A Thesis ON

A SURVEY ON CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION REGARDING THE
SERVICES PROVIDED BY M/S.
AIRTEL AND M/S. IDEA IN
NAGPUR CITY

By
Prajakta S. Bobde
SEM-III
MBA (2008-2010)
 A THESIS ON
A SURVEY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
REGARDING THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY M/S.
AIRTEL AND M/S. IDEA IN NAGPUR CITY

By
Prajakta S. Bobde
SEM-III

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements of
THE MBA PROGRAM
(The Class of 2010)
INC Nagpur

Guided By:
Ms. Rajani Kumar
MT-I Guide

2
 INC Nagpur

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic Page No.
Acknowledgements 5
List of Tables & Illustrations 6
Abbreviations 7
Summary 8
1.Introduction- Objectives & Limitations 9
2.Industry Profile
2.1 Indian Telecom Sector 11
2.2 Indian Telecom Policy 12

3. GSM vs. CDMA

3.1 GSM 14
3.2 CDMA 17
3.3 GSM and CDMA Facts 17

4. Growth Drivers
4.1 Industry Growth Drivers 19
4.2 Segmentation of Indian Telecom Consumer Market 20
4.3 Market Factors 21
4.4 Success Factors 22

5. 3G Spectrum
5.1 What is 3G 25
5.2 What is spectrum 25

3
5.3 Difference between 1G, 2G & 3G 25
5.4 3G issues 25
5.5 Suggestions for Spectrum 26

6. Value Added Services 27

Company Profile
Airtel 29
Idea 45

Research Methodology 56
Review of literature 57
Analysis
Observations and Findings 59
Conclusions 70
Recommendations 71
Bibliography 72
Questionnaire for Customers 73

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A mammoth thesis of this nature calls for intellectual nourishment, professional help, and
encouragement from many quarters. I would like to express my gratitude to:
 The pioneers in the field of marketing management who have shaped their
understanding through their rich and varied contributions.
 Faculties and seniors for providing the stimulus for making this thesis successful.
 A number of academics and practitioners for generously sharing their
insight and experience with me.

It is my immense pleasure to work under the guidance of Ms. Rajani Kumar, and we
heartily thank them for providing me the guidance whenever needed. I am also thankful to
beloved The Campus Head Mr. Rajesh Vaidya, who gave me guidance in each and every
matter all the time. My heuristic approach towards the project was one of the major
contributors in the outcomes that we arrived at. I’d like to thank my institution, INC-
Nagpur, for providing me this great opportunity and attempting to inculcate the traits
needed to succeed.

I am also thankful to various industry experts and executives for sharing relevant
information and valuable thoughts with me and helped me in writing my thesis.

Prajakta S. Bobde
SEM- III
MBA (2008-2010)

5
LIST OF TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
List of Tables:

Table 1: Evolution of Telecom Industry………………………… 11

Table 2: GSM and CDMA Subscription Number……………….. 18

List of Figures:
Figure 1: Growth of subscriber base from 1998 to 2009…………. 12
Figure 2: Structure of GSM network ………………….................. 16
Figure 3: Operator-wise Market Share of GSM service
providers as on 30th September 2009……………….…...18
Figure 5: Segmentation in the Indian Telecom Consumer
Market………………………………………………….. 20
Figure 6: Market factors…………………………………………... 22
Figure 7: Success factors…………………………………………. 22

6
 ABBREVIATIONS
VAS- Value Added Service
WAP- Wireless Application Protocol
DoT- Department of Telecom
TRAI- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
EQM- Easier, Quicker, More
IRT- Indian Radio Telegraph Company
IRCC- Indian Radio and Cable Communication Company
PTT- Posts, Telephone and Telegraph
VSNL- Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited
MTNL- Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
BSNL- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
NTP- National Telecommunications Policy
GSM- Global System for Mobile communications
CDMA- Code Division Multiple Access
COAI- Cellular Operators Association of India
WLL- Wireless Local Loop
VPN- Virtual Private Network
WAN- Wide Area Network
CRM- Customer Relationship Management
GPRS- General Packet Radio Service
VASP- Value Added Service Provider
SMS- Short Message Service
IVR- Interactive voice response

7
 SUMMARY
The development of the telecom sector has experienced a major process of transformation
in terms of its growth, technological content, and market structure in the last decade
through policy reforms introduced by the Government. The impetus of these changes is
expected to continue, and at a much faster pace.

The study aims to analysis that with the increase in competition in telecom services, higher
levels of consumer satisfaction with affordable prices and improved quality of services
achieving or not with respect to Airtel and Idea. Wireless telephony and the Internet are
expected to be the preferred means of communication as convergence of
telecommunications, broadcasting, and information technology progresses.

The study also shows the supportive policy framework needs to be in place during this
period of rapid growth and transformation. The Government has undertaken the
implementation telecom policy with utmost earnestness, in letter and spirit to usher in
competition in almost all the service sectors. The migration package to revenue sharing in
place of a fixed license fee, has led to a virtual ‘take off” in growth of the cellular and basic
service sectors. National and International data connectivity has been opened.

Liberalization of telecom sector of the Indian economy aims at improving accessibility,

availability, reliability and connectivity through private sector participation and to bring
about much needed improvement in the Quality of Service. Through increased
competition, the service providers are expected to become more sensitive and responsive to
the customers needs and choices and endeavor to give him greater satisfaction. The
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has the mandate to safeguard the
customer’s interests and to set the standards of quality of service. The rapid technological
advances which have taken place in the telecom sector have brought about significant
improvements in the quality of service provided to customers. With the digitization of
exchanges, and upgradation of external network, the fault rate has come down.

8
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1] Objectives:
• To study the service providers and their service quality of Airtel and Idea.

• To study the customer satisfaction and understand the current market scenario of
Airtel and Idea in Telecom Sector

• To understand the various schemes adopted by the company for enhanced customer
satisfaction.

• To study various parameters of customer satisfaction with special reference to

telecom sector.

1.2] Research Methodology:

This research consists of primary and secondary research:
By filling the questionnaire.
Sample Size: 50 customers (25 for Airtel and 25 for Idea)
Sampling: Convenience Sampling
Primary: - Interaction with customers by filling up of questionnaires.
Secondary: - 1.Books
2. Internet
3. Articles
4. Magazines/ Project Reports
5. Newspapers

1.3] Scope:
In today’s scenario, communication has become much faster day by day by telephones,
internet, media etc. One of them is a growth of telecom sector. Today many organizations
provide services for the telecom purpose. This study will help to understand customer
preferences and their satisfaction by the services provided by Airtel and Idea, It will also

9
help to these organizations to form various strategies and getting the results from
marketing efforts.

In Future a career in this sector encompasses a large no. of job roles like Market research;
Product Development, Advertising, Brand awareness etc.

1.4] Limitations:
The following were the limitations that were there during the course of the study:
1. Limited time period.
2. Less number of respondents.
3. Biasness of the respondents.

Primary data was collected using the following techniques:

Questionnaire Method

10
 2. INDUSTRY PROFILE
2.1] History and Reforms in Indian Telecom Sector:-
India’s telecom sector has been doing exceptionally well in past decade. Its structural and
institutional reforms have provided tremendous growth opportunity to this sector. India has
nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after
China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest
growth rate in the world.

The first reforms in Indian telecommunications sector began in 1980s when the private
sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department
of Telecommunications (DOT) was established.

Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones

Year History of Indian Telecommunications

First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta
1851 (seat of British power)
1881 Telephone service introduced in India
1883 Merger with the postal system
1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)
Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication
1932 Company (IRCC)
Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the
Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run Ministry of
1947 Communications
Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive
provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own
1985 regulator (separate from the postal system)
Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international
telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
1986 for service in metropolitan areas
1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.
1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

11
 adopted
2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

2.2] Indian Telecom Policy:-

After 1991’s liberalization in Government’s policies, the telecom sector has allowed
various private players to enter into the Indian market. Earlier, sector was operating under
public sector giants like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Mahanagar Telephone
Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) but after the
National Telecom Policy (NTP) by Government in 1994 many private players entered in
Indian telecommunication market. But this market is regulated by Telecommunication
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). It acts as an independent regulator of the business
of telecommunications in the country which was set up in 1997 by the government of
India.

Growth Trends of Wireless Subscribers

Subscriber Base (million)

450 391.76
400 346.89
350 315.31
286.87
300 261.07
250
200
150
100
50
0
QE-Mar'08 QE-Jun' 08 QE-Sept'08 QE-Dec'08 QE-Mar'09
Financial Quarter

(Source: TRAI Report 2008-09)

Indian telecommunications today benefits from among the most enlightened regulation in
the region, and arguably in the world. The sector, sometimes considered the “poster-boy
for economic reforms,” has been among the chief beneficiaries of the post-1991
liberalization. Unlike electricity, for example, where reforms have been stalled,
telecommunications has generally been seen as removed from “mass concerns,” and thus
less subject to electoral calculations. Market oriented reforms have also been facilitated by
lobbying from India’s booming technology sector, whose continued success of course
depends on the quality of communications infrastructure.

Despite several hiccups along the way, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),
the independent regulator, has earned a reputation for transparency and competence. With

12
the recent resolution of a major dispute between cellular and fixed operators, Indian
telecommunications already among the most competitive markets in the world appears set
to continue growing rapidly. While telecom liberalization is usually associated with the
post-1991 era, the seeds of reform were actually planted in the 1980s. At that time, Rajiv
Gandhi proclaimed his intention of “leading India into the 21st century,” and carved the
Department of Telecommunications (DOT) out of the Department of Posts and Telegraph.
For a time he also even considered corporatizing the DOT, before succumbing to union
pressure. In a compromise, Gandhi created two DOT-owned corporations: Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), to serve Delhi and Bombay, and Videsh Sanchar
Nigam Limited (VSNL), to operate international telecom services. He also introduced
private capital into the manufacturing of telecommunications equipment, which had
previously been a DOT monopoly.
These and other reforms were limited by the unstable coalition politics of the late 1980s. It
was not until the early 1990s, when the political situation stabilized, and with the general
momentum for economic reforms, that telecommunications liberalization really took off. In
1994, the government released its National Telecommunications Policy (NTP-94), which
allowed private fixed operators to take part in the Indian market for the first time (cellular
operators had been allowed into the four largest metropolitan centers in 1992). Under the
government’s new policy, India was divided into 20 circles roughly corresponding to state
boundaries, each of which would contain two fixed operators (including the incumbent),
and two mobile operators.
As ground-breaking as NTP-94 was, its implementation was unfortunately marred by
regulatory uncertainty and over-bidding. A number of operators were unable to live up to
their profligate bids and, confronted with far less lucrative networks than they had
supposed, pulled out of the country. As a result, competition in India’s telecom sector did
not really become a reality until 1999. At that time the government’s New
Telecommunications Policy (NTP-99) switched from a fixed fee license to a revenue
sharing regime of approximately 15%. This figure has subsequently been lowered (to 10%-
12%), and is expected to be reduced even further over the coming years. Still, India
continues to derive substantial revenue from license fees ($800 million in 2001-2002),
leading some critics to suggest that the government has abrogated its responsibilities as a
regulator to those as a seller.
Another, perhaps even more significant, problem with India’s initial attempts to introduce
competition was the lack of regulatory clarity. Private operators complained that the
licensor – the DOT – was also the incumbent operator. The many stringent conditions
attached to licenses were thus seen by many as the DOT’s attempt to limit competition. It
was in response to such concerns that the government in 1997 set up the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the nation’s first independent telecom regulator.
Over the years, TRAI has earned a growing reputation for independence, transparency and
an increasing level of competence. Early on, however, the regulator was beleaguered on all
fronts. It had to contend with political interference, the incumbent’s many challenges to its
authority, and accusations of ineptitude by private players. Throughout the late 1990s,
TRAI’s authority was steadily whittled away in a number of cases, when the courts
repeatedly held that regulatory power lay with the central government. It was not until
2000, with the passing of the TRAI Amendment Act, that the regulatory body really came
into its own. Coming just a year after NTP-99, the act marks something of a watershed
moment in the history of India telecom liberalization.

13
Today, there are many private players like Vodafone, Airtel, Tata, Reliance, Idea etc.
There are basically two areas in which these players operate: Fixed and Cellular Services.

In Fixed line, MTNL and BSNL have captured major part of the market. Whereas,
Cellular Services, can be further divided into two parts: Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

3. GSM vs. CDMA

3.1] GSM:-
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications: originally from Groupe Spécial
Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the
GSM Association, estimates that 80% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM
is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity
makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling
subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its
predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital, and thus is considered a
second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data
communication was easy to build into the system. GSM EDGE is a 3G version of the
protocol.

The ubiquity of the GSM standard has been an advantage to both consumers (who benefit
from the ability to roam and switch carriers without switching phones) and also to network
operators (who can choose equipment from any of the many vendors implementing GSM).
GSM also pioneered a low-cost (to the network carrier) alternative to voice calls, the short
message service (SMS, also called "text messaging"), which is now supported on other
mobile standards as well. Another advantage is that the standard includes one worldwide
emergency telephone number, 112. This makes it easier for international travellers to
connect to emergency services without knowing the local emergency number.

Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible with the original GSM phones.
For example, Release '97 of the standard added packet data capabilities, by means of
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release '99 introduced higher speed data
transmission using Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).

History:

In 1982, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations

(CEPT) created the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to develop a standard for a mobile
telephone system that could be used across Europe. In 1987, a memorandum of
understanding was signed by 13 countries to develop a common cellular telephone system
across Europe. Finally the system created by SINTEF lead by Torleiv Maseng was
selected.

In 1989, GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunications

Standards Institute (ETSI) and phase I of the GSM specifications were published in 1990.

14
The first GSM network was launched in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland with joint technical
infrastructure maintenance from Ericsson.[10] By the end of 1993, over a million subscribers
were using GSM phone networks being operated by 70 carriers across 48 countries.

Technical details:

Cellular radio network:

GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for
cells in the immediate vicinity.

There are five different cell sizes in a GSM network—macro, micro, pico, femto and
umbrella cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation
environment. Macro cells can be regarded as cells where the base station antenna is
installed on a mast or a building above average roof top level. Micro cells are cells whose
antenna height is under average roof top level; they are typically used in urban areas.
Picocells are small cells whose coverage diameter is a few dozen metres; they are mainly
used indoors. Femtocells are cells designed for use in residential or small business
environments and connect to the service provider’s network via a broadband internet
connection. Umbrella cells are used to cover shadowed regions of smaller cells and fill in
gaps in coverage between those cells.

Cell horizontal radius varies depending on antenna height, antenna gain and propagation
conditions from a couple of hundred meters to several tens of kilometres. The longest
distance the GSM specification supports in practical use is 35 kilometres (22 mi). There
are also several implementations of the concept of an extended cell, where the cell radius
could be double or even more, depending on the antenna system, the type of terrain and the
timing advance.

Indoor coverage is also supported by GSM and may be achieved by using an indoor
picocell base station, or an indoor repeater with distributed indoor antennas fed through
power splitters, to deliver the radio signals from an antenna outdoors to the separate indoor
distributed antenna system. These are typically deployed when a lot of call capacity is
needed indoors; for example, in shopping centers or airports. However, this is not a
prerequisite, since indoor coverage is also provided by in-building penetration of the radio
signals from any nearby cell.

The modulation used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), a kind of

continuous-phase frequency shift keying. In GMSK, the signal to be modulated onto the
carrier is first smoothed with a Gaussian low-pass filter prior to being fed to a frequency
modulator, which greatly reduces the interference to neighboring channels (adjacent
channel interference).

15
Network structure:

The network behind the GSM seen by the customer is large and complicated in order to
provide all of the services which are required. It is divided into a number of sections and
these are each covered in separate articles.

• the Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers).
• the Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a
fixed network). This is sometimes also just called the core network.
• the GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet
connections).
• all of the elements in the system combine to produce many GSM services such as
voice calls and SMS.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module, commonly known as a
SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user's subscription
information and phone book. This allows the user to retain his or her information after
switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators while retaining the
handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this by allowing the phone

16
to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this practice is known as SIM
locking, and is illegal in some countries.

3.2] Code division multiple access (CDMA):-

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method utilized by various
radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone
standards called cdma. One and CDMA2000 (which are often referred to as simply
"CDMA"), which use CDMA as an underlying channel access method.

One of the basic concepts in data communication is the idea of allowing several
transmitters to send information simultaneously over a single communication channel. This
allows several users to share a bandwidth of different frequencies. This concept is called
multiplexing. CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special coding scheme
(where each transmitter is assigned a code) to allow multiple users to be multiplexed over
the same physical channel. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) divides
access by time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency.
CDMA is a form of "spread-spectrum" signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a
much higher data bandwidth than the data being communicated.

An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which people wish to
communicate with each other. To avoid confusion, people could take turns speaking (time
division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in different languages
(code division). CDMA is analogous to the last example where people speaking the same
language can understand each other, but not other people. Similarly, in radio CDMA, each
group of users is given a shared code. Many codes occupy the same channel, but only users
associated with a particular code can understand each other.

3.3] GSM and CDMA Facts:-

GSM segment consists of players like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and BSNL.Whereas, CDMA
segment consists of players like Reliance, Tata etc.

As per Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI), India's GSM telecom service
providers added 9.31 millions new subscribers in September 2009, taking their total
customer base up to 335.5 millions. At the March last year, the total GSM subscriber base
stood at 192.7 millions while the same was 297.26 millions as at March 31, 2009.
Company wise break-up shows that Bharti Airtel, leader in the GSM space, added 25.14
lacs new customers last month while Vodafone Essar saw its subscriber base swell by
19.71 lacs new users. Idea Cellular added 13.95 lacs new customers. State-run BSNL
added around 13.02 lacs new customers last month. At the end of September, Bharti Airtel
held a market share of 32.09% with a total of 113.44 millions customers, while Vodafone
Essar had a market share of 24.02% at 95.6 millions subscribers. BSNL accounted for
15.47% of the GSM market at 43.88 millions customers and Idea held a market share of

17
14.92% at 45 millions. India presently follows a CPP model, whereby calling party pays.
Incoming calls were made free since April 1, 2002 and that has substantially boosted the
subscriber growth rate in India. However, making incoming calls free reduced operators’
ARPU.

CDMA
GSM Subscribers GSM Annual Subscribers CDMA Annual
Year (millions) Growth (millions) Growth
2000 3.1 94% - -
2001 5.05 76% - -
2002 10.5 91% 0.8 -
2003 22 110% 6.4 700%
2004 37.4 70% 10.9 70%
2005 58.5 57% 19.1 75%
2006 105.4 80% 44.2 131%
2007 180 71% 85 92%
2008 258.23 78% 88.66 119%
(Source: COAI report)

Operator-wise Market Share of GSM service providers

As on 30th September 2009
MTNL, 1.27% Spice , 1.39%

Reliance
Telecom, BPL, 0.73%
4.11%
Aircel, 7.46%
Bharti Airtel,
32.04%
IDEA, 14.92%

BSNL, 15.47%
Vodafone
Essar, 24.02%

(Source: TRAI Report 2008-09)

18
 4. GROWTH DRIVERS
4.1] Industry Growth Drivers:-
 Fixed Line Segment.
 Capacity expansion of fixed line exchanges helped consumers avail quick
connections.
 Quick connection availability boosted number of fixed line connections during
1985 – 1995.
 Wireless Segment.
 Vast geographic expanse of India acted as a catalyst to boost mobility.
 Low call costs since 2002 fueled the wireless segment.
 Narrowing gap of call costs between fixed and wireless convinced customers to
subscribe to wireless connections.
 Nationwide roaming facilities on GSM.
 SMS facility.
 Internet + Subscription bundling.
 Reduced cost of handsets (affordability factor).
 Customs duties have been reduced from 10% to 5%.
 In remote areas where providing fixed line connections were difficult, wireless did
the magic.
 CDMA fixed wireless gave customers 3 in one advantage – mobility, internet and
easy access.
 Many telecom service providers provide Global Calling Card (GCC) to their
customers. These cards help them to make calls from the foreign countries and it
saves up to 80-90% in international roaming.

19
4.2] Segmentation of the Indian Telecom Consumer Market:-
With the proliferation of mobile phone users, several micro segments have also emerged
lately, each with their own specific needs. The Indian Mobile consumer market has been
segmented as follows:

(Source: India Cellular)

The rationale behind the above segmentation is to identify customers on the basis of their
stage in life and hence to tailor-make schemes for each customer segment. The different
segments are explained as follows:

 Youth:-
Over the years, service providers have started giving greater attention to this segment, as it
has emerged as one of the biggest users of mobile phones. For the youth, mobile phones
are not just a necessity, but rather an indispensable accessory. This segment particularly
values prepaid schemes with free SMS services. It is further differentiated into various
micro-segments based on age and gender. For instance, youngsters in the age group of 19
to 23 years generally have a large circle of friends and more access to money.
Companies thus focus on providing services like group talk and group SMS to these
people. This segment is very dynamic as its needs keep changing very frequently, driven
by the latest trends and fads. For instance, downloading new ring-tones is the latest fad

20
among the youth today. This is a huge revenue source for service providers and so they
need to keep up with the changing tastes of this segment.

 Young Professionals:-
People entering the workforce and thus moving out of the dependent bracket constitute this
market segment. They generally prefer using post paid schemes with value added services
like information about stock markets, news updates and so on.

 Small and Medium Enterprise:-

This segment mainly consists of people who are switching over from landlines to mobile
phones, seeking a cost advantage. The focus here is on economy-packages rather than
value added services.

 Family:-
Family as a segment consists of more number of dependents. These dependants are
serviced by prepaid schemes. Geographically dispersed families tied by the same cellular
service providers may get cost advantages in terms of lower pulse rates.

 Special:-
The ‘Special’ category includes a small but growing segment which requires largely
customized services sought by celebrities, politicians, CEOs and the super-rich. Tailor
made schemes for each segment have been a great success so far. This customization,
however, has reached such a stage that every service provider has numerous schemes being
provided at the same time. Being short term schemes, they keep changing frequently and
customers thus start switching from one service provider to another based on the
attractiveness of the scheme. This has brought down customer loyalty and hence service
providers are finding it difficult to retain existing customers. It is estimated that in the near
future the plethora of schemes provided by the different service providers will stop being a
differentiating factor.

4.3] Market Factors:-

There are basically two market factors which are considered while segmenting the market
as well as deciding the strategic moves for the markets and competition.
1) Strategic Factors
2) Economic Factors

21
(Source: micro site mobile)

4.4] Success Factors:-

(Source: Bernhard Goldberger- 19th Bled e-Conference eValues)

22
It is very important for any company or service provider to stay in the market for a long
period otherwise it will be out of the market and suffer a lot. To taste the success,
companies have to perform well continuously and make their customers happy all the time
by proper CRM and other techniques. Apart from that, there are two types of factors for
these companies: (1) shall have and (2) must have factors.

1) Shall Have Factors:

 Social relationships: Humans are social beings. They interact constantly with
each other and social relationships are a vital part of life. The mobile phone is
perfectly suited to satisfy the need of maintaining social relationships. Services that
support social relationships are likely to be successful.

 Power: One important aspect of social relations is status which is strongly related
to power. Two types of power can be distinguished: Power to access and power to
execute. The first type of power refers to the possibility to intervene in other
people’s life, as for instance parents influencing the life of their children. But also
the limitation of the power to access can be useful. One famous example is SMS
(Short Message Service). They provide the opportunity to communicate without
giving the receiver the chance to reply directly. This way unpleasant information
can be communicated.

 EQM (Easier, Quicker, More): Easier means that solutions that are simpler
and/or more convenient are accepted by customers. One good example for “easier”
is the phonebook of cell phones (compared to typing in the complete number when
you call someone).
Quicker refers to the opportunity to fulfill customer needs faster than traditional
products.
One of the reasons why e-mails are common nowadays is that they are faster than
traditional letters.
More is related to the fact that humans tend to maximize their benefits. Thus they
will welcome every new product allowing them to increase their benefit.

 Entertainment: There are two types of entertainment: “scheduled”

entertainment, such as visiting a theatre and entertainment during niche times, for
example when waiting for public transport. In such time slots a mobile phone can
be the perfect entertainment or gaming console.

 Security: Security is one of the most important needs of humans. Because of

security provided by service providers, the information of users is kept confidential.
Apart from that, there can’t be any manipulation done in case of post-paid bills and
various services provided as user can have an idea specially in case of pre-paid
customers where regular balance can be checked.

23
(2) Must Have Factors:
 The 3 minute value: The average WAP application takes five minutes. In
Japan the popular i-mode applications last for less than one and a half minutes on
average. The time a customer uses an application may vary from country to
country. However, it is quite evident, that a mobile application has to produce a
clear, perceived value for the customer within a short period of time. As a rule of
thumb the value should be delivered within 3 minutes.

 Simplicity: The services provided to the customers should be simple. It should be

easy to understand and the customer should be able to use the services intuitionally
like GPRS, caller tunes etc. Thus the usability has to meet the customer’s
standards.

 Additional benefit: For a successful service it is essential that the customer

perceives a clear additional value. There are several types of additional values. For
example fun, cost saving, time saving or location based additional value.

 Customer friendly tariff structure: The willingness to pay for new

technologies and new applications is limited since the customer cannot clearly
judge the additional benefit a new application yields. This is especially true for
B2C markets where the customers tend to be more prices sensitive. For this reason
a customer friendly price structure, preferably with a price model that eases
diffusion of a new application, is essential.

24
 5. 3 G SPECTRUMS
5.1] What is 3G?
3G is 3rd Generation mobile phones. It is a new concept in Indian telecom market. There
are 2G (2nd Generation) and 1G (1st Generation) mobile handsets are available also in the
market. Apart from that, 4G technology stands to be the future standard of wireless
devices. 3G is notable for its ability to support faster and larger quantities of data, which
enables additional service offerings in the form of games, music and video using voice,
video and data (together known as "triple play") and helps to bring about broadband on
mobiles.

Japan was the first country to introduce 3G on a large commercial scale. There are about
60 3G networks across 25 countries. 3G services are supposed to provide high-speed data
rates at a minimum of 144 Kilobits per second in all use scenarios going up to 2 Megabits
per second in low mobility and indoor environments. In addition, it has higher capacity and
improved spectrum efficiency.

5.2] What is Spectrum?

Radio spectrum refers to a range of radio frequencies. The bandwidth of a radio signal is
the difference between the upper and lower frequencies of the signal.
For example, in the case of a voice signal having a minimum frequency of 200 hertz (Hz)
and a maximum frequency of 3,000 Hz, the bandwidth is 2,800 Hz (3 KHz). The amount
of bandwidth needed for 3G services could be as much as 15-20 MHz, whereas for 2G
services a bandwidth of 30-200 KHz is used. Hence, for 3G huge bandwidth is required.

5.3] Difference between 1G, 2G and 3G:-

1G networks used are analog; 2G networks are digital and 3G technology is used to
enhance mobile phone standards. 3G helps to simultaneously transfer both voice data (a
telephone call) and non-voice data (such as downloading information, exchanging e-mail,
and instant messaging.) The highlight of 3G is video telephony.
3G spectrums have been provided to GSM and CDMA players like BSNL, MTNL, Bharti,
Reliance, Tata and Vodafone. GSM players operate on 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz, while
CDMA players operate on 800 MHz.

5.4] 3G issues for service providers and users:-

• High spectrum licensing fees for the 3G services
• Huge capital required to build infrastructure for 3G services.
• Health impact of electromagnetic waves.
• Prices are very high for 3G mobile services.
• Difficulty in switching from 2G technology to 3G technology
• Takes time to catch up as the service is new.

25
Presently spectrum allocation in India is linked with the issue of license. Licensees are
entitled for frequency bands as per the provisions in the license and guidelines for
spectrum allocation.

5.5] Suggestions for spectrum issues:-

• No discrimination on the basis of technology used.
• Equal opportunity for growth of all technologies.
• Review of earlier reservations based on experience of frequency used.
• Adequate and appropriate spectrum.
• Proper balance between the securities needs and needs for commercial deployment.
• Need for appropriate measure of efficiency and additional requirements of
spectrum (only subscriber base is not the appropriate criteria).
• Frequency allocation in bands in which equipment and handsets are readily
available. Availability from multiple vendors and multiple regions to avoid
dependence on a single vendor or single country.
• No allocation with the hope that in future some vendor may develop the
equipment /infrastructure/multimode handsets.
• International practices are followed.

26
 6. VALUE ADDED SERVICES
6.1] Introduction:-
Value Added Service (VAS) is that service which is not part of the basic voice offer and is
availed off separately by the end user. It is provided by telecom service providers. These
services are used as a tool for differentiation and allow the mobile operators to develop
another stream of revenue.

6.2] Various Value added services:-

Here is a list of some Value Added Services provided by the telecom operators to the end
users.
 News- e.g. Business, sports, politics etc.
 Finance- e.g. Share market, foreign exchange etc.
 Entertainment- e.g. Games, jokes, films etc.
 Travel- e.g. Railway, airlines etc.
 Download- e.g. Caller tunes, wallpapers etc.
 Astrology- e.g. Horoscope
 Contest- e.g. Reality shows
 MMS- e.g. Picture messages, video clips etc.
 E-mail- e.g. SMS, e-mail etc.
 Music- e.g. Ring tones
 Cricket- e.g. Score, video clips etc.
 GPRS- e.g. Internet, chat etc.
 Call Alert- e.g. Missed call alerts when mobile is switched off or busy
 Health- e.g. Health tips, beauty tips etc.
 M-Commerce- e.g. mobile transactions like mobile banking
 Others- e.g. movies, music etc.

As per COAI, in the year 2006-07, the income from VAS out of total income of service
providers was 10%. Out of that, 57% was from SMS, 19% was from other VAS, 7% from
ring tones, 6% from caller line identification, 6% from content downloads and 5% from
GPRS. Normally, service providers make money of around 10-14% as VAS from total
income.

Value-added services are supplied either in-house by the mobile network operator
themselves or by a third-party Value Added Service Provider (VASP), also known as a
Content Provider (CP). VASPs typically connect to the operator using protocols like Short
Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP), connecting either directly to the Short Message
Service Centre (SMSC) or, increasingly, to a messaging gateway that allows the operator
to control and charge of the content better. There are many national and international
investors are ready to invest in this segment of telecom market.

27
6.3] Challenges:-
• Lack of content localization
• Shortage of spectrum
• Slow adoption of GPRS mobiles (Only 6.1 millions GPRS users compared to 200
millions overall subscribers)

6.4] Future trends:-

• Location Based Services
• Mobile Music update will increase with better bandwidth
• Migration to 3G will result in increased ARPU
• Local content is on the rise - regional/rural Interactive Voice Response (IVR) seen as a
major opportunity
• Mobile commerce does not look too promising (India is still a cash and cheque country)
• IVR will see large scale adoption, especially in rural areas.
• Mobile E-Mail will primarily be driven by enterprises
• Stocks on mobile will see an uptake

28
 COMPANY PROFILE

Airtel was started by Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, a graduate from Ludhiana (PUNJAB).earlier
he was owner of local telecom company Beetel. Afterwards he planned to expand his
company at national level and the consequence is Airtel, what we see today. Bharti Airtel
is India’s largest telecommunications company by subscriber base, which stood at 85.7
million in December 2008, and total revenues, which were Rs.270 billion in 2007/08.

Airtel is one of Asia’s leading providers of telecommunication services with presence in

all the 22 licensed jurisdictions (also known as Telecom Circles) in India, and in Srilanka.
It served an aggregate of 96,649,487 customers as of March 31, 2009; of whom 93,923,248
subscribe to GSM services and 2,726,239 use Telemedia Services either for voice and/or
broadband access delivered through DSL. It is the largest wireless service provider in the
country, based on the number of subscribers as of March 31, 2009. It also offered an
integrated suite of telecom solutions to our enterprise customers, in addition to providing
long distance connectivity both nationally and internationally. It had recently forayed into
media by launching our DTH and IPTV Services. All these services are rendered under a
unified brand “Airtel”.The Company also deploys, owns and manages passive
infrastructure pertaining to telecom operations under its subsidiary Bharti Infratel Limited.
Bharti Infratel owns 42% of Indus Towers Limited. Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers are
the two top providers of passive infrastructure services in India.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder – chairman of Bharti Enterprises (who owns Airtel), is
today, the most famous face of the telecom sector in India. He symbolizes the adage that
success comes to those who dream big and then worked assiduously to deliver it. His
strong entrepreneurial instincts gave him a unique flair for sensing new business
opportunities. In the early years, Bharti established itself as a supplier of basic telecom
equipment. His true calling came in the mid 1990s when the government opened up the
sector and allowed private players to provide telecom services.

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti
Group, has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the
telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail
Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully
launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products
exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance

29
Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection and
wealth management.

Vision:
Vision 2010:

By 2010 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India:

• Loved by more customers

• Targeted by top talent
• Benchmarked by more business.
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 will meet the mobile communication needs of our customers through:

• Error- free service delivery

• Innovative products and services

• Cost efficiency

• Unified Messaging Solutions

Key Milestones:

 Date of Incorporation-------------------------------------------------------------- July 07,

1995
 First private operator to offer fixed line telephony---------------------------- June 04,
1998
 Became a public limited company in India ------------------------------------ February
18, 2002
 First telecom company to have an all India mobile footprint

30
  (Presence in all 23 telecom circles in India)------------------------------------ March
30, 2005

Company History:
Each year of Airtel’s existence has been marked by historic and far reaching milestones
including many firsts, all to which have been stepping stones to their success and
performance. A brief history of the Company’s major events is:

1995-96

Mobile services under the brand name ‘Airtel’ launched for the first time in Delhi and
Himachal Pradesh
1997-1998

• The first private telecom service provider to obtain a license fro landline telephony
in Madhya Pradesh
• Incorporation of Bharti BT VSAT Ltd. For providing VSAT solutions across India
and Bharti BT Internet Ltd.
1999-2000

• The larges private sector telecom operator in India after acquiring JT Mobile for
providing cellular services in Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

• Acquires Skycell, Chennai and expands its south Indian foot print Singapore
Telecommunications Ltd. (Sing Tel) acquires Telecom Italia’s equity stake in the
Company.
2001-2002

• India One, India’s first private sector national and international long distance
service launched.

• Eastern foray through acquisition and new licenses for eight new circles across
India.

• India’s first private submarine cable landing station in a joint venture with Singtel.

• Initial Public offering through India’s first 100% book-building issue.

• First private operator to offer basic telephone services in Haryana Delhi Tamil
Nadu and Karnataka
2003-2004

• Join the US $1 billion revenue club

31
 • Strategic partnerships with IBM and Ericsson for outsourcing of the company’s
core IT and network activities.

• Acquires a controlling stake in Hexacom, the leading mobile operator in Rajasthan

and holding a license to offer services in the NorthEast.

• First private operator to launch mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir.

• Founding member of the Bridge Mobile Alliance, a consortium of seven leading

mobile operators in the region.
2005-2006

• All-India foot print with the launch of mobile services in Assam.

• Becomes India’s largest integrated private operator based on the total customer
base
2006-2008

• Profit crosses US $ billion.

• Receives license for providing 2G and 3G mobile services in Srilanka

• Launch of ‘Airtel CallHome’ service, a calling card service for various countries
aimed at the Indian diaspora.

• Strategic partnership with Google, enabling search through mobile phones.

• Strategic tie-up with Microsoft and becomes the first telecom operator to offer
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 technology.

• Facility Based operator license in Singapore, enabling the company to operate

international carrier facilities from Singapore.

• Joins international consortia of leading telecom companies to build 3 high

bandwidth submarine cables AAG, I-ME-WE AND Unity.

• Receives US $ 1.275 billion investment from leading international investors in

Bharti Infratel, a subsidiary established with the aim to provide passive
infrastructure services to all mobile services operators in India

32
 Organizational Structure of Airtel:

Chairman & Managing

Director
Sunil Bharti Mittal

CEO & Joint Managing

Director
Manoj Kohil

Director Tech & Director supply

Customer chain
Services Group S.Ashokan
CIO – Bharti
Deputy CEO DR. Jai Menon
Sanjay Kapoor

Director – Legal Director

& Regulatory Human
Jyothi Pwar resource
Krish sankar

Director
Internal CFO
Assurance Srikant
Shamini Balachandar
Director – President Joint
Ramalingam
DTH Mobile president-
Services services Telemedia Director- Director
Ajay puri Atul Bindal services Marketing
Alliances &
K.Srinivas CSR ShireeshJoshi
Tina
President
Enterprises
services Director-
David Technology &
Networks
Joachim

33
 SERVICES PROVIDED BY AIRTEL
PREPAID:
Features:
Total Cost Control
You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more rentals or deposits –simply
recharge as much as you need to from as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.

Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals

You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your Airtel Prepaid. No more paying
deposits or having a minimum balance in your account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-
free calls are here to stay!

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel’s world-class technology and unbreakable
network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each
chargeable call. You can also call 123 from your mobile phone and listen to the voice
announcement or simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance
will be displayed on the screen of your handset.

Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing as you make calls or
use any other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that’s right
for you, from a variety of tailor– made recharge coupons with different denominations,
which are available at a number of outlets across your city.

More Recharge options:

Flexible recharge voucher

This unique recharge voucher gives you the option to choose between validity or talktime,
as per your need.

Easy Recharge
Recharge your Airtel Prepaid Card electronically with value that suits your needs, starting
from Rs. 10 till Rs. 10,000. You can also recharge your Airtel Prepaid while roaming
anywhere in the country.

34
 24-hour Recharge via ATM
Recharge your Airtel Prepaid round-the-clock at your nearest ATM. Just walk up to your
nearest ATM, insert the ATM card and enter your ATM PIN number. Select 'Mobile
Recharge / Bill Pay' from the main menu and follow the prompts to recharge your prepaid.
This recharge option is available with all leading banks.

Internet Recharge
You may log on to the Internet banking website of your bank and select the prepaid
recharge option to recharge your Airtel prepaid. Many leading banks provide Internet
based recharging.

The following recharge denominations are available nationally for recharge through Bank
website or ATM.

Denomination Calling value

Proc Fee Rs Service tax Rs Validity Days
Rs Rs
50 43.33 2.0 4.67 30

100 88.66 2.0 9.34 30

200 179.32 2.0 18.68 30

300 269.99 2.0 28.01 30

500 451.31 2.0 46.69 30

1000 904.62 2.0 93.38 30

You can also recharge with Rs.99 Lifetime Prepaid Plan to enjoy Lifetime Validity. Free
airtime of Rs.10 available with this recharge.

Prepaid Roaming
Airtel Prepaid comes preactivated with 'National Roaming', so you stay connected no
matter wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS, check your email and access
other GPRS services while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While
traveling abroad you can receive calls & send or receive SMS.

More with Airtel Prepaid

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

Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation– all with your
Airtel prepaid connection.

Voice Mail
When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel
Voicemail will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no

35
extra monthly cost for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use
the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you don't have much
time. It's the way to share those interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling
jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

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

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

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

Airtel Live
Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel Live Airtel
brings you the latest in entertainment and information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live WAP Services:

Download the latest ring tones, games, wallpapers, videos and much more. You can also
get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on you phone. Airtel Live Portal
can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone.

Airtel Live Voice Services:

Just Dial 56465, and name the service. For e.g. say ring tones to download your favorite
ring tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like Live Cricket
Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie Reviews or Stock Market
Updates.

Airtel Live SIM Services:

Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your phone at the
touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live SIM based Services on your SIM card menu.

Airtel Live SMS Services:

You can enjoy a host of services by sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465! Choose
Astrology / Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones.

Hello Tunes
Now when a friend calls, make them groove to the hottest new tracks burning up the music
charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! Choose from a library of over 80000 songs from
more than 16 languages. Whats more, copy any Hello tune you like by simply pressing ‘*’
on your phone when the Hello Tune is playing on your friends phone.

Reach us Anytime Anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number, accessible from anywhere in

36
the country, even while roaming. You can also send us an SMS to 121 or mail us at
121@airtelindia.com. *In case of email, mention your mobile no. like, 9810012345, in the
subject of the mail for a quicker response.

Handset Offers:
Airtel provides a wide range of mobile handsets available with special offers

» 100MB/mth browsing free

» valid for 3 months
» With select handsets
» Offer for Airtel users
» Data download/month
» Android specific applications
» Dust/Splash proof
» Bright flashlight
» Time tracker
» Multi Phone book
» 65,536 color display
» Dust/Splash Proof
» Bright flashlight
» Multi Phone book
» 65,536 color display
» MP3 sound
» Premium exterior
» Handsfree speaker

Subscription Services:
With Airtel's Subscription Services, you can subscribe for cool alerts at the click of a
button! What's better is that you can receive updates automatically on your Airtel phone
without the need of initiating a request everyday.

Airtel Comic Portal

This is a mobile portal that can be easily accessed through mobile WAP and transport you
to the fascinating world of Comics. This service is available on Airtel Live using which an
Airtel customer can access content of over 200 titles, both national and international like
Nagraj, Akbar Birbal , Popeye etc

Airtel Mobile TV
Airtel Mobile TV is a GPRS based video service delivered through an application using
which an Airtel subscriber can access the content from over 60 channels using his GPRS
enabled handset. The content accessed are videos which are either “Live” content available
on various broadcasting channels or Video-on-demand which can be viewed at the users
convenience.

37
Pricing
The service is accessible at the following price points:
· Rs. 40 for all the channels per week or 80mins (which ever is earlier)
· Rs.15 per week per channel per week or 30mins (which ever is earlier)
· Rs.10 per channel per day or 20min (whichever is earlier)

Daily News Alerts

With Airtel News Alerts, be in touch with the latest happenings around the world, all the
time. Get two news bulletins sent to your Airtel phone, courtesy AajTak, the 24-hour news
channel from India Today Group.

Daily Astrology Alert

Your future lies in your Airtel phone. Literally! Get daily forecasts of each sun sign from
renowned astrologer, Ma Prem Usha.

Daily Joke Alert

Burst out with laughter with Airtel's daily joke alert. Get the funniest jokes that you can
forward to your friends to brighten up their day too.

Daily Business News

Now, for the latest buzz on the business scenario, you never have to look very much
further than the palm of your hand. Airtel brings you the daily business news and stock
alerts, courtesy, Business Today, the leading publication on business news & stories..

Daily Health Tips

Begin your fitness regime with Airtel. Get tips on skin care, health, eating right and much
more.

Daily Filmi Gossip

Want the latest khabar on Lara, Salman, Cameron and Toby? You can tune into Airtel's
Filmi Gossip, with the latest buzz about your favourite Hollywood and Bollywood stars.

Vaastu Alerts
Get daily Vaastu tips on the best directions, regarding plots, home renovations, buying
homes; doing up your house etc. at 8:15 PM. Daily alerts will be of 2 messages.

Daily Love Tip

This season say it with love and express yourself with Airtel Love Tips. Cute lovable
messages, which will touch your heart. Get a daily Love tip at 7: 30 PM.

Sports & Daily News Alerts

You can now get the latest sports news on your Airtel . Get live cricket updates as it
happens . Get your update twice a day .

Price per month: Rs. 30

38
Call Management Services:
Call Conferencing
With Airtel call conferencing, you can teleconference with 6 people simultaneously! You
can also have the liberty of setting up a conference even when the other five individuals are
using a landline, making it ideal for organizing events or discussing business.

Charges
Person initiating the conversation is billed for all the calls, according to the airtime rates
applicable to his price plan. Each call is charged, for the time spent in the conference and
on hold. However charges for setting up conference service are circle specific.

Call Wait
You can receive and hold an incoming call when you are already talking to another person
and the caller at the same time is notified that you are busy on another call. You have the
option to receive the new call by putting the first call on hold or rejecting it.

Charges: Subscription to this facility is totally free of cost!

Call Hold
Handle more than one call at a time, with Call hold. You have the option to make a new
call by putting the first call on hold, or switch between two calls, if you are already
connected to a call.

Charges: Subscription to this facility is also free of cost.

Call Divert / Call forward

You can divert your incoming calls to another mobile or landline (select operators) and
have your calls attended to, by someone else when you are personally unable to do so.

Voice Mail
In a meeting? With Airtel voice mail you will never have to worry about missing a call.
You can divert your calls to voice mail from call settings. Voicemail will take a message
for you, and play it back to you when,

Your mobile phone is switched off.

You are already engaged on another call.
You have selected the call divert option.
You are in an area that is not covered by the network.

Missed Call Alert

A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls that you missed. The
SMS will detail the CLI and the time when the call was made.

39
Call Line Identification Presentation
The Caller Line Identification Presentation (CLIP) feature, besides allowing you to
recognize the caller, with the display of the calling party's number on your handset screen,
also gives you the flexibility to either accept or reject an incoming call. The Caller ID
Service can help you gain a competitive edge in business, so you needn't worry about
prank calls when you're taking customers over the phone. Its applications are, in fact,
limited only by your imagination.

Here are a few more advantages of CLIP.

You will never be caught off-guard.

Lets you decide which calls you want to answer.
Discourages nuisance calls.

Mail, Messaging & More:

Text Messaging
Let your phone do the talking, if it's too noisy to converse or you don't have much time.
Make arrangements, share moments or to just say hello, through Text messaging, in a fast
and convenient way. You simply create short written messages on your mobile phone and
send them directly to other mobiles.

How does it work?

Text Messaging is automatically available to all prepaid & postpaid customers with a
compatible phone. Some of its attractive features are:

It is ideal for times when you don't want to disturb someone.

You can send messages quickly and easily.
You can even add a picture if your phone allows. .
You can send text messages from India to other countries, even while you're abroad.
Predictive text, if your phone has it, is a great way to save time when you're writing
longer messages.
Charges
Rs 1.50 for local SMS as per bill plan, Rs. 2 for National SMS & Rs. 5 for International
SMS.

SMS Directory
Airtel has introduced the smart way to communicate with colleagues and close business
associates. Now there's no need to remember the mobile numbers/landline numbers of
colleagues while on the move. Simply type and send their names to a short code and get
their contact numbers, instantly.

Multimedia Messaging Service ( MMS )

Interesting things happen when you least expect them. Now whether you're travelling or
sitting on the beach, capture and share these unexpected moments with friends across the
country. With Airtel's picture messaging, you can take a photo, add text or sound and send
it to others right there from your mobile phone, just as you would a simple text message

40
(SMS). Of course you can receive and reply to MMS messages from your friends.
Charges
Rs.5 / message

Airtel Messenger
Welcome to Airtel Messenger the ultimate chatting tool on your mobile! Now get up, close
and personal with your PC or Mobile friends anytime, anywhere. Search and make new
friends with your kind of people from across the world. No more emailing just start
chatting instantly with all your Yahoo, MSN, ICQ friends! That's not all, u can also invite
people to join any of the 15 chatrooms and chat to your hearts content. Well now you can
do all this on your mobile phone - with Airtel Messenger.

Corporate Group Messaging

Send one SMS to multiple contacts, anywhere in the world. Users can create their own
groups, communities in order to SMS all of them at the same time with reduced rates per
SMS.

Language SMS
Send SMS messages to your near and dear ones in the language of your choice. Choose
from Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bangla, Marathi and
of course - English. All phones that support picture messages would support this Language
SMS.

Voice SMS
Now add emotions to your sms by sending a Voice SMS. To send a Voice SMS to any
mobile number in India Just prefix * to the 10-digit mobile number and call. Record your
message after the beep. You can record your message maximum upto 30 sec. After
recording your message just press # or disconnect the call. The system records your voice
and sends it to the person for whom you have left a Voice SMS.

As an Airtel Subscriber

Sending a New Voice Message – Rs. 75 per VSMS

Retrieving VSMS 1st time (*0*) – Toll Free.
Retrieving VSMS 2nd time onwards (*1*) – Rs. 0.75 per minute.
Sending a Reply VSMS – Rs. 0.75 per VSMS.
Forwarding a VSMS – Rs. 0.75 per VSMS

Non-Airtel Subscriber

New Voice SMS – Non Airtel subscribers cannot originate a new VSMS.
Retrieval – All retrievals are chargeable at normal call rates payable to the subscriber's
service provider as per subscriber's tariff plan.
Replies – While replying to a Voice SMS, the Non-Airtel subscriber is paying normal call
charges applicable per minute as per subscriber's tariff plan.

Data Services:
41
Mobile Office
Stay connected to the internet, and access your e-mail anywhere, anytime while on the
move. Now you can access official mail, refer to sites for information on your phone or on
your laptop with your mobile as a modem.

Mobile office has the following features:

Access the Internet anytime, anywhere (across all Airtel circles in India)
No airtime charges.
Cheaper than connecting through land line.
A minimal monthly subscription fee.

Fax & Data

Take your office wherever you go with Airtel’s Fax and Data Service. You can send and
receive data/fax documents, access the Internet, email accounts as well as corporate
databases when you are on the move.

Send and Receive E-mails

Use your Microsoft dial - up connection on your laptop/PC and enter the phone number of
your e-mail service provider or your corporate e-mail server and you can read and send all
your mails.

Operator Services:
Dial-a-service
Everything you need like Railway info, Infotel etc., is just a call away, with your Airtel
phone. These call numbers are available in your phone book.
SIM Replacement
Have you misplaced your Airtel SIM card? Need a replacement? In event of a damage or
loss of your SIM, we provide you with a replacement to ensure your immediate
accessibility needs are met.

Conversion from Prepaid to Post-Paid

You have the liberty of changing your connection from a prepaid card to a post-paid
service in just a few simple steps!

STD / ISD codes

Looking for an STD/ISD dialing code while on the move? All you need is your Airtel
phone to find any number, whenever you need them, at the touch of a few buttons.

Dial-a-service
With Airtel's information services you can get upto-the-minute cricket scores.

42
Dictionary service
Never be left in the dark, if you come across a difficult word, use your Airtel phone and
find it's meaning.

Calling 56465
Just dial 56465 & request to download ringtones, dedicate songs, check cricket scores etc.

SMS to 56465
A host of services are available on SMS. Download ringtones, wallpapers, logos and a lot
more.

SMS to 58888, 58243, 57333, 5500 etc.

A host of services are available on SMS. Download ringtones, wallpapers, logos and a lot
more.

To find out what services are available in your city or information on charges and
activation commands please select your location from the drop-down above.

Phone Backup:
What is Airtel Mobile Phone Backup?

Airtel Mobile Phone Backup is a service that safeguards all data of your mobile phone
including Contacts, Calendar, SMS, Photos, Videos and Music.

The Airtel Mobile Phone Backup service copies your mobile phone's data in a secure
manner to Airtel's secure Mobile Phone Backup system, and also enables you to restore the
saved data on your phone (New / Existing) whenever you change your phone or in case
you lose the data accidentally.

POSTPAID:
Features:
Easy Billing
Enjoy a host of rich features only with Airtel e-bill. Register free on ‘My Airtel’ section
and view your monthly bill with call details for last three months. Sort your calls between
personal and official or analyze your usage, at the click of a button. To change your tariff
plan call our IVR at 121 and leave a request, you can also send in your requests through
email 121@airtelindia.com, log your request on My Airtel section of the website or SMS
the change to 121.

Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere

43
You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only with Airtel. Walk into
any Airtel relationship centre and make your payments by cash or credit card. Drop a
cheque at any of the drop boxes for making payments or simply log on to My Airtel
section and pay instantly through your credit card. You can also opt for easy payment
options like:Standing InstructionsYou can give us standing instructions to debit your credit
card account for your monthly Airtel bills. All you have to do is fill the Standing
Instruction Form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship centres.Electronic
Clearing SystemFill an ECS form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship
centres to directly debit your bank account for your monthly Airtel bill.Pay while
roamingAirtel has introduced 'Anywhere payment' that offers you the convenience of
making payments while you roam. Walk in to any Airtel Relationship Centre in the
country, make payments by cash or credit card and enjoy uninterrupted Airtel Services.

Credit limit
Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you keep your mobile
charges in control, keeps track of your usage and ensures that your mobile phone is not
misused. Should you exceed your credit limit, you will be informed via a voice or a non-
voice message to make an interim payment and reduce your account balance below your
credit limit. You may also choose to pay us an additional refundable deposit to enhance
your credit limit or opt for our convenient payment method of Credit Card Standing
instruction .You can also make use of ECS facility.

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel .It offers you world class technology and
unbreakable network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

Long Distance Calling Facility

Call long distance calls in India and Overseas with STD / ISD facility on your Airtel
phone.

Widest Roaming - National and International

Airtel's roaming service allows you to stay connected and use your mobile phone to make
or receive calls from almost anywhere in India and also over 160 countries, abroad.

GPRS - Roaming
Use Airtel Postpaid's GPRS services, while roaming, to access the internet and office mails
(eg. BlackBerry services), from almost anywhere in India and abroad.

All other services are same as that of prepaid.

44
 COMPANY PROFILE

Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states in India. It

initially started in 1995 as a joint venture among the Tatas, Aditya Birla Group and AT&T
by merging "'Wings Cellular'" operating in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (UP) West,
Rajasthan and Tata Cellular as well as Birla AT&T Communications.

Initially having a very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel in
2004 gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Haryana, Kerala,
Rajasthan, Delhi (inclusive of NCR) and West Bengal.

The company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company has also
been the first to offer flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS
services in urban areas.

Idea Cellular won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care
Solution" for 2 consecutive years.

Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the
company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004, Cingular
decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the Tatas and Birlas
at 16.45% each.

Tata's foray into the cellular market with its own subsidiary, Tata Indicom, a CDMA-based
mobile provider, cropped differences between the Tatas and the Birlas. This dual holding
by the Tatas also became a major reason for the delay in Idea being granted a license to
operate in Mumbai. This was because as per Department of Telecom (DOT) license norms,
one promoter could not have more than 10% stake in two companies operating in the same
circle and Tata Indicom was already operating in Mumbai when Idea filed for its licence.

The Birlas thus approached the DOT and sought its intervention, and the Tatas replied by
saying that they would exit Idea but only for a good price. On April 10, 2006, the Aditya
Birla Group announced its acquisition of the 48.18% stake held by the Tatas at Rs. 40.51 a
share amounting to Rs. 44.06 billion. While 15% of the 48.14% stake was acquired by
Aditya Birla Nuvo, a company in-charge of the Birlas' new business initiatives, the
remaining stake was acquired by Birla TMT holdings Private Ltd., an AV Birla family

45
owned company. Currently, Birla Group holds 49.1% of the total shares of the company.
Malaysia based Axiata controls a 14.99% stake in the company.

Subscriber base

Idea's subscriber base as of July 2009 according to the is as follows

• Maharashtra and Goa - 8077848

• Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - 5677758
• Andhra Pradesh - 5528758
• Kerala - 4738070
• Kolkata -
• Gujarat - 4230479
• Uttar Pradesh (West) & Uttarakhand - 4602390
• Delhi - 2343017
• Haryana - 1701065
• Uttar Pradesh (East) - 2361070
• Rajasthan - 1603620
• Himachal Pradesh - 164571
• Mumbai - 1012152
• Bihar & Jharkhand - 1702584
• Tamilnadu - 225566
• Orissa - 164995
• Punjab (Spice) - 2566170
• Karnataka (Spice) - 1816711

IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007.

IDEA Cellular is a leading GSM mobile service operator with pan India licenses. With a
customer base of over 47 million in 17 service areas, operations are soon expected to start
in Kolkata & West Bengal, North East & Assam, and J&K

A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction
of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time
in India, in an increasingly segmented market. From basic voice & Short Message Service
(SMS) services to high-end value added services such as Mobile TV, Games etc - IDEA is
seen as an innovative, customer focused brand.

IDEA 'Women's Card' caters to the special needs of women on the move, and 'Youth Card'
covers the emerging youth segment. IDEA 'My Gang' - the widely popular community user
group product recently bagged the prestigious 'Golden Peacock Award 2008' under the
Most Innovative Product category at the "19th World Congress on Total Quality".

46
 A brand known for many firsts, IDEA was the first to launch GPRS and EDGE in India.
IDEA has partnered with Research in Motion (RIM) to offer Blackberry services on its
network. IDEA 'NetSetter'- Plug & Play, EDGE enabled USB Data Card offers affordable
data connectivity with faster speed and consistency.
IDEA offers seamless coverage to roaming customers traveling to any part of the country,
as well as to international traveling customers across over 200 countries. IDEA Cellular
has partnership with over 400 operators worldwide to ensure that customers are always
connected while on the move, across the globe.

IDEA has received several national and international recognitions for its path-breaking
innovations in mobile telephony products & services. It won the GSM Association Award
for "Best Billing and Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years. It was awarded
"Mobile Operator of the Year Award - India" for 2007 and 2008 at the Annual Asian
Mobile News Awards.

IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, India's first truly multinational
corporation. The group operates in 25 countries, and is anchored by over 1,25,000
employees belonging to 25 nationalities. The Group has been adjudged 'The Best
Employer in India and among the Top 20 in Asia' by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall
Street Journal Study 2007.

Service Areas
The Indian telecommunications market for mobile services is divided into 22 "Service
Areas" classified into "Metro", Category "A", Category "B" and Category "C" service
areas by the Government of India. These classifications are based principally on a Service
Area's revenue generating potential.

Our 17 operational Service Areas are broken up into Established and New Service Areas

Established Service Areas

The established service areas are Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West).

Licenses for the Maharashtra and Gujarat Service Areas were awarded in December 1995,
with network rollout and commercial launch achieved in 1997. In January 2001 the mobile
operations in Andhra Pradesh Service Area were integrated with IDEA through a merger
with Tata Cellular Limited.

In June 2001, the mobile operations in Madhya Pradesh Service Area were fully integrated
with IDEA through an acquisition of RPG Cellcom Limited. In October 2001, the license
for Delhi Service Area was acquired during the fourth mobile license auction, with
network rollout and commercial launch in November 2002.

47
In January 2004, Escotel Mobile Communications Private Limited ("Escotel"), was
acquired with its original licenses in the Service Areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West)
and Kerala. All these Service Areas were re-branded and integrated with IDEA in June
2004

New Service Areas

The New Service Areas are Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar,
Mumbai, Karnataka, Punjab, Orissa and Tamil Nadu & Chennai
Licenses for Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh were acquired through
the acquisition of Escotel (Escorts Telecommunications Limited). Brand Idea was
launched in Karnataka and Punjab, through the acquisition of Spice Communications. Idea
launched its services in Mumbai and Bihar in 2008. The Mumbai launch was the largest
Metro City launch in India. In Bihar, Idea acquired 500,000 subscribers in just over 100
days.
The company has now expanded its services in Orissa and Tamil Nadu & Chennai in
FY10.

History:

The chronology of key events of the Company from incorporation is set out below:
Calendar year Events:
2009

• Idea launches services in Tamil Nadu

• Idea expanded services into Orissa

2008
• Subscriber base as on December 31, 2008: 40,016,153

• Idea acquired 9 licences for Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Chennai, West
Bengal, Orissa, Kolkata, Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir

• Acquired Spice Communications with the operating circles of Punjab and

Karnataka

• Launched services in Mumbai metro in the largest single metro city launch, ever

• Launched services in Bihar

2007
• Subscriber base as on December 31, 2007: 21,054,027

• Won an award for the "CARE" service in the "Best Billing or Customer Care
Solution" at the GSM Association Awards in Barcelona, Spain

48
 • Initial Public Offering aggregating to Rs. 28,187 million and Listing of Equity
Shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange

• Merger of seven subsidiaries with Idea Cellular Limited

• Reached the twenty million subscriber mark

2006
• Subscriber base as on December 31, 2006: 12,442,450

• Became part of the Aditya Birla Group subsequent to the TATA Group transferring
its entire shareholding in the Company to the Aditya Birla Group

• Acquired Escorts Telecommunications Limited (subsequently renamed as Idea

Telecommunications Limited)

• Restructuring of debt

• Launch of the New Circles

• Reached the 10 million subscriber mark

• Received Letter of Intent from the DoT for a new UAS License for the Mumbai
Circle.

• Received Letter of Intent from the DoT for a new UAS License for the Bihar Circle
through Aditya Birla Telecom Limited. ABNL, the parent of Aditya Birla Telecom
Limited, pursuant to a letter dated November 22, 2006, agreed to transfer its entire
shareholding in Aditya Birla Telecom Limited to the Company for the
consideration of Rs. 100 million.
2005
• Subscriber base as on December 31, 2005: 6,473,962

• Reached the five million subscriber mark

• Turned Profit Positive

• Won an Award for the "Bill Flash" service at GSM Association Awards in
Barcelona, Spain

• Sponsored the International Indian Film Academy Awards

2004

• Completed debt restructuring for the then existing debt facilities and additional
funding for the Delhi Circle.

49
 • Acquired Escotel Mobile Communications Limited (subsequently renamed as Idea
Mobile Communications Limited)

• Reached the four million subscriber mark

• First operator in India to commercially launch EDGE services 2005

2003
• Reached the two million subscriber mark
2002

• Changed name to Idea Cellular Limited and launched "Idea" brand name

• Commenced commercial operations in Delhi Circle

• Reached the one million subscriber mark

2001

• Acquired RPG Cellular Limited and consequently the license for the Madhya
Pradesh (including Chattisgarh) Circle

• Changed name to Birla Tata AT&T Limited

• Obtained license for providing GSM-based services in the Delhi Circle following
the fourth operator GSM license bidding process
2000

• Merged with Tata Cellular Limited, thereby acquiring original license for the
Andhra Pradesh Circle
1999

• Migrated to revenues share license fee regime under New Telecommunications

Policy ("NTP")
1997

• Commenced operations in the Gujarat and Maharashtra Circles

1996

• Changed name to Birla AT&T Communications Limited following joint venture

between Grasim Industries and AT&T Corporation
1995

• Incorporated as Birla Communications Limited

50
 • Obtained licenses for providing GSM-based services in the Gujarat and
Maharashtra Circles following the original GSM license bidding process.

