Airtel and idea

A
PROJECT REPORT
ON
“A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON COSTOMER SATISFECTION LEVEL OF
AIRTEL AND IDEA”
AT
BHARTI AIRTEL LTD.
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENT FOR THE
AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”
INVERTIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,
BAREILLY
(Affiliated to U. P TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW)
SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:
MