structure: 12 subscription * 6 days = 72 For per agent weekly target will be 75 and above subscriptions Monthly structure: If an agent is capable to achieve weekly targets, he may also fetch monthly targets too. 12 subscription * 27 days of a month = 324 But the monthly target will be 350 and above per agent. In monthly structure agents performance can be judged by Grading through colors: GREEN ZONE BLUE ZONE RED ZONE IT IS PROSPERITY ZONE IT IS OPPORTUNITY ZONE IT IS POOR ZONE 350 AND ABOVE/monthly/per agent 250 349/monthly/per agent 150 249/monthly/per agent
An agent can fall in any of the category of grade. He will be graded as zones according to the subscription.
Incentives can be as following: For weekly base: 1. Latest movies 2 ticket for Sunday show 2. Pen drive of 2 GB 3. Stationary kit
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*Agents fulfilling weekly targets will only get incentives. For monthly base: 1. Fast track or Reebok watch 2. MP3 player/ iPod (which may cost no more than 1000 RS.) 3. 2 Passes for fun and food valley water world in Gurgaon *Agent falling in Green zone may only be getting the incentives Further more incentives can be thought and new ideas can be generated to make better performance appraisal and before starting this system we must provide any goodie bags from Airtel to all 5 agents so that they can we motivated enough to start for incentive base system and this may create faith too and make them work more hard to fulfill the targets. This was the proposal made by me to increase the revenue by providing incentive to them.
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check soft copy while log in time because still they want product knowledge in soft copy as they say we don't have time to understand it now, you activate it I will see mail and understand later. Yes we can send an information mail I feel. 4. This request is not only seen in single VAS, but it was observed for all the VAS. Daily minimum 5 - 6 customers ask for mail details. 5. Any how we need sale and I am sure that this may help us to much extent.
Additional changes:
My support was always presents in handling query of the agents regarding customers perception. I made time to time changes in pitching whenever it required suddenly according to the customer I was always there to motivate them and bringing out new way of introducing VAS to the customers.
Discussions:
Regarding the proposals and changes made by me:
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wanted to wait for defining the actual targets for every agent. That time the project was in a start we were waiting for a boom to start giving targets to the agents. So this proposal is on waiting, and sooner they will consider and make the required changes in the proposal and follow it.
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SUMMARY
The project is all about enhancing the penetration of VAS products of Airtels broadband. It is not a research project; it is completely based on the live project provided to me i.e. the telecalling process started for VAS for North in Cogent E Services Private Limited. Customers who are already using the broadband of Airtel are offered the VAS products through telecalling. The limitations of the process are also highlighted along with the requirement. Generating revenue through VAS by this process is the major issue; every problem faced in this live project is being described for a better understanding of the complete process with the knowledge of basic elements.
VAS Revenue
Product Learn Next Broadband TV Website Builder Games on Demand Total April'201 1 4174 11827 3000 484 19485 May'20 11 7857 40480 7500 3619 59456
The sales have been increased and a hike is seen in revenue just due to the strategy made and adopting it. The points in suggestions are also given where the company needs an improvement so that it can do justice to its brand name and reputation associated to it. The process of telecalling is showing good response with increasing result. I suggest continuing this project as the future is dependent on VAS, revenue will be generated by VAS only on larger part, it is beneficial and the process has been developed with strength. Things will improve and the growth is for sure.
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Bibliography
References: Marketing Management Philip Kotler 15TH Bharti Airtel Annual Report 2009-10 Investors presentation, Bharti Airtel Limited, March 2011 Annual Report 2009-10English TRAI India Telecom 2010 KPMG Report.
Websites:
www.airtel.in www.airtel-broadband.com http://airtel.indiagames.com/airtel/ www.learnnext.com/airtel http://app.airtel.in/pcsecure/ http://airtel.britannica.com www.airtelbroadbandtv.com http://www.airtelwebsitebuilder.com
www.Wikipedia.com/airtel/
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