Mission:
“We will Delight our Customers while meeting their individual communication needs
anytime anywhere”
We survive because of our customers

Key People:
Board of Directors -

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman)

Smt. Rajashree Birla
Mr. Saurabh Misra
Mr. Sanjeev Aga (Managing Director)
Mr. Arun Thiagarajan
Ms. Tarjani Vakil
Mr. Mohan Gyani
Mr. Gian Prakash Gupta
Mr. R.C. Bhargava
Mr. P. Murari
Mr. Biswajit A. Subramanian
Dr. Hansa Wijayasuriya

Management Team -

Corporate Leadership Team

Mr. Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director

Mr. Akshaya Moondra, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Anil K. Tandan, Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Prakash K. Paranjape, Chief Information Officer
Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer
Mr. Navanit Narayan, Chief Service Delivery Officer
Mr. Vinay K. Razdan, Chief Human Resource Officer
Mr. Rajat K. Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Mr. Rajesh K. Srivastava, Chief Materials & Procurement Officer

51
Mr. Ambrish Jain, Director - Operations
Mr. Himanshu Kapania, Director - Operations

SERVICES PROVIDED BY IDEA:

Value Added Services:
Introducing THE IDEA Value Added Services, a vibrant bouquet of "little conveniences"
"small pleasures" "bits of happiness" "dollops of infotainment" and all those "itsy bitsy"
wants of yours that together make up THE BIG SMILING PICTURE.

SMS based services to Voice based ones, the Idea range cuts across all modes of
communication to ensure the BEST VALUE for your money.

So be it downloading the latest ring tones or sharing the freshest of blonde jokes, be it
checking the status of your cousin's train arrival time or arranging a pick up for your boss's
delayed flight, Idea hands you the power to do it all.

You could also book a surprise movie ticket or deliver those dainty dandelions for your
date or access the latest cricket scores or some serious stock information; or maybe even
play downloadable games or chill out with some zany chats with buddies on-line.

Roaming:
Roam Like Home - with IDEA
Now you have one more reason to select Idea network while roaming in India. You can
enjoy a ‘Roam Like Home’ experience even while roaming. IDEA is the first telecom
operator in India to offer this facility to it’s valued roamers.

We present a host of very convenient & friendly features -

Dial directly from your phone book. You can call numbers saved in your phonebook,
without adding STD or ISD codes to the entries. This saves you the bother of remembering
the concerned codes or manually dialling every number.
Ex: If you are a customer from UAE and you have saved your home telephone number in
your phonebook as 506123456. Now when roaming with Idea, you can call the same
number directly, without prefixing +971 (ISD dialling code for UAE) each time you want
to call home!

· Auto call correction of all misdialled calls. When you dial a new number, this service will

52
complete your call even if a wrong or incomplete prefix has been added to the number.

· Direct access to your Voicemail box. Now you can make extensive use of your VMS
feature, even while roaming. Dial your voicemail short code directly without any
authentication codes.
· Direct dialling to your home customer care number. Ex: If you have saved the customer
care number of your mobile operator as 12345 in your phone book, you can call them at
the same number even while you are roaming (which would not have been possible
otherwise)

Call Management Services:

POST PAID:
Caller Line Identification Presentation (CLIP)

CLIP identifies the caller by displaying the number of the caller on the handset. This
allows you the benefit of accepting or rejecting the call ; although, at times Caller Line
Identification may not appear due to technical problems in the originating network. No
Rental Charge

RENT - As per the Bill Plan

Call Hold / Call Wait

This feature allows you to receive or make another call, while you are already busy with a
call, without disconnecting it. You can receive or make a second call, by putting the first
call on hold. You are billed for both the calls. You can activate call waiting by using the
menu of your cell phone.

Call Conference (CC)

This feature allows you to have a teleconference with up to five people at the same time,
from wherever you are. You can conference with either cellular or landline phones,
including STD and ISD calls. To make a conference call, simply make your first call. Then
put the first call on hold and dial the next number. To conference, scroll through the
handset menu and select the conference feature. Now your calls are connected. To invite
another person, follow the same steps again.
RENT - Rs. 50.00 /- per month.

Call Divert (CD)

53
With Call Divert, you can divert an incoming call to another cell phone ( be it Idea, Airtel,
Reliance, Vodafone or BSNL cellular phones) or even a landline number ( within
Maharashtra & Goa local dialing list). You can divert your calls UNCONDITIONALLY,
i.e. all calls will be diverted by default without ringing or then CONDITIONALLY, under
the following three standard conditions :

» Cell busy
» Cell not answerable
» Cell switched off or no coverage area

RENT - Rs. 50.00 /- per month.

Call Barring (CBARR)

With Call Barring you can prevent the possible misuse of your cellular phone. You can
completely or selectively bar incoming calls and outgoing calls; though further selectivity
between STD and ISD calls is not supported.

RENT - Rs. 50.00 /- per month.

PRE PAID:
Caller Line Identification Presentation (CLIP)

CLIP identifies the caller by displaying the number of the caller on the handset. This
allows you the benefit of accepting or rejecting the call ; although, at times Caller Line
Identification may not appear due to technical problems in the originating network.

Call Hold / Call Wait

This feature allows you to receive or make another call, while you are already busy with a
call, without disconnecting it. You can receive or make a second call, by putting the first
call on hold. You are billed for both the calls. You can activate call waiting by using the
menu of your cell phone.

Call Conference (CC)

This feature allows you to have a teleconference with up to five people at the same time,
from wherever you are. You can conference with either cellular or landline phones,
including STD and ISD calls. To make a conference call, simply make your first call. Then
put the first call on hold and dial the next number. To conference, scroll through the
handset menu and select the conference feature. Now your calls are connected. To invite
another person, follow the same steps again. No Rental Charge

Please Note :
- Call Conference is a handset dependent feature.

54
- You are charged for the time on hold and conference.
- The originator of the calls will be charged for all the calls initiated by him.
- To use the facility you need to activate the "call waiting" feature on your handset.

Customers who subscribe for Call conference will be charged for all calls made but in the
post call alert, only single duration, single charging will be shown. This could lead to
customer complaints as actual call charges and post call alert charges will not match.

Call Divert (CD)

With Call Divert, you can divert an incoming call to another cell phone ( be it Idea, Airtel,
Reliance, Vodafone or BSNL cellular phones) or even a landline number ( within
Maharashtra & Goa local dialing list). You can divert your calls UNCONDITIONALLY,
i.e. all calls will be diverted by default without ringing or then CONDITIONALLY, under
the following three standard conditions :
» Cell busy
» Cell not answerable
» Cell switched off or no coverage area

55
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Objectives:
• To study the service providers and their service quality of Airtel and Idea.

• To study the customer satisfaction and understand the current market scenario of
Airtel and Idea in Telecom Sector

• To understand the various schemes adopted by the company for enhanced customer
satisfaction.

• To study various parameters of customer satisfaction with special reference to

telecom sector

Samples:
Sample size : 50 (25 for Airtel and 25 for Idea)
Sample frame : Nagpur city
Sample unit : West Nagpur
Sampling Method : Convenience sampling
Constraints : Time, number of respondents
Response- 50
Survey : Questionnaire

56
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given
favorable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the
attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services
promised and services offered. The overall customers’ attitude towards cell phone
services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more
services to be provided.

2. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled “Managing the Customer Perceived Service
Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation” analyzed that
there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that
responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer
perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This
would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of
importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid
instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile
services.

3. Samuvel, “customer satisfaction for cellular services, a study with a reference to

BPL and Aircel mobile phones and services”, a published M.Phil. dissertation,
submitted to Bharathiar university, Coimbatore, December 2002

4. Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled “Promotional Strategies of

Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective” analyzed that the increasing
competition and changing taste and preferences of the customer’s all over the world
are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the
customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore
city.

5. Rick (2008): in his study found that companies with sound customer strategies can
use that ultimate loyalty program as a differentiator in an increasingly muddled
market. In an increasingly competitive market, customer loyalty efforts can play a
major part in the attraction of new customers and the retention of current ones. As
consumers' choices expand, the importance of a sound customer relationship
strategy becomes more and more important for the success of the company.

6. Shikha Ojha (2009) conducted a study on “Consumer Awareness of VAS of

Telecom Sector of India”. She analyzed the contribution of the mobile phone
services not only at the national or state level, but also its involvement in an
individual's life. She found out that the less number of users are aware of all the

57
 VAS provided by the service providers and thus the companies should focus on the
awareness campaign.

7. Shirshendu Ganguli (2008) conducted a study on “Drivers of Customer Satisfaction

in Indian Cellular services Market “in which he discussed the impact of service
quality and features on customer satisfaction from the cellular users viewpoint.

8. J D Power(2009) conducted a study on “Customers increasingly want telecom

services and products to be bundled” based on responses collected from 11,911
customers nationwide and examined the overall customer satisfaction on six factors
– customer service, reliability, billing, image, cost of service, offers & promotions.

9. Girish Taneja & Neeraj Kaushik (2007) conducted a study on “Customers

perception towards Mobile service providers: An analytical study” aims to deduce
the factors that customers perceive to be the most important while utilizing the
services of a mobile service provider.

10. Anita Seth (2007) in his study on “Quality of service parameters in cellular mobile
communication” developed a model of service quality and a set of dimensions for
comparative evaluation which could provide useful directions to regulators and
service providers.

58
 ANALYSIS
Observations and Findings:
1. Age Group:
• 10-20 11
• 20-40 27
• Above 40 12
No. of Respondents

Age group
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
10-20 20-40 Above 40

Age

2. Gender:
• Male 29
• Female 21

Gender

42% Male
58% Female

59
3. Which type of connection do you prefer?
• Pre-paid 29
• Post-paid 21

Connection

42% P repaid
58% P ostpaid

Through the above analysis we can easily find out that, majority of the people still prefer
prepaid connections more. There are 58% people who prefer prepaid connections whereas
42% people prefer postpaid connection in west Nagpur area. shows that there is tough
competition for prepaid. It is because of billing problems in postpaid connections.

4. Whose service(s) are you rendering now?

• Airtel 25
• Idea 25

Airtel
50% 50% Idea

Through the above analysis it is found that 50% people prefer Airtel connection and 50%
people prefer Idea connection.

60
5. How long have you been using this connection of your service provider?

Airtel Idea
Less than 3 months 1 0
3-6 months 5 3
6-12 months 4 6
1-2 years 11 8
2-3 years 2 5
More than 3 years 2 3

12

10
No. of Respondents

8
Airtel
6
Idea
4

0
Less than 3-6 6-12 1-2 years 2-3 years More than
3 months months months 3 years

Duration

The above graph shows that more no. of people is keeping Airtel and Idea connection from
1-2 years. These factors are responsible to gain the market share over the competitor.
Whereas there are few who are associated with service provider less than 3 months.

