A FINAL REPORT

On

BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS
A CASE STUDY ON MOBILE USERS RELATED TO AIRTEL (A Survey of CUSTOMERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS)

By O.SANDEEP BBM ST.JOSEPHS DEGREE COLLEGE KURNOOL

Under the effective Guidance of

Mr. RAJA SEKHAR

(PROJECT GUIDE)

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgement Abstract Chapter I : Introduction Objectives Limitations Methodology Chapter II : Industry Profile History of Telecom Sector Growth and current scenario of Telecom sector Importance of Telecom service marketing Chapter III : Company Profile Background of Bharti televentures Airtel the Brand name with a difference Services Prepaid Postpaid Chapter IV : ON THE JOB TRAINING Tele marketing Customer satisfaction & complaint Handling Product launch Market survey Chapter V : Findings and suggestions Comparative study of different players providing post paid services Activation and security deposit Availability of plans in different budget ranges Comparison of Tariffs Conclusion References Annexure : Questionnaire for the Consumer Survey On Telecom Service

ABSTRACT
In today's globalised and borderless market, quality and productivity are essential for the survival and growth of any organisation. Both these factors depend mainly on the attraction and retention of customers. Thus the customer is the main focus for any successful business. Business success depends on organisations understanding and meeting customers' needs and demands Because of the potential for negative outcomes, including reduced customer loyalty and increased opportunities for competitors, managers need to understand what motivates individuals to choose between good service and the best service options Successful customer management requires the ability to provide the services customers want and the provision of those services at a cost the business can afford. The first requirement should be easily determined because it is, normally, a prime objective of market research programmes conducted by an organisation's marketing department. The ability to determine whether the business can afford the customer base it has or desires is, however, another issue and one that few organisations address successfully. Understanding the financial contribution of each customer is recognised as an essential component in determining business strategy but there are few, if any, guidelines or models to assist in the development of the necessary processes A consumer's dissatisfaction can be exhibited by complaint behaviour (CB) which has various means of expression. This behaviour is also motivated by different factors. So in this project an effort is made to understand the Consumer Behavior and help him out to gather the information and evaluate the alternatives and select the best possible alternative in Mobile Telecom services.

INTRODUCTION:
Consumer Behavior is a study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources(Time, Money and Effort) on consumption related items(what they buy, why they buy, when they buy, where they buy, how often they buy and use a product or service). The heterogeneity among people across the world makes understanding consumer buying behavior an intricate and challenging task. The consumers identity, his beliefs, specific needs, attitudes and the kind of product and the brands available in that product category influence his Buying behavior. The marketing efforts of a firm have a profound impact on the buying decisions of customers. Therefore, marketers attempt to obtain an in depth knowledge of consumers buying behavior. Consumer buying behavior is affected by various factors that determine the product and branded preferences of consumers. It is essential for marketers to understand the impact of these factors on consumer buying behavior because it helps them design marketing strategies to appeal to consumer preferences. The factors that influence the consumer buying behavior include Culture, Social, Personal and Psychological factors. Habits, likes and dislikes of the people belonging to a particular Culture or Subculture can affect the marketing efforts of a firm to a great extent. The Social; Class to which the individual belongs tells about the types of products the individual prefers. Other factors that influence the buying behaviour are Social factors like Reference groups and Family, Personal factors like the Age, Life cycle and occupation, and Psychological factors like Motivation, Perception and attitudes of the customers. Buying roles and buying decisions constitute consumers decision-making behavior. A customer can adopt various buying roles like Initiator, Influencer, Decider, Buyer, Preparer, Maintainer and Disposer in Purchasing and using the products. Buying behavior helps marketers learn the intensity and degree of involvement of customers in purchasing the products.

Consumer buying behavior is broadly classified into three types. Extensive problem solving Buying behavior is exhibited when a customer buys high involvement, expensive and less frequently purchase products. Consumers are involved in routine problem solving decisionmaking process, when they purchase routinely purchased, low cost products. Variety seeking behavior is seen when customers purchase low involvement products. Customers usually go through five stages in arriving at a purchase decision, though it might not be so in all the cases. The various stages are shown in the following block diagram. Evaluate the alternatives and select the best possible alternative

Identify the problem / need recognition

Gather information about the product and brands

Purchase decision / buying the product

Post purchase evaluation

Airtel was the first operator to offer a host of Innovative products and services to customers in Maharashtra and Goa. These include Airtel GPRS, EDGE, Blackberry, Assal Marathi, Hello Tunes, Confidence Plan, Stock Ticker Service, Bills in Marathi and English etc. Continuing its growth momentum, Airtel is embarking on a mega expansion plans for the year 2005-06 covering the entire Maharashtra and Goa Circle. The present study, BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS -A Case Study On Mobile Users Related to Airtel is an attempt to analyze the Buying Behavior of customers from Pune. The Summer Internship Programme (SIP) commenced from the 9th of May, 2005 and will formally close on the 31st of August, 2005. The duration of the present study is 4 months (i.e. 17 weeks). The Airtel conducted orientation and training sessions from the 9th of May to the 21st May, wherein a briefing about the company and its working was given. The working of the different departments of The Airtel was discussed in the following week. The study, as the title suggests involves a survey of both the existing and non-existing customers. The primary data will be obtained in the form of a separate well structured Questionnaire. The sample on which the survey will be conducted consists of 100 respondents.

By the 25th of June, 2005, a survey had been conducted on 60 respondents. Analysis of the questionnaires was done from 26th to 30th of June. The final report, which will mark the culmination of the total marketing effort of the present study will be prepared and submitted by the 20th of August 2005. The progress of the present study , till date, has been summarized in the following table : DURATION ( in weeks ) 2 1 1 3 1 3 days 30 days 8 days

S.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

ACTIVITY Orientation and Training Observation and study of working of the the

PERIOD 9th May- 21st May

different 23rd May- 28th May 30th May- 4th June 6th June- 25th June 27th June- 30th June 1st July- 3rd July

departments Preparation of the Questionnaire Survey of target sample group Analysis of survey data Interim Report Preparation Tele calling / handling Final report preparation

Complaint 3rd July- August 2nd August 3rd August 10th

CHAPTER I

Objectives Methodology

Limitations

OBJECTIVES
The main aim of the present study is to accomplish the following objectives: Telemarketing: Making cold calls(through Telephone) to the existing customers and giving them information about Airtels new schemes. Customer Satisfaction: Interacting with the customers at the companys show room to give them better services. Complaint Handling: Recording the various complaints and try to solve their problems about the product. Product Information / Promotion / Launching: proper understanding an analysis of the Airtel as a product. Market Survey: Conduct a Survey on a sample selected from the entire population of Corporate sector. Analysis: Analyze the result of the survey conducted and propose recommendations to develop the products of Airtel.

LIMITATIONS
Though the present study aims to achieve the above-mentioned objectives in full earnest and accuracy, it may be hampered due to certain limitations. Some of the limitations of this study may be summarized as follows: Locating the target readers of The Airtel is very time consuming. Sample size is limited due to the limited period of 36 days allocated for the survey. The selection of customers to cover the various strata of the society is tedious and time consuming. Getting accurate responses from the respondents due to their inherent problems is difficult. They may be partial or refuse to cooperate. Respondents may not be at home and may have to be re-contacted or replaced by others. The survey is costly and tedious.

METHODOLOGY
The objective of the present study can be accomplished by conducting a systematic market research. Market research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings that are relevant to different marketing situations facing the company. The marketing research process that will be adopted in the present study will consist of the following stages. Defining the problem and the research objective: The research objective states what information is needed to solve the problem. The objective of the research is to derive the opinion of the consumers of the Airtel and use that to develop the recently launched Airtel One India Plan.

Developing the research plan: Once the problem is identified, the next step is to prepare a plan for getting the information needed for the research. The present study will adopt the exploratory approach wherein there is a need to gather large amount of information before making a conclusion. If required, the descriptive and casual approaches may also be used.

Collection and Sources of data: Market research requires two kinds of data, i.e., primary data and secondary data. Being a firm in the newspaper industry, data gathering will involve usage of both primary and secondary data though there will be an extensive usage of primary data. Well-structured questionnaires will be prepared for consumers. There will be personal interview surveys mostly in Corporate. The questionnaires will contain both open-ended and close-ended questions. Sample Size: Corporate survey has been conducted for 100 respondents. If the situation

demands more accuracy, a telephonic survey will be conducted wherein the respondents will be

asked questions about their opinion on the Post-paid over the telephone and their responses will be recorded.

Analyze the collected information: This involves converting raw data into useful information. It involves tabulation of data, using statistical measures on them for developing frequency distributions and calculating the averages and dispersions. Report research findings: This phase will mark the culmination of the marketing research effort. The report with the research findings is a formal written document. The research findings and personal experience will be used to propose recommendations to develop the Post-paid Plan.

CHAPTER II

Industry Profile
History of Telecom Sector Growth and current scenario of Telecom sector Importance of Telecom service marketing

Industry profile
HISTORY:
The telephone was discovered almost by accident. What people thought they were looking for was a way to make the telegraph work faster and more profitably - by sending distinct musical notes or tones simultaneously along the wires with a separate message sent on each frequency. But they soon realized it could also include the human voice - a speaking telegraph. And if you could talk down a wire, wouldn't that be an entirely new and better way of communicating? The individual parts of the telephone were discovered and developed by different people. Someone needed to take all those connections and draw them together into one working instrument. In the end that someone was Alexander Graham Bell - but he only just won the race.

Bell forms his company (1877)

Within a year of making the first telephone call, Bell and his financial backers - Thomas Sanders and Gardiner G Hubbard - had formed the Bell Telephone Company in the United States. Unsurprisingly, early demand for the telephone was not great and prior to forming their company Bell and his partners had struggled in their attempts to promote the new invention. At one point they even offered to sell the Bell patents to the Western Union Telegraph Company - Elisha Gray's employers - for $100,000. The offer was spurned - a decision the Western Union was soon to regret bitterly.

First British long distance calls (1878): a royal introduction

Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his telephone to Queen Victoria on January 14, 1878, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. During the demonstration Bell made calls to London, Cowes and Southampton. These were the first publicly witnessed long-distance calls in the UK.

Bell's British company is founded (1878): from south to north

Less than six months after making his first British demonstrations, the UK rights to the Bell patents had been taken up by a new British company, The Telephone Company (Bell's Patents) Ltd.

Telecom growth & current scenario in India

" Growing mobile penetration in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to be a major contributor to the global mobile subscriber base surpassing the two billion mark in 2006. According to published reports, Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) is optimistic that India will become a major manufacturing hub for mobile handsets in the next three years. As per reports, even Nortel expects its Indian business to equal its Chinese business over the next four to five years. Rajan Mehta, head of Nortel Networks India, explained, "We are riding a growth wave in India, while China is plateauing." All of this can only be very good news for the Indian telecom manufacturing industry. According to the department of telecommunications (DoT), as per a white paper from Elcoteq, the revenues of the Indian cellular industry are likely to reach US$15.61 billion by 2008, and the infrastructure market for the same will be around US$1.88 billion per annum. The market size of the Indian telecom industry, comprising services and equipment, is likely to increase to US$ 24.29 billion by 2006, up from US$13.71 billion in 2001.

INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR

India's 21.59 million-line telephone network is one of the largest in the world and the 3rd largest among emerging economies (after China and Republic of Korea). Given the low telephone penetration rate - 2.2 per 100 people of population, which is much below the global average, India offers vast scope for growth. It is therefore not surprising that India has one of the fastest growing telecommunication systems in the world with system size (total connections) growing at an average of more than 20 percent over the last 4 years. The industry is considered as having the highest potential for investment in India. The growth in demand for telecom services in India is not limited to basic telephone services. India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio paging, value-added services, internet and global mobile communication by satellite (GMPCS) services. This is expected to soar in the next few years. Recognizing that the telecom sector is one of the prime movers of the economy, the Government's regulatory and policy initiatives have also been directed towards establishing a world class telecommunications infrastructure in India. The telecom sector in India therefore offers an ideal environment for investment. The telecommunications initiative in the country is lead by Ministry of Communications through the Department of Telecommunication & Department Telecom Services and its undertakings for provision of basic telephone services, national and international long distance communications, manufacture of complete range of telecom equipment, research and development, and consultancy services. The Telecom Commission performs the Executive and Policy making functions. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India performs the functions of an independent regulatory body. The Indian Cellular Market is entering a boom period after years of quasi-stagnation. Gartner estimates that by 2005, cellular subscribers in the country will number 30.9 million, up form 6.4 million at the end of March 2002. By then, India will be the fastest growing cellular market in Asia Pacific (in 2000, it was the Philippines and China) with 36 percent growth over the previous year.

Mobile operators will provide an estimated 45 per cent of additional telephone connections during the year. Cellular subscribers are expected to grow 80 per cent by the end of financial

year 2003 to touch 1.15 crore, up from 64 lakh subscribers in fiscal 2002, according to an ICRA report on telecom industry.

This would mean that cellular telephones would account for 20.5 per cent of the total telephone connections in India compared to 14.4 per cent last year. However, the cellular density would still remain a low 1.1 per cent compared to the fixed teledensity of 4.3 per cent. However, the report points out that, growth in cellular telephony could vastly exceed these projections, if the system of calling party pays is implemented.

Just for the record, new cellular connections comprised 34 per cent of all telephone connections last fiscal and 22 per cent during fiscal 2001.

Doing some more crystal ball gazing, the ICRA report points out that the cellular subscriber figure is expected to touch three crore by 2005. At the same time, the fixed line network is expected to expand to about six crore by 2005 from 3.84 crore lines by 2002.Revenue growth, however, will lag the growth in subscriptions

What is changing in the marketing world?

Companies have realized that they cannot depend on any one single marketing media to reach out to their customers. New media is not regarded as a replacement for existing marketing channels but complements traditional media and makes it more effective.

Marketing activities are more focused towards location, relevance and context of the communication to the target market. Permission based marketing and community building has become much more important.

Every customer is important today and there is a need for companies to reach out via multiple channels. Measuring media effectiveness has been traditionally difficult but complementing marketing campaigns with powerful media like text messaging and SMS and Telemarketing have generated spectacular response and recall rates for campaigns.

Importance of Telecommunications:
The Government of India (Government) recognizes that provision of world class telecommunications infrastructure and information is the key to rapid economic and social development of the country. It is critical not only for the development of the Information Technology industry, but also has widespread ramifications on the entire economy of the country. It is also anticipated that going forward, a major part of the GDP of the country would be contributed by this sector. Accordingly, it is of vital importance to the country that there be a comprehensive and forward looking telecommunications policy which creates an enabling framework for development of this industry.

FDI in Telecom Sector:

Calendar year 2004 was a significant year for the telecom sector in which the number of cellular users overtook the fixed line subscribers. Mobile subscribers recorded the 48 million mark while the number of fixed line subscribers increased to 44 million. The total telecom subscriber base recorded a growth of 31.42% in the year 2004. Tele-density reached an all time high of 8.62%, an increase of over 30% yoy at the end of December 2004. The sector also witnessed a breakthrough in the unified licensing regime, which would ensure a level playing field for all operators. THE Union Cabinet went ahead with the decision to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the telecom sector to 74% from the current ceiling of 49%. Certain conditions have also been specified while allowing the increased FDI cap, primarily to address the concerns of the security agencies and the Left parties.

Positives from the FDI Hike:

One could also witness a series of public offers flooding the market. Hutchison Essar and Idea Cellular would be planning their much-awaited public offers. Bhart Tele-Ventures is likely to go ahead with its ADS issue.

 At the industry level, the decision will facilitate the inflow of much-needed capital since the telecom business is growing at more than 30% annually, especially the mobile sector which has doubled in size over the last two years. The sector needs US$20bn annually to meet the target of 250mn subscribers by 2007. The sector could also witness entry from several foreign players from Asia and Europe. Vodafone, KDDI are some of the major operators who could tap the Indian markets. The hike in FDI would also lead to competition and consolidation in the industry. Merger and Acquisitions (M&A) are likely to get a boost. This would only increase choice and lower tariffs for the consumer.

Service marketing:
Telecom being a part of Service sector, it complies with the features of service sector.In economics and marketing, a service is the non-material equivalent of a good. Service provision has been defined as an economic activity that does not result in ownership, and this is what differentiates it from providing physical goods. It is claimed to be a process that creates benefits by facilitating either a change in customers, a change in their physical possessions, or a change in their intangible assets. By supplying some level of skill, ingenuity, and experience, providers of a service participate in an economy without the restrictions of carrying stock (inventory) or the need to concern themselves with bulky raw materials. On the other hand, their investment in expertise does require marketing and upgrading in the face of competition which has equally few physical restrictions.

Key attributes:
Services can be described in terms of their main attributes.

Intangibility - They cannot be seen, handled, smelled, etc. There is no

need for storage. Because they are difficult to conceptualize, services marketing requires creative visualizations to effectively make the intangible more concrete. From the customer's point of view, this makes it difficult to evaluate or compare services prior to experiencing the service.

Perishability - Unsold service time is "lost", that is, it cannot be regained.

It is a lost economic opportunity. For example a doctor that is booked for only two

hours a day cannot later work those hours he has lost his economic opportunity. Other service examples are airplane seats (once the plane departs, those empty seats cannot be sold), and theatre seats (sales end at a certain point).

Lack of transportability - Services must be consumed at the point of

"production".

Lack of homogeneity - Services are typically modified for each client or each new situation (customised). Mass production of services is very difficult. This can be seen as a problem of inconsistent quality. Both inputs and outputs to the processes involved providing services are highly variable, as are the relationships between these processes, making it difficult to maintain consistent quality.

Labour intensity - Services usually involve considerable human activity, rather than precisely determined process. Human resource management is important. The human factor is often the key success factor in service industries. It is difficult to achieve economies of scale or gain dominant market share.

Demand fluctuations - It is very difficult to estimate demand. Demand can vary by season, time of day, business cycle, etc.

Buyer involvement - Most service provision requires a high degree of

interaction between client and service provider.

Services marketing is marketing based on relationship and value.

Marketing a service-bases business is different from marketing a product-base business. There are several major differences, including: 1. 2. 3. 4. The buyer purchases an intangible product. The service may be based on the reputation of a single person. It's more difficult to compare the quality of similar services. The buyer cannot return the service.

When one markets a service business, she or he must keep in mind that reputation, value, delivery of service and follow-through are keys to a successful venture.

CHAPTER III:

Company Profile
Company Profile Background of Bharti televentures Airtel the Brand name with a

difference Services o Prepaid

o

Postpaid

COMPANY PROFILE
As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our ultimate user: our customer. - Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Group Managing Director) Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises, is India's leading provider of Telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Tele-Ventures have been structured into two main strategic business groups - the Mobility Leaders business group and the infotel Leaders business group. The Mobility business group provides GSM mobile services cross India in twenty-three telecom circles, while the Infotel business group provides broadband & telephone services, long distance services and enterprise services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Established in 1976, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector with many firsts and innovations to its credit. It has many joint ventures with world leaders like Singtel (Singapore Telecom); Warburg Pincus, USA; Telia, Sweden; Asian infrastructure find, Mauritius; International Finance Corporation, USA and New York Life International, USA. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance.

ABOUT AIRTEL:
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Cellular Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with an all India footprint covering all 23 telecom circles of the country. It has over 11 million satisfied customers.

The First and Only Telecom Operator to have an all India Presence:
Bharti created history by becoming first and only telecom operator to have an all India mobile footprint across 23 circles. Airtel today connects India from the Indus to the Indian Ocean and from Sabarmati to the Brahmaputra on a network of more than 10,000 base stations with cumulative investments of more than Rs. 16,000 crores. Airtel today provides seamless roaming spanning 228 networks in 128 countries and more than 3000 towns across all the 23 telecom circles in India. The company today has an aggregate of 12.70 million customers as of end of May 05, consisting of approximately 11.8 million mobile customers

Airtel the fastest growing mobile service provider in the Maharashtra & Goa circle:

Airtel Maharashtra & Goa achieved a significant landmark of achieving the highest share of net subscriber additions with 23.8% (Source COAI & AUSPI), in the wireless markets in the FY 0405. More subscribers chose Airtel as compared to any other cellular service in the year FY04-05.

VISION:
Seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our user: our customer. ultimate

MISSION:
To meet global standards for telecom services that delight customers through: Customer Service Focus Empowered Employees Innovative Services Cost Efficiency

OBJECTIVES:
To be the LEADER in Customer service by 2006. To be the LEADER in Telecom revenue by 2010. To be amongst the top 10 brands in India by 2008. To be among the top ten best employers by 2006. To continue to be amongst the top ten companies in Market capitalization.

BRAND:
Airtel & Visual Identity:

For a brand to be successful, it must build enduring relationships with its different audiences. Integral to this relationship is the visual image of the brand the consumer carries in his/her mind. The Airtel brand image is created through the consistent application of a carefully developed visual identity, which helps Airtel distinguish itself in a cluttered market. Airtel's visual identity helps create instant brand recall and strengthens the relationships that its audiences have with it.

The Airtel visual identity has different elements that work together to create a strong and consistent identity for the brand. The most important of these are:

The Airtel Logo:

The Airtel logo is a strong, contemporary and confident symbol for a brand that is always ahead of the rest. It is a specially drawn word mark.

The Airtel Image style

It incorporates two solid, red rectangular forms whose counter form creates an open doorway.

The Airtel Typographical style

The title case lettering with its capital 'A' was deliberately chosen to reinforce the brand's leadership position. The red dot on the letterform 'I' cues Airtel's focus on innovation.. The words 'Express Yourself' are very much part of the brand identity.

The Airtel Colour Palette

The lettering is grey so that the pure black of Airtel is visually unharmed.

STRENGTHS OF THE AIRTEL: 1 in every 5 customer in the country is an Airtel customer:

As on March 31st, 2005, Bharti had more than 1.1 crores customers comprising of more than 1 crore Mobile and 8.6 lakh Broadband and Telephone customers, a boost in the total customer base of 66% as compare to one year ago.

Setting Benchmarks for the World:

Bharti has a robust Mobile infrastructure created in partnership with world leaders like Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens and IBM and includes more than 50 switches (Mobile Switch Units) and over 10,000 base stations.

Airtel Getting Deeper and Wider:

Currently Airtel offers unmatched Superior and Congestion free network in 30 Districts covering 230 Towns supported by a robust network of 750 Mobile base stations in Maharashtra and Goa Circle. Moreover it offers quality coverage in over 1200 kms of National and State Highways in the Circle.

SERVICES Airtel Prepaid

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti Enterprises, India's leading integrated telecom service provider. Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of life. With a host of great features, also simple to use, Airtel Prepaid makes everything that you dreamt and believed, possible.

Aisi azadi aur kahaan?

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti Enterprises, India's leading integrated telecom service provider.

Advantages that you enjoy with Airtel Pre-Paid...

Total Cost Control:

Enjoy the liberty of total cost control with your Airtel Pre-paid! Re-charge as much as you feel the need to! Now that's what we call complete freedom!

No Rentals:
Buy an Airtel prepaid card without having to pay any rentals!

No deposits:
Your Airtel prepaid card comes without you having to pay heafty deposits!

STD/ISD facility till the last rupee:

Now experience complete freedom like never before with Airtel! Airtels STD/ISD facility allows you to make long distance calls in India and Overseas from your cellular phone!

Instant Balance Inquiry:

Check your talk-time instantly by calling Airtels toll-free number!

60-second pulse:
Airtel provides you with a 60-second pulse rate! Freedom for you to experience like never before!

Instant Recharge:
Avail of instant recharge on your Airtel prepaid card with just a few simple steps!

24-hour recharge facility:

With Airtels round-the-clock recharge facility, recharge you Airtel prepaid card anytime, anywhere!

Caller Line Identification:

Call Line Identification gives you the power to know the phone number of the calling party even before you answer the call, thus giving you the choice to either reject or take the call. It provides the added advantage of saving the incoming number directly in the Handset Phone Book. So that the next time you want to call the same person, you don't need to retype his number, simply use your phone book.

Call Divert, Call Hold and Call Wait:

Avail of special services likes call waiting, call hold and call divert all with your Airtel prepaid card!

Short Messaging Service (SMS):

With Airtels Short Messaging Service (SMS), send messages and jokes to your friends and colleagues, anytime anywhere!

SMS based Information Services:

With Airtel's SMS based information services; you can get upto-the-minute cricket scores, order flowers as well as send couriers or check your daily horoscope!

Voice Mail service:

Voice Mail lets you receive messages even when your handset is switched off or when you are outside the coverage area. You can listen to your messages whenever you feel like, from anywhere in the world. Voice Mail can store up to 15 messages of 1-minute duration.

POST PAID:
Experience complete freedom:
Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting, innovative yet simple new ways to communicate, just when you want to, not just through words but ideas, emotions and feelings. To give you the unlimited freedom to reach out to your special people in your special way. As an Airtel Post-paid customer you can enjoy the following facilities -

Easy Billing:
Now enjoy the luxury of viewing details of your last 3 billing cycles and the convenience of paying your Airtel bill online! Experience complete freedom with Airtel!

Call Divert, Call Hold and Call Wait:

Avail of special services like call waiting, call hold and call divert all with your Airtel postpaid connection!

Short Messaging Service (SMS):

With Airtel's Short Messaging Service (SMS), send unlimited messages and jokes to your friends and colleagues, anytime anywhere!

Caller Identification:
Call Identification gives you the power to know the phone number of the calling party even before you answer the call, thus giving you the choice to either reject or take the call. It provides the added advantage of saving the incoming number directly in the Handset Phone Book. So that the next time you want to call the same person, you don't need to retype his number, simply use your phone book. Voice Mail: Voice Mail lets you receive messages even when your handset is switched off or when you are outside the coverage area. You can listen to your messages whenever you feel like, from anywhere in the world. Voice Mail can store up to 15 messages, with each message of oneminute duration.

STD/ISD Facility:
Now experience complete freedom like never before with Airtel! STD/ISD facility allows you to make long distance calls in India and Overseas from your cellular phone!

Roaming (National and International):

Airtel's roaming service allows you to use your mobile phone to make or receive calls from almost anywhere in India and abroad! Enjoy roaming within the country as well as across international destinations!

Postpaid tariffs: Airtel 99 Plan:

ONE TIME CHARGES Activation Charges Membership Fee Security Deposit MONTHLY CHARGES Bill Plan Charge Monthly Rental CLIP NA Rs.99 (First bill would have an Advance Rental Charge of 1 month) Rs.50 per month To Airtel LOCAL RATES STD RATES 50-200 KM Rs.2.49/minute Rs.2.49/minute (to Mumbai) Mumbai) Rs.2.99/minute Rs.2.99/minute (to Rs.2.99/minute Rs.2.49/minute To GSM/WLL Rs.2.49/minute To Fixed Line Rs.2.49/minute Rs.500 NA Rs.500

200-500 KM

Rs.2.49/minute Rs.2.49/minute (to Rs.2.99/minute (to Mumbai) Mumbai)Rs.2.99/minute Rs.2.99/minute Rs.2.49/minute Rs.2.49/minute (to Rs.2.99/minute (to Mumbai) Mumbai)Rs.2.99/minute Rs.2.99/minute

500+ KM

ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & Rs.14.24/minute SAARC countries Gulf countries & Africa Remaining countries Rs.17.24/minute Rs.40/minute(Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island)

SMS Local National International VAS Rs.1/msg Rs.2/msg Rs.5/msg VAS SMS - Rs.3/message (inclusive Airtel Services) VAS 646, Voice Portal-Rs.6/min

Airtel One Plan:

MONTHLY CHARGES Monthly Rental CLIP Rs.150 (the first bill will carry an advance rental of Rs.149 for subsequent month) Rs.50 per month To Airtel LOCAL RATES STD RATES 50-200 KM (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to (Re.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to Rs.2.65 Rs.1 To GSM/WLL Rs.2 To Fixed Line Rs.2

200-500 KM

to Rs.2.65

500+ KM

to Rs.2.65

ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & Rs.14.24

SAARC countries Gulf countries & Africa Remaining countries Rs.17.24 Rs.40.00 (Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island)

SMS Local National International VAS Rs.1 Rs.2 Rs.5 VAS SMS - Rs.3/message (inclusive Airtel Services) VAS 646, Voice Portal-Rs.6/min

Express Yourself 299 Plan:

MONTHLY CHARGES Monthly Rental CLIP Rs.299/month (the first bill will carry an advance rental of Rs.299 for the subsequent month) Rs.50 per month To Airtel LOCAL RATES STD RATES 50-200 KM .50 paise to (Rs.1.69 Mumbai)& Rs.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 .50 paise to (Rs.1.69 Mumbai)& Rs.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 .50 paise to (Rs.1.69 Mumbai)& Rs.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to Rs.2.65 .50 paise To GSM/WLL Rs.1.69 To Fixed Line Rs.1.69

200-500 KM

to Rs.2.65

500+ KM

to Rs.2.65

ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & Rs.14.24 SAARC countries

Gulf countries & Africa Remaining countries SMS Local National International VAS

Rs.17.24 Rs.40

(Airtel to Airtel .50 paise) (Airtel to Other Rs.1) Rs.2 Rs.5 VAS SMS (incl Airtel Services) Rs. 3 / message VAS 646 Voice Portal Rs. 6 / minute

Express Yourself 599 plan:

ONE TIME CHARGES Activation Charges Membership Fee Security Deposit MONTHLY CHARGES Bill Plan Charge Monthly Rental CLIP NA Rs.599 (the first bill will carry an advance rental of 599/_ Rs.50 To Airtel LOCAL RATES STD RATES 50-200 KM (1.19 paise to (.50 paise Mumbai)& Rs.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 (1.19 paise to (.50 paise to Rs.2.65 Rs.1.19 To GSM/WLL .50 paise To Fixed Line Rs.1.19 Rs. 500 NA Rs.500

200-500 KM

to Rs.2.65

Mumbai)& Rs.2 500+ KM

Mumbai)& Rs.2.65 to Rs.2.65

(1.19 paise to (.50 paise Mumbai)& Rs.2 Mumbai)& Rs.2.65

ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & Rs.14.24 SAARC countries Gulf countries & Africa Remaining countries SMS Local National International VAS (Airtel to Airtel - .50 paise) (Airtel to others) Re.1 Rs.2 Rs.5 VAS SMS (incl Airtel Services) Rs. 3 / message VAS 646 Voice Portal Rs. 6 / minute Rs.17.24 Rs.40

Express Yourself 799 plan:

MONTHLY CHARGES Monthly Rental CLIP Rs.799 per month (the first bill will carry an advance rental of Rs. 699) Rs.50 per month To Airtel LOCAL RATES STD RATES 50-200 KM (.75 paise Mumbai) Rs.2.65 (.75 paise Mumbai) Rs.2.65 (.75 paise Mumbai) to (.75 paise & Mumbai) Rs.2.65 to (.75 paise & Mumbai) Rs.2.65 to (.75 paise & Mumbai) to Rs.2.65 & to Rs.2.65 & to Rs.2.65 & .50 paise To GSM/WLL .75 paise To Fixed Line .75 paise

200-500 KM

500+ KM

Rs.2.65 ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & Rs.14.24 SAARC countries Gulf countries & Africa Remaining countries SMS Local National International Rs.17.24 Rs.40

Rs.2.65

A2A @50p Other local SMS @ Re. 1 Rs.2 Rs.5

FUNCTIONS OF THE AIRTEL

Airtel is the total telecom provider" for India's large enterprises. They harness the power of alliances to combine with ownership of media and technologies to create business-enabling endto-end solutions. The Airtel work closely with their Enterprise customers to uniquely address all their strategic connectivity needs, by using a mix of applications & technologies. The entire organization is tailored to bring focus to our customers' needs through a unique multidimensional structure. They have a Regional organization to ensure customer proximity and also it has Vertical" organization - also available regionally - ensures depth of customer understanding and focus for extensive coverage. They have a Solutions group - to construct superior solutions. Their Projects team ensures top class execution of a solution, and provides high quality post-implementation support through their Customer Services team. Also end-toend solutions are supported by global quality standards shaped by Six Sigma methodologies and world-class customer care. The philosophy of Airtel is "value creation" for its customers. Therefore, they create solutions that are flexible, scalable and robust. They are technology

neutral and customer focused. The Company has a blue-chip client list. And the largest enterprises in India are our customers.

SEVERAL FIRST OF THE AIRTEL

Blackberry Launch: Airtel unveils another first in global business mobile communication with the launch of Blackberry - the most powerful instant e-mail mobile innovation:
The Blackberry Wireless Solution consists of an integrated hardware, software and service elements. It has thus been launched, based on extensive technical infrastructure set up by Airtel. It includes commissioning of dedicated international leased lines to service data traffic generated by Blackberry Handheld in India. At the customer end, Airtel will also install specially configured Blackberry Enterprise Servers. The entire state of the art service is backed by a seamless integration of a fully redundant network. To make the entire complex telecom architecture secure - leased line network security further backed by triple DES has also been provisioned, all based on world standard service level agreements (SLAs).

Airtel adds another first becomes the first private sector mobile service to launch operations in J&K:

Airtel, Indias leading mobile service today added another first to its list. The company today became the first private sector mobile service to launch its operations in J&K the state. To expand its mobile services in the state, Airtel has earmarked an investment of Rs. 125 crores during the current fiscal. The company is also responsible for generating direct employment for over 200 people and further provided indirect employment to another 1000. Airtel is the subcontinents best* and the largest GSM mobile service in the country, with close to 9 million customers. With the launch in the J&K circle, Airtels national footprint now extends to 19 telecom circles.

Airtel Becomes The First GSM Operator In The Country To Cross The 10 Million-Customer Milestones:
Airtel, Indias leading mobile service today created history by becoming the first GSM operator in India to cross the coveted 10 million-customer mark. To celebrate the milestone, Airtel announced the launch of its mobile services in Bihar. In-addition, company would also launch its services in Jharkhand within a small period. The launch in the twin states would mark the expansion of Airtel mobile services footprint in 21 out of the 23-telecom circles in the country. Taking the momentum forward, Airtel is also gearing up to launch its mobile services in Assam and North East by the end of this current fiscal. The company is thus all set to acquire an All India footprint.

Airtel Indias First Truly Integrated Telecom Services Brand:

In mid September 04, Bharti unveiled its unified brand strategy for all the telecom services, with Airtel as the flagship brand. The company now offers a suite of world-class telecom services & solutions ranging from wireless to fixed line, from data & broadband to long distance & enterprise services all under the Airtel brand. The unified brand has not only resulted in cost efficiencies, economies of scale and quality advantages for Bharti but has also made Airtel Indias first truly integrated telecom services brand.

CHAPTER IV Analysis of Content

Tele Marketing Customer Satisfaction & Complaint Handling Product Information / Promotion / Launching Market Survey

TELEMARKETING:
Telemarketing is a form of direct marketing where a salesperson uses the telephone to solicit prospective customers to sell products or services. The prospective customers are identified and qualified by various means, including past purchase histories, previous requests for information, credit limit, competition entry forms or application forms. Names may also be purchased from another company's customer database, or obtained from a telephone directory or some other public list or forum. The qualification process is intended to find those prospective customers most likely to purchase the product or service being sold or advertised. Charitable organizations, alumni associations and political parties often use telemarketing to solicit donations.

Market survey companies often use telemarketing techniques to survey prospective or past customers of a client business to assess market acceptance or satisfaction with a particular product, service, brand or company. Public opinion polls are conducted in a similar manner. Telemarketing techniques can also be applied to other forms of electronic marketing using email or fax messages. . Here the targets are the already existing customers. Aim here is to provide some value added services to the customers and build long-term relations rather than immediate sales. So the objective of telemarketing is to build long-term positive relation and increase customer loyalty. The emphasis was given on polite and friendly talk with the customers and to inform about the new schemes that were introduced by Airtel. We dealt with the promotion o0f three schemes offered by Airtel

 ADD-ON-CARD scheme for 30 paise intercalling. ADD-ON-CARD scheme for 50 paise intercalling. Enquiring about the reception of welcome call, postpaid bill and bill payments clearance. ADD-ON-CARD scheme: This was the scheme introduced by Airtel for its existing postpaid customers. Wherein an additional Postpaid card was offered and an inter calling facility was provided I.e. if the customer makes a call from his existing number to this new number then it would be charged only 30 Paise/50 Paise per minute as per the group selected by Airtel.

30 Paise intercalling:
Here Airtel selected few loyal customers to offer ADD-ON-CARD and these customers were informed through a letter about their selection for this offer. They were required to submit few documents such as photo and photo ID. Here around 1200 customers were contacted. The customer was asked to visit the showroom and if he is unable to visit then the Airtel executives were send to their place to collect the documents. Similarly for 50 Paise ADD-ON-CARD scheme here the customers those were selected were the customers who had taken the card recently and these customers were informed through telecalling. Here 2500 customers were contacted and informed. The progress of the calls made, till date has been summarized in the following table: S.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Period 6th June-10th June 13th June-17th June 20th June-24th June 27th June-1st July 4th July- 8th July 11th July-15th July 18th July- 22nd July Number of calls 268 272 265 264 271 338 345 Attended by customer 207 212 221 214 213 267 272 Switch off 38 31 28 23 27 29 35 Does not exist 23 29 16 27 31 42 38 51 58 62 56 54 63 71 Interested Not interested 156 154 159 158 159 204 201

25th July- 29th July TOTAL

367 2390

294 1900

36 247

37 243

77 492

217 1408

ADD-ON-CARD
Total number of calls

Number of calls Attended by customer Switch off Does not exist Interested Not interested

3000 2000 1000 0

2390 1900

1408

247 243 492 1 Call details

Welcome call enquiry:

Here the customers who were contacted were the new post paid customers who recently had joined the airtel family. We called them and asked about the reception of Welcome call. Welcome call is a call made by Airtel to welcome the new customer to Airtel family and explain them the Tariff plan that the customer has selected. Enquiry was also done regarding regular bill reception and bill clearance as well. Around 1000 customers were contacted. The customers who did not receive the welcome call or bill were separated out and inform to the concerned person at our office. They would further transfer this to the Corporate Airtel office.

Billing cycle:
This is the facility provided for Airtels post paid customers tp pay their bills. There are basically 4 billing cycles. Each cycle is further divided into 4 sections as bill date, due date, Barring date, and Suspension date.

Bill date:
This is the date before which the customer monthly bill is generated.

Due date:
This is the date before which the customer has to clear his bills, atleast 80% of it in order to continue getting the service.

Barring date:
This is the date on which if the customers bill payment amount has crossed the credit limit and if the customer is unable to pay 80% of the billing amount, his outgoing calls are barred.

Suspension date:
This is barring of all incoming and outgoing calls in case the customer does not pay his bill after the barring of his outgoing call. The following table explains, if the customer takes a post paid connection between 6th - 15th of any month then his bill generation date is on 27th of next month, the due date will be after a gap of 15 days i.e. 12th of next month, barring date will be after a gap of 8 days i.e. on 20th of the same month and Suspension will be after a gap of 6 days i.e. on 26th of the same month. similarly the same pattern is followed as shown below. Date of connection (Monthly) 6th 15th 16th 20th 21st 25th 26th 5th Bill date 27th 6th 21st 18th Due date 12th 21st 6th 3rd Barring date 20th 29th 14th 11th Suspension date 26th 5th 20th 17th s

welcome call/br/bc
800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 no yes number of customers

136

82

97 no yes

544

598

583

wc 136 544

br 82 598

bc 97 583

Interpretation:
Out of 1060 calls made 544 customers received the welcome call and 136 did not.598 customers received the bill and 82 did not.583 customers cleared the bill and 87 customers did not.

na os np nr so dne bpe

21 9 12 34 53 263 586

Interpretation:

Out of 1060 calls made, Bill plan was explained (BPE) to 586 customers,263 numbers did not exist(DNE), 53 were Switch off(SO), 34 were Not reachable(NR), 12 had Network problem(NP), 9 were Out of service(OS), 21 calls were Not answered(NA) CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & COMPLAINT HANDLING: Interacted with the customers at the companys Show room to give them better service. Also recorded the various complaints and try to solve their problems about the product. The following table shows the different types of complaints we had handled and also the respective solutions for them.

S.NO 1 2

Types complaints Phone bill

of Reasons not Courier problem a) AVCV negative. b) Complete not received

Solutions Can collect bill statement from Show room / Internet a) Reverification

received Registration failed

document b) Collection of documents c) Bill should be paid Replacement of SIM CARD Code number will be given from

3 4 5

SIM

c) Bill not paid CARD Misuse of Mobile Misuse of Mobile

blocked Enter PUK code Outgoing barred/Incoming barred

Show room i.e. from system Credit limit crossed/Bill Payment of minimum 80% of not paid total outstanding Bill.

MARKET SURVEY:
Conducted a survey on a sample selected from the entire population of corporate sector. Visited various corporate offices and filled up the Questionnaire. Also explained them about the new

schemes of Airtel. The main aim of survey was to promote the Airtels CUG (Close User Group) Plan. Also to find the Market share of Airtel in the corporate sector in Pune. In the duration of the 5 weeks, 100 corporate offices were visited and the data was collected.

Tata Indicom

Reliance

Corporate visited

BSNL

BPL

Idea

Satisfied

Coverage

Reliance

Billing

BSNL

Airtel

Perio

of

Tata Indicom

Number

Value added service

Fixed / LL

Mobile

Not satisfied

6th June10th June 13th June17th June 20th June24th June 27th June30th June 3rd July7th July 16th June24th June 60 71 23 33 30 45 62 59 26 46 89 8 12 11 20 15 4 6 4 9 13 13 4 7 17 1 2 2 20 17 5 6 7 8 11 11 5 8 19 2 3 4 20 18 4 8 8 9 12 14 6 9 18 1 2 2 20 15 4 6 5 9 14 10 7 12 18 2 2 1 20 16 6 7 6 10 12 11 4 10 17 2 3 2

FIXED/LANDLINE IN CORPORATES
80 70 Number of subscribers 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 Players 23 33 BSNL Reliance Tata Indicom 71

Mobile serv in Corporate(postpaid) ice

70
62

60 Number of subscribers 50 40 30 20 10 0 Airtel Idea Reliance Players

30 45

59

46

26

BSNL

BPL

Tata Indicom

Re asons for dissatisfa ction

Value added service

Problems

11

Coverage

12

Billing

6
Num r of cust e be om rs

10

12

PRODUCT LAUNCH:
Product Launch Definition
Once a product is developed, effectively product launch becomes the critical step to its success. The Product Launch Process must address all the steps necessary to start volume production, plan and execute marketing activities, develop needed documentation, train sales and support personnel (internal and external), fill channels, and prepare to install and support the product. Scenario A company has just developed a new, or improved product or service and needs to inform the press, their sales staff, their employees and their sales channel. Challenge The Company has a complex communication challenge in that each target audience requires the information be highlighted in a specialized manner. While the press will want to know what is new, the sales staff will need to know how the product is position and how to sell the product and the end user needs to know why he should purchase the product. To optimally serve all groups, the company needs to plan multiple communications.

Airtel Presents... HELLO TUNES

With Hello Tunes when you dial an Airtel Subscribers mobile, you will hear the song that e/she has selected for you!! PREPAID & POSTPAID Both Pre-paid & Post-paid subscribers can enjoy Hello Tunes FEATURES Song of the Day' at the top of the menu to make first time selection easy Various language options: Select from English to Kannada (over 5 different languages) Content represents all major languages Everyone-tune: one song for all callers Special tune: personalized song for specified caller

NOW AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL AIRTEL CIRCLES!!

Easy Charge: Recharge, as you like!

New Airtel Prepaid brings to the nation a never before 'Azadi'. Giving every Indian the right to be unconditionally, completely free! Free to never run out of words, explore every opportunity, reach out to anyone, anywhere and express themselves. Come discover the world of New Airtel Prepaid. Discover freedom like never before!

Product Details:
AZADI TO RECHARGE FOR ANY VALUE: Introducing Airtel Easy Charge - India's first flexi-value anytime, anywhere recharge. Now recharge only as much as you need. Starting only Rs.50.

AZADI TO RECHARGE ANYTIME: now recharge anytime. So no matter what time of day or night, no matter if the shops are closed, you never run out of talk time. AZADI TO RECHARGE FOR ANYWHERE: Now recharge while roaming anywhere across the country with India's only National Recharge Coupon. Available in different denominations. AZADI TO STAY MOBILE WITH Rs.50: Break free from the shackles of recharges coupons of higher denominations. Now for the first time, stay mobile for as low as Rs.50!

18 states, 800 million people. Only India's leading mobile service offers you the truly 'freedompacked' Prepaid!

Airtel live
The hip and happening sphere of the Internet is now on your cell phone with Airtel Live! Portal! It gives you the world as you zip by, breaks every boundary and makes virtually everything possible. Airtel Live! Portal offers you access to a range of personalized services like email, contacts, greetings, and games as well as access to a host of information services and lots more. In essence, Airtel Live! is the exciting new way to live, innovate and stay ahead. Making life just the way you want it to be.... "WITH IT". Mobile communications and the Internet are now very much a part of our lives and the WAP service is the first step towards the convergence of these two technologies. Airtel Live! Portal is not only about WAP; it is about the endless possibilities of wireless technology in the future. Airtel Live! Portal will make networking easier, enhance lifestyles and equip you to touch the good life of today and tomorrow!

What are the benefits of Airtel Live! Portal Services?

Airtel Live! Portal literally puts the Internet in your pocket- your Internet Mobile, thus the benefits are as wide as the Internet itself.

EASE OF USE: This service is menu driven; you are not required to remember special codes and numbers

CONVENIENT: You can query for information or perform a transaction practically anywhere and anytime. A WAP phone is all you need to search for the latest news and information from around the world, you'll be able to buy travel or movie tickets, rent a car, play games and check your bank account wherever you are. Airtel Live! Portal enables fast and easy delivery of information to users on the move so that you can always stay in touch and be informed.

INTERACTIVE: Airtel Live! Portal allows customers to access online information from the Internet at anytime of the day or night.

Say hello to the most action packed Prepaid in India.

The new Airtel Friendz Prepaid comes with loads of amazing features, opening up a whole new world of excitement & fun. It comes with the most powerful SIM card in the country - the 64K SIM, which lets you store all the phone numbers & SMSs you will ever need. With its Phone-2-Phone (P2P) feature you can transfer recharge to all your friends anytime, anywhere. You also get the advantage of wonderful features like Friendz Chat, Friendz Text, Hot Spots and much more...

It's the smart way to stay in touch with your friends!

64k SIM
With the Airtel Friendz Prepaid you get the most powerful SIM this country - the 64k SIM. It comes with an enhanced memory space to allow you to save all the information you could ever need. You can now store up to 250 phone numbers on this SIM.

Phone-to-Phone Recharge
Airtel presents Phone-to-Phone Recharge with the Airtel Friendz Prepaid. Now you can transfer recharge to all your Airtel friends anytime and from anywhere. You can transfer recharge for any value starting from Rs.60. And it's really very simple to do. All you need is to get a P2P account and you are ready to start transferring recharge. Friendz Chat Imagine being able to talk to your friends at rates that are way below what you normally pay! This pocket friendly service with the Airtel Friendz Prepaid allows you to form your own group and talk to each other at discounted rates. So the next time you want to have a long talk with your friends, get dialing without worrying about hefty phone bills. Just remember that a group can consist of minimum 3 and maximum of 5 persons only. Just dial *110# to create your group and start talking.

Visual Guides:
Creating your own group Joining a group Breaking away from a group Getting your group password Identifying your group members

Guide to Caller Groups:

You can belong to only one group at any point of time. The group members need to have local Airtel numbers to be able to form a group A group can be made with a minimum number of 3 members and a maximum of 5 members.

The group is created by the holder of the Friendz Prepaid connection & other members can have any other Airtel Prepaid connection

If the group size falls below the minimum number of members, the group will dissolve. Group members need to remain active at all times. This means that your account validity period should not have exceeded the permissible grace period.

A one-time group activation charge of Rs. 25* is deducted from the person who starts the group.

A monthly rental of Rs. 25 is charged from all the group members.

Friendz Text:
Get SMSing without paying a bomb! Your Airtel Friendz Prepaid gives you an amazing feature Group messaging. You can now create a private group for you and your friends. Then you can communicate with all your friends by sending a single message. Use it to make plans, share news, or just gossip. Reach up to fifteen contacts through just one message Enjoy huge savings on SMS bills Make as many groups as you want

Happy Hours Nights are the time to party, to catch up with friends and generally have a good time, away from the day's grind. At Airtel we understand your need to stay up late and gossip with your friends. And with the Airtel Friendz Prepaid you get the perfect opportunity to do just that! Now between 3 p.m. to 5p.m. and 10pm to 8am you can call any of your Airtel friends and talk with them at Discounted rates of 50 paise/min.

1. And Airtel Friendz you can recharge your P2P acc Airtel One One@1 Standard 2

Budget Pack ensure your friends are never left in the lurch. Just remember that

Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at our retail outlets including 24-hour outlets.

Airtel One@1

Price of Pack, Rs.99 Free Airtime on Pack, Nil Incoming Calls (Rs.), FREE , To Airtel, To GSM/WLL, To Fixed Line LOCAL RATES, Rs.1, Rs.1, Rs.1 STD RATES 50 - 200 KM, Rs.1 (Mumbai) - Rs.2 (Any other location), Rs.1, Rs.2.65 200 - 500 KM, Rs.1 (Mumbai) - Rs.2 (Any other location), Rs.1, Rs.2.65 500+ KM, Rs.1 (Mumbai) - Rs.2 (Any other location), Rs.1, Rs.2.65 ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & SAARC countries (Rs.), Rs.15.24 Gulf countries & Africa (Rs.), Rs.18.24 Other countries (Rs.), Rs.40 (Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island) SMS Local, Rs.1 National, Rs.2 International, Rs.5 Value Added Services (Rs.), Rs.3 & Rs.6 depending on the service availed. Please Note: The above plan is a promotional offer available till 15th June,05. The subsidized rate of Re 1 for all A2M calls (local+STD) is only on offer upto 15th June 2005. These subsidized rates are valid till The card should be 31-Aug-05. recharged once it is purchased.

Airtel Maharashtra & Goa customers can now avail local dialling facility for calls made to mobile phones of Mumbai. However any calls made to MTNL and all fixed lines will be treated as STD calls. For eg: An Airtel Maharashtra & Goa mobile subscriber making a call to Airtel Mumbai or other GSM/CDMA players (except MTNL and any other fixed line) in Mumbai will be treated as a local call. Airtel One Standard

Pulse Rate, 60 sec Price of Pack, Rs.99 Free Airtime on Pack, Nil Incoming Calls (Rs.), Free , To Airtel, To GSM/WLL, To Fixed Line LOCAL RATES, Rs.1, Rs.2, Rs.2 STD RATES 50 - 200 KM, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15 , Rs.3.15 200 - 500 KM, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15, Rs.3.15 500+ KM, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15, (Rs 2 for Mumbai) & Rs.3.15, Rs.3.15 ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & SAARC countries (Rs.), Rs.15.24 Gulf countries & Africa (Rs.), Rs.18.24 Other countries (Rs.), Rs.40 (Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island) SMS Local, Rs.1 National, Rs.2 International, Rs.5 Value Added Services (Rs.), Rs.3 & Rs. 6 Depending on the services availed. Please The card should be Note: recharged once purchased.

Airtel Maharashtra & Goa customers can now avail local dialling facility for calls made to mobile phones of Mumbai. However any calls made to MTNL and all fixed lines will be treated as STD calls. For eg: An Airtel Maharashtra & Goa mobile subscriber making a call to Airtel Mumbai or other GSM/CDMA players (except MTNL and any other fixed line) in Mumbai will be treated as a local call. Friendz 2 Pulse Rate, 60 seconds Price of Pack, Rs.199 Free Airtime on Pack, Nil

Incoming Calls (Rs.), Free , To Airtel, To GSM/WLL, To Fixed Line LOCAL RATES, Re. 1 (8am to 3p.m & 5pm to 10pm) & happy hours.10 paise (3pm-5pm, 10pm-8am), Re.1, Rs.2.49 STD RATES 50 - 200 KM, Re.1 (8am to 3p.m & 5pm to 10pm) & .10 paise (3pm to 5pm & 10pm to 8am) , Re. 1 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others, Rs.2.65 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others 200 - 500 KM, Re.1 (8am to 3p.m & 5pm to 10pm) & .10 paise (3pm to 5pm & 10pm to 8am) , Re. 1 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others , Rs.2.65 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others 500+ KM, Re.1 (8am to 3p.m & 5pm to 10pm) & .10 paise (3pm to 5pm & 10pm to 8am) , Re. 1 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others , Rs.2.65 to Mumbai & Rs.3.65 to others ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & SAARC countries (Rs.), Rs.15.24 Gulf countries & Africa (Rs.), Rs.18.24 Other countries (Rs.), Rs.40 (Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island) SMS Local, Airtel to Airtel local .10 paise and to others .25 paise National, .25paise International, Rs. 5 per message Value Added Services (Rs.), Rs. 3 per message & Rs.6 based on the service availed 1 STD Time F&F number of at Rs1.50 call anywhere, for making at any phone in India group rental -Daily decrement of .50 paise which will be automatically deducted from the balance -One Charge (3-5 Rs.3per persons) member option friends a text zero -Friends chat available

-Avail of full talk time for the next 3 years on recharges of Rs.400 and above. To avail of the full talk time offer the recharges of Rs.400 and above should be done by 31st July, 05. Pls note: The Friends - 2 is a promotional offer valid till 30th September, 05, post which the subscribers of this plan will be migrated back to Friends 199 plan.

Pls note: Airtel Maharashtra & Goa customers can now avail local dialing facility for calls made

to mobile phones of Mumbai. However any calls made to MTNL and all fixed lines will be treated as STD calls. For eg: An Airtel Maharashtra & Goa mobile subscriber making a call to Airtel Mumbai or other GSM/CDMA players (except MTNL and any other fixed line) in Mumbai will be treated as a local call. Budget Pack Pulse Rate, 60 sec Price of Pack, Rs.99 Free Airtime on Pack, Nil Incoming Calls (Rs.), Free , To Airtel, To GSM/WLL, To Fixed Line LOCAL RATES, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99 STD RATES 50 - 200 KM, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99 200 - 500 KM, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99 500+ KM, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99, Rs.3.99 ISD America, Europe, Asia, Oceania & SAARC countries (Rs.), Rs.15.24 Gulf countries & Africa (Rs.), Rs.18.24 Other countries (Rs.), Rs.40 SMS Local, Rs.2 National, Rs.2 International, Rs.5 Value Added Services (Rs.), Rs.3 & Rs.6 depending on the service availed Pls note: The card should be recharged once purchased. Airtel Maharashtra & Goa customers can now avail local dialing facility for calls made to mobile phones of Mumbai. However any calls made to MTNL and all fixed lines will be treated as STD calls. For eg: An Airtel Maharashtra & Goa mobile subscriber making a call to Airtel Mumbai or other GSM/CDMA players (except MTNL and any other fixed line) in Mumbai will be treated as a local call. ly the Airtel outlet from where you bought

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

Comparative analysis:
Players Airtel Activation 500 Security deposit 500 BSNL 200 1000 Idea 599 500 Tata Indicom 99 0 BPL 100 500

Comparison of activation & security deposit

1200 Amount in rupees 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Airtel BSNL Idea Players 500500 200 1000

599 500

500

Activation Security deposit

99

100 BPL

Tata Indicom

Interpretation: The graph above shows Airtel charges an Average Activation and Security Deposit comparing to the other players in the Market.

Analysis of presence of different players in different budget range.

<100 Yes <=150 Yes <200 Yes >200<300 >300<500 >500<700 >700 Yes No Yes Yes

Airtel

BSNL No Idea Yes Reliance Yes BPL No Tata IndicomNo

No Yes Yes No Yes

No No No Yes No

Yes Yes Yes No Yes

Yes Yes Yes No No

Yes No Yes Yes No

No No No No No

<100 TARIFF PALNS Tata Reliance indicom 124 99+25 25 25

Rental Clip

Airtel 99 50

IDEA 99 50

LOCAL M2M 2.49 M 2 other 2.49 M 2 Landline2.49 SMS 1 STD M2M 2.99 M 2 other 2.99 M 2 Landline2.99 SMS 2

1.49 1.49 2.49 1 2.99 2.99 2.99 2

1.5 2.2 2.2 1 1.5 2.2 3.49 1

1.5 2 2.4 1 2.2 3 3.49 2

3.49

3.49

4
2.99 2.99 2.99 2.99 2.99 2.99

3.5
2.49 2.49 2.49

Local M2M M 2 other Mob M 2 LL

2.49

3 2.5 2 1.5

2.2 2.2

2.2

2.4

2.2

SMS STD M2M M 2 other Mob M 2 LL SMS

1.49 1.49

1.5

1.5

1.5

1 0.5 0

Airtel

Idea

Reliance

Tata indicom

<=150 plan
Tata indicom 174 25

Rental Clip

Airtel 150 150

IDEA 150 50

Reliance BPL 174 114 25 49

LOCAL M2M 1 M 2 other 2 M 2 Landline2 SMS 1 STD M2M 2 M 2 other 2.65 M 2 Landline2.65 SMS 2

1.75 1.75 1.75 1

0.99 2.2 2.2 1

2.6 2.6 2.6 0.3

0.99 2 2.4 1

2.65 2.65 2.65 2

2.2 3 3.49 1

2.75 2.75 2.75 0.3

2.2 3 3.49 1

4 3.49 3.49 2.75 2.75 2.75 3 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.2 2 0.99 1 0.3 BPL 0.3 Tata indicom 1 3.5 3 Amount in rupees 2.5 2 2 2 2 1.75 1.75 1.75 2 1.5 0.99 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 0 Airtel IDEA Reliance 1 2

LOCAL M2 M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS STD M2 M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS

2.65 2.65

2.65 2.65 2.65

2.2 2.2

<=200 plan
Airtel 175 50 BPL 200 35 Tata indicom 199+25 25

Rental Clip

LOCAL M2M 1 M 2 other 1 M 2 Landline1.2 SMS 1 STD M2M 2 M 2 other 2 M 2 Landline2.4 SMS 2

1 1 2 0.3

0.5 1 1 0.5

3 3 3 0.3

1.69 2.65 2.65 2

2.2

LOCAL
4 3.49 3.49 3.5 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 3 Amount in rupees 2.5 2 2 2 2 2 2 1.5 0.99 0.99 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 0 Airtel IDEA Reliance BPL Tata indicom 1 1.75 1.75 1.75

M2M M 2 other M2 Landline SMS

2.6 2.6 2.6

2.75 2.75 2.75

2.2 2.2

2.2

2.4 2

2.2

STD M2M M 2 other

0.3 0.3

M2 Landline SMS

>200 to <300
Airtel Rental Clip 299 50 BSNL 225 0 IDEA 250 50 Tata Reliance indicom 299+25 240 25 50

LOCAL M2M 0.5 M 2 other 1.69 M 2 Landline1.69 SMS 1 s STD M2M 2 M 2 other 2.65 M 2 Landline2.65 SMS 2

0.9 1.2 1.2 0.5

1.2 1.2 1.2 0.5

0.5 1.5 1.5 0.5

1.2 1.2 1.2 0.5

2 2.4 2.4 1

2.4 2.4 2.4 2

2 2.5 2.5 0.5

0.8 1.2 1.2 0.5

3 2.65 2.65 2.5 2.5

2.4 2.4

2.5

2.4 2.4 2.4

LOCAL M2 M 2

1.69 1.69

M 2 other 1.5 1.5 M 2 Landline SMS 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.8 STD M2 M 0.5 M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS

1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1 0.5 0.5

1 0.5

0.9

0.5

0.5

0.5

0 Airtel BSNL IDEA Reliance Tata indicom

>300<500
BSNL IDEA 225+100 400 0 50 Tata Reliance indicom 399 399+25 25 25

Rental Clip

LOCAL M2M 1.5 M 2 other 1.5 M 2 Landline2.1 SMS 0.5 STD M2M 1.8 M 2 other 2.4 M 2 Landline2.4 SMS 1

0.5 0.75 1 0.5

0.4 1 1 0.5

0.4 1 1 0.5

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 0.5

1 1 2.65 1

0.5

0.5

2.65

3 2.5
2.1 2.4 2.4

LOCAL M2M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS STD

Amount in rupees

1.5 1

1.5 1.5

1.8

2 2 2 2

0.75 1

M2M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS

1 1

1 1 1

1 1

1 1

0.4

0.5 0

BSNL

IDEA

Reliance

>500<700 Tata Reliance indicom BPL 674 599 599 25 25 35

Rental Clip

Airtel 599 50

BSNL 525 0

LOCAL M2M 0.5 M 2 other 1.19 M 2 Landline 1.19 SMS 1 STD M2M 2 M 2 other 2.65 M 2 Landline 2.65 SMS 2

1.5 1.5 1.5 0.5

0.5 1 1 0.5

0.5 1.19 1.19 0.5

1 2 2 0.3

1.8 1.8 1.8 1

2 2 2 0.5

2 2.65 2.65 1

3 3 3 0.5

0.4

Tata indicom

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

3.5 3 2.5 Amount in rupees 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Airtel BSNL Reliance Tata indicom BPL

LOCAL M2 M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS STD M2 M M 2 other M 2 Landline SMS

Interpretation:
The graphs show that Airtel has post paid tariff plans in all the budget ranges unlike others in order to cater to the needs of different market segments right from Rs99 to Rs799.The charges for Local and STD are affordable and compatible with the large population of the Indian middle class families, comparing with the other market players. The focus of Airtel is always customer oriented to provide the best service and allowing the customers to pay less and get more. Thats why Airtel has become the Market Leader.

Analysing the number of customers under each plan.

PLANS 150 nokia 150 Sony 175 plan 299 plan 599 plan

Jan 140 0 0 0 0

Feb 172 0 0 0 4

Mar 127 0 0 0 3

Apr 108 0 132 0 1

May 65 15 102 0 0

June 24 59 60 13 2

Number customers 636 74 294 13 10

of

799 plan 0 99 plan 387 149 plan 0 150 plan 51 99 motorola47 150 Nokia 25

0 403 0 52 0 0

0 208 0 152 0 0

0 68 0 117 0 0

0 75 0 57 0 0

6 62 198 67 0 0

6 1203 198 496 47 25

Number of customers
Number of customers
1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 150 Sony 175 plan 599 plan 99 plan 150 plan 299 plan 799 plan 149 plan 150 nokia 99 motorola 150 bundle 74 294 13 10 6 198 47 25 636 496 1203

Name of the plan

Interpretation:
The graph above is the graphical representation of number of customers opting different plans, from a sample size of 7 months, from Jan to June. It clearly shows, 99 plan is the most proffered one, total of 1203 customers opting it, next is the 150 Nokia plan with 636 customers opting it, this is similar to 150 plan, but if the customer owns a Nokia handsets then, a talk time of Rs 50 & 100 SMS free every month for a period of 18 months is given. Followed by 150 plan & 496 customers going for it, 294 for 175 plan, 198 for149 plan, 74 for 150 Sony, 47 for 99 Motorola plan, 25 for 150 bundle Nokia offer, 13 for 299 plan, 10 for 599 plan & 6 customers going for 799 plan. PLANS 150 nokia 150 Sony 175 plan 299 plan 599 plan 799 plan 99 plan July 24 59 60 13 2 6 62

149 plan 198 150 plan 67 99 Motorola 0 150 bundle Nokia offer0

250

Number of customers

198
200

150

100

59
50

60

62

67

24

13

150 Sony

175 plan

299 plan

599 plan

799 plan

99 plan

149 plan

150 nokia

150 plan

99 motorola

The graph shows the number of customers opting different plans in the month of July, when recently the 149 plan was introduced, with tariff of local & STD, mobile to mobile, Mobile to other mobile at only rupee 1 & to landline local & STD at rupees 1.99. Only.

Telecom statistics:
April-05 May-05 Total subscribers 100.15mn 102.5mn Tele-density 9.26 9.46 Fixed line 46.50mn 47.11mn Additions during the month 0.59mn .61mn Mobile 53.65mn 53.38mn Total additions during the month 1.44mn 1.7mn GSM additions 1.09mn 1.225mn June-05 105.08mn 9.7 47.7mn .59mn 57.38mn 1.98mn 1.57mn

150 bundle Nokia offer

Strong Growth Continues

Growth in telephony continued in June as the subscriber base reached the 105.08mn mark. Teledensity in June 2005 improved to 9.7% from 9.46% in May 2005. During June 2005, 2.57mn Subscribers were added as against 2.31mn subscribers in May 2005. In the fixed segment, a total of 0.59mn subscribers were added during June 2005, taking the subscriber base of fixed line Services to 47.7mn. In the mobile segment, total additions during the month summed up to 1.98mn out of which 1.57mn subscribers were added in the GSM segment and the remaining 0.41mn were added in the CDMA segment. During the first quarter of the financial year, 5.16mn mobile subscribers and 1.79mn fixed line subscribers were added.

Mobile telephony update

Mobile telephone subscriber base witnessed a healthy growth of 1.98mn in June 2005, a strong result in a slack season. The segment subscriber base grew 3.61% mom to 57.38mn. Bharti remained the overall market leader in both the CDMA and the GSM segments.

M arket share of M obile subscribers

Spice Aircel BPL 3% 5% 3%
Tata 3% Bharti 22%

Idea 10%

Reliance 21%

BSNL 18% Hutch 15%

GSM mobile segment

GSM subscriber base grew 3.63% mom to 44.92mn in June 2005. Reliance witnessed a growth of 11% mom taking its subscriber base to 1.36mn. MTNL added 74,938 subscribers in June

growing by 7.22% in June. Bharti, BSNL, Aircel and IDEA also recorded a mom growth of over 3.5%. Bharti maintained its leadership position with 27.3% of the market share, and contributed 28% to the total GSM additions for the month. Bharti witnessed the highest subscriber base addition ever of 4,51,374 in the month of June.

GSM subscribers
Group Company Subscribers as of May'05 Additions In June Subscribers as of June'05 (%)Growth

Bharti 11,804,910 BSNL 9,877,989 Hutch 8,188,073 IDEA 5,363,988 BPL 2,594,374 Spice 1,465,340 Aircel 1,786,091 Reliance 1,227,899 MTNL 1,038,042 Total 43,346,706

12,256,284 10,230,029 8,440,787 5,552,347 2,629,251 1,473,350 1,862,044 135,033 1,362,932 11.00 74,938 1,112,980 1,573,298 44,920,004

451,374 352,040 252,714 188,359 34,877 8,010 75,953

3.82 3.56 3.09 3.51 1.34 0.55 4.25 7.22 3.63

GSM Market share

MTNL Aircel Spice BPL 4% 2% 6% 3% Idea 12% Reliance 3%

Bharti 28%

Hutch 19%

BSNL 23%

Conclusion: explain graphs first.

Tomorrow's Telecommunications Marketplace: Are you positioned for growth?

The market has changed dramatically over the last few years and continues to do so. Understanding the transition is essential for the continued success of companies. Those that do

not adjust their business model will miss tremendous opportunities, or even worse, lose their position in the market. Telecommunications firms face a host of challenges, from changing regulations, to financial pressures, to changing customer needs, to industry restructuring and consolidation -- and the list goes on. But these challenges also represent opportunities for those companies who realize that in order to grow, they must move beyond merely providing new products and services, and participate in redefining the market. A clear vision and the resolve and resources to execute strategies will distinguish industry leaders from industry laggards

SUMMARY
In the telecom market of the future, a key source of service provider competitive advantage will be business agility and flexibility through cost structure optimization. To achieve this, today's telecom executives are challenged not only to develop a more comprehensive and enterprise wide approach to business transformation, but also to finance a series of cost optimization initiatives that will achieve the overall transformation goals of the corporation. In support of these objectives, IBM has developed a comprehensive telecom industry offering that links these cost optimization initiatives to business processes and outcomes. By taking advantage of IBM's solution and approach, telecom executives can embark on a self-funding, technology-fueled cost transformation that has the potential to lead to quantifiable business benefits. Over the last decade, the telecommunications sector in India has undergone a fundamental transformation from being a state of monopoly to one of competition. Though the sector has witnessed tremendous growth in terms of overall subscriber base, the urbanrural disparity in teledensity has been widening at an increased rate in the liberalized era. While it is perceived that there is sufficient competition in urban areas, telecommunication networks are not being expanded into the rural areas, where thousands of villages are yet to be connected with basic Telephony. Airtel with its strong Brand image has identified this untapped Market potential bit earlier then any other s in Telecom sector. It has spread its wings into rural parts of India with its

Network towers in many remote places in India and providing its services to its customers and has become the major player to connect the rural parts of India. Therefore Airtels innovative and cost effective technological solutions in providing basic and advanced services and communications has played an important role in making it the undisputed leader in Telecom industry from India.

Telecommunications
Following that solid record of success in financial services, the next Six Sigma revolution is likely to take place in the telecommunications industry. Both the telecommunications equipment and services sectors have been badly battered in recent years. Total spending on equipment fell by about 15 percent in 2001 and another 20 percent in 2002. Long-haul optical networks now operate at less than half their capacity. The mobile communications segment is also changing as exhaustively hyped mobile data services and third-generation wireless technology arrive. During the late 1990s, the telecommunications services sector held fast to the motto, Build it and they will come. After the Telecommunications Act of 1996 passed, the telecom sector rode the high-tech current of an economic expansion that, in retrospect, appears to have been built on blind faith. During the five years following the 1996 legislation, the telecom industry received $1.3 trillion from investors and has since lost more than $1 trillion in market value.

For telecommunications equipment and services, short- and long-term success depends on excelling in operational focus, financial discipline and opportunistic growth. Six Sigma can help with all three.

Succeeding with Six Sigma in services:

Successfully implementing Six Sigma in the service sector requires a relentless focus on customers, specifically, meeting their needs as efficiently as possible. This requires four critical steps: 1. Define whats critical to your customers and confirm that your core processes are aligned to those requirements. As the term services implies, you must understand your customers needs before you can serve them. Find out what those needs are through surveys, call

center data, focus groups, promotional campaigns--whatever means allow the voice of the customer to be heard clearly. At the same time, you must understand the key business issues for your company and align the voice of the customer with them. 2. Translate customer requirements into measurable characteristics of your processes. Once you understand customer requirements, you must fulfill them by measuring your processes effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness means addressing the problem of defects that your processes produce; efficiency means addressing the time and money that the processes consume in meeting customer needs. A high rate of defects, and time and money wasted in nonvalue-added activities, increases your cost-per-transaction. The formula for translating customer requirements into measurable characteristics is simple: as measured by. For example, if on-time delivery is important for your customer, the metric would typically be on-time delivery as measured by the time from the promised date to the date of actual fulfillment. 3. Quantify the effect of gaps in your processes in terms of the cost of poor quality. For example, a mortgage lender whose customers want fast action on their applications might find that the process includes a high number of abandoned calls by customers or long delays in producing quotes, causing a drop in prospects and numerous inaccurate credit reports. The Six Sigma methodology includes powerful tools for analyzing each of those gaps and quantifying the related cost of poor quality. 4. Prioritize improvement projects. Once you clearly understand what each process gap costs, you can prioritize improvement efforts according to whats most critical to your company (e.g., customer service, time, money, perceived value or other criteria). Because improvement in any organization proceeds project by project, you must ensure that youre investing your effort in the right projects in the right order. Above all, you must continue to look at your business through your customers eyes. Its possible--but pointless--to redesign your internal processes and never address your customers real needs. However, dont remake your processes with only the customer in mind. You must also address your stakeholders concerns and ensure that your customerpleasing processes also meet the critical needs of your business. Six Sigma provides a means for keeping those sometimes-competing voices in perfect harmony.