6. What are the key factors/reasons for your association with current cellular
service provider?

Airtel Idea
Awareness of the service provider 5 6
Friends Recommended 8 5
Retailer Influenced 2 4

61
 Advertisement Recommended 6 7
Other Reasons 4 3

9
No. of Respondents

8
7
6
5 Airtel
4 Idea
3
2
1
0
Recommended

Recommended

Other Reasons
Advertisement
Awareness of
the service

Friends

Retailer
Influenced
provider

Factors/Reasons

From the above graph it is clear that people are using Airtel because their friends had
recommended. Whereas people are using Idea because of advertisement attraction. After
that awareness of the service provider is the factor which influenced customer to render the
service.

7. How do you find the behavior of customer care executives of your service
provider?
Airtel Idea
Professional & prompt 8 7
Warm & helpful 5 4
Not Responding 5 5
Lazy & slow 7 6

62
 9

No. of Respondents
8
7
6
5 Airtel
4 Idea
3
2
1
0
Professional & Warm & Not Lazy & slow
prompt helpful Responding

Behavior

Acceptance or rejection of any product is largely depended on the services provided by the
customer care which is also known as after sales service or Customer Relationship
Management (CRM). If a company provides better services to the customer by solving
their queries, it can be successful to retain them. Similarly, in case of the telecom service
providers play a major role to retain customers by solving their problems.

As per the survey conducted and its findings, it was concluded that Airtel is the leader in
maintaining the good relations with its customers and it solves customers’ problems
efficiently and effectively than Idea. But still people feel that customer care executives are
not responding and lazy & slow.

8. What kind of expectations do you have from your service provider?

Improved Service 7
Good Network 12
Cheap Call rates 16
Cheap SMS 11
Cheap Roaming charges 4

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 Cheap
Roaming Improved
charges Service
8% 14%
Cheap SMS
22%
Good Network
24%
Cheap Call
rates
32%

As per the research, the people of west Nagpur are more inclined towards cheap call rates
of their service providers followed by the good network. After that people expects cheap
SMS, improved service and cheap roaming charges from their service provider.

9. Rate your satisfaction level with your service provider

Airtel Idea
Very Good 6 4
Good 9 9
Satisfied 7 10
Bad 2 1
Very Bad 1 1

64
 12

10

Airtel
6
Idea

0
Very Good Good Satisfied Bad Very Bad

Customers’ satisfaction plays a crucial role for the service provider. It is found that more
number of people are satisfied with Idea whereas same number of people thinks that Airtel
and Idea is good. It shows that satisfaction level of Airtel and idea is near about same.

10. How much do you spend per month on your mobile connection?

Airtel Idea
Rs.100 2 1
Rs. 200 6 5
Rs. 500 6 9
More than Rs. 500 11 10

12

10

8
Airtel
6
Idea
4

0
Rs.100 Rs. 200 Rs. 500 More than Rs.
500

65
Spending pattern is also another criterion which is crucial for any telecom service
providers. Customers’ spending habits ultimately help in deciding their loyalty towards the
product. For example, if a customer frequently spends money on the same product then it
shows that he prefers to buy that product than other products which ultimately leads to his
loyalty towards that brand.

Above graph shows that more no. of people spend more than Rs. 500 for their mobile
connection. Then the people are spending upto Rs. 500.

11. Given a choice with same number, which service provider will you select?

Airtel Idea
Reliance 6 8
Vodafone 9 5
BSNL 3 4
Tata Indicom 7 8

10
9
8
7
6
Airtel
5
Idea
4
3
2
1
0
Reliance Vodafone BSNL Tata Indicom

As per the above chart suggests and as per the findings, it can be seen that Airtel people
have Vodafone as preference opinion whereas Idea people have both Reliance and Tata
Indicom because of their good network coverage.

12. How do you find STD rates of your service provider?

Airtel Idea
Costly 14 15
Affordable 4 5
Economical 2 1
Unaffordable 3 4

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 16

14

12

10
Airtel
8
Idea
6

0
Costly Affordable Economical Unaffordable

As the above chart shows both Airtel and Idea customers find the STD rates of both
service providers are costly. Whereas few customers feel that STD rates are affordable,
economical and unaffordable.

13. Do you find availability of network of your service provider at following

area?

Airtel Idea
Remote Area 12 14
Hill Stations 6 5
Outskirts 7 6

16

14

12

10
Airtel
8
Idea
6

0
Remote Area Hill Stations Outskirts

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As per the findings, it was found that Idea has very good network coverage in remote area.
Airtel and Idea shoes very close competition for coverage. Because in Hill stations and
outskirts it more or less same.

14. What are the different schemes provided by your service provider?

Airtel Idea
SMS 12 9
Talktime 10 12
Festival Schemes 3 2
Other 2 2

14

12

10

8 Airtel
6 Idea

0
SMS Talktime Festival Other
Schemes

As the graph shows, the customers’ preferences in case of Idea and Airtel is same with
both the schemes SMS and talk time as the preference is same for both.

15. How long do you have to wait in customer care?

Airtel Idea
Up to 1 minute 0 1
2 minutes 1 0
3-5 minutes 9 10
6-10 minutes 12 13
11 minutes or more 3 1

68
 14

12

10

8 Airtel
6 Idea

0
Up to 1 2 minutes 3-5 minutes 6-10 11 minutes
minute minutes or more

The customer’s liking about a particular service provider is also depended on how the
customer care executive solves his problem and how much time he takes to reach the
customer. So, here the data is collected on the basis of how much a customer has to wait
while calling the customer care.

The data reveals that majority of the customers have to wait for 6-10 minutes. Then some
customers have to wait for 3-5 minutes. There are less number of customers who have to
wait for 11, 2 and upto 2 minutes.

16. Are you aware of 3G technology?

Airtel Idea
Yes 18 16
No 7 11

69
 20
18
16
14
12
Yes
10
No
8
6
4
2
0
Airtel Idea

There are new inventions and technologies come up in the market to enhance the
competition and make the usage much faster and also useful as well as easy to use. 3G
technology is one of those technologies. In the survey, it was asked to the customers
whether they are aware of new 3G technology or not.

The results are mentioned in the above chart. Airtel customers are aware about 3G than
Idea customers. It can be seen that there is very less difference between awareness about
3G in Airtel and Idea customers.

CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion:-
India has one of the world’s largest telecommunication networks. The telecom story
continues to be the best evidence of the efficacy of the reforms process. In just six years,
the number of mobile subscribers has gone up from just about one million to 100 million, a
subscriber base that only four other countries China, the US, Japan and Russia can boast
of. None can doubt the correlation between this explosive growth in numbers and the steep
decline in the cost of the mobile phone and of its usage.
After analyzing the findings of the research, it can conclude that Airtel is the leader in
customer service and availability. The maximum no. of people who use the mobile is in the

70
age group of 20 to 28. Prepaid is popular type of mobile connections, as they are
consumer friendly and recharging the connection is not a problem. People do not prefer
postpaid because of billing problems.
Maximum no. of people spends more than Rs 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the
only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so it must seriously look
into the loop holes of the existing customer service department.
We can say that in spite of so many competitors in the market Airtel is having a good
position just because every time, it tries its best to understand the need of its important
customers.
Idea is having particular customer potential. Mostly it is preferred by business class people
because of availability of network. Idea provides the same scheme as that of Airtel. People
also spend more money on Idea connection.
Considering both Airtel and Idea have same features and benefits. Only the difference is
between the subscriber base. Airtel has more subscriber base than that of Idea.
Recently both Airtel and Idea has launched 1 paisa / second scheme to compete with
TATA DOCOMO. This shows that service providers are more into competition trend
which should be followed by them to sustain in the market.

Recommendations:-
On the basis of the primary research and secondary research, the following
recommendations can be concluded:
 Lowering the tariff plans of service providers will increase more competition.
 Bringing more up gradation in VAS for the betterment of the users.
 Improvement of network infrastructure in both the urban and the rural areas.
 Reducing the STD and ISD charges for the users.
 Companies can provide new and different schemes to their customers.

After talking to customer care executives of telecom sector, the following

recommendations can be concluded as a part of their strategies for acquiring or retaining
new customers:

71
 The telecom operators should take less time for the solving customer’s queries.
 Majority of the operators focus on the special occasions to launch new schemes but
they can also launch schemes on weekly or monthly basis to attract new customers.
 Customer care executives should concentrate more on pre-paid connections for the
price sensitive customers and post-paid connections for business class people or
high class people. They should use their media tools accordingly.
 They should concentrate more on the attributes like talk-time facility, network,
voice clarity etc apart from SMS, VAS and schemes.
 They should focus more on VAS like GPRS facilities, games, astrology, and music
for young people and business news for business people.
 They should also focus on new technologies like 3G.
 They should also focus on pilot projects before launching a product, especially in
case of rural areas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Reports:
1. DoT Report 2008-09
2. TRAI Report 2008-09
3. TRAI Report 2007-08
4. COAI Report 2008
5. COAI Report 2009

72
  Articles:
1. Bernhard Goldberger- 19th Bled e-Conference eValues
2. The Economic Times

 Websites:
1. www.airtel.in
2. www.ideacellular.com
3. www.dot.gov.in
4. www.wikipedia.org
5. www.micrositemobile.com
6. www.trai.gov.in
7. www.coai.com

Questionnaire for Customers:

Put a tick ( ) for the right option.

1. Age Group: 10-20 20-40 Above 40

2. Occupation: _________________________________

3. Designation: _________________________________

4. Gender: Male Female

5. Which type of connection do you prefer?

Pre-paid Post-paid

6. Whose service(s) are you rendering now?

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 Airtel Idea

7. How long have you been using this connection of your service provider?
Less than 3 months 6-12 months
3-6 months 1-2 years
2-3 years More than 3 years

8. What are the key factors/reasons for your association with current cellular service
provider?
Awareness of the service provider Friends Recommended
Retailer Influenced Advertisement Recommended
Other Reasons

9. How do you find the behavior of customer care executives of your service provider?
Professional & prompt Not Responding
Warm & helpful Lazy & slow

10. What kind of expectations do you have from your service provider?

11. Rate your satisfaction level with your service provider.

Very Good Good Satisfied Bad Very Bad

12. How much do you spend per month on your mobile connection?

13. Given a choice with same number, which service provider will you select?
Tata Indicom BSNL
Reliance Vodafone

14. How do you find STD rates of your service provider?

15. Do you find availability of network of your service provider at following area?
Remote Area Hill Stations Outskirts

16. What are the different schemes provided by your service provider?
SMS Talk-time Festival Schemes Other

17. How long do you have to wait in customer care?

Up to 1 minute 3-5 minutes
2 minutes 6-10 minutes
11 minutes or more

18. Are you aware of 3G technology?

Yes No

74
Thank You.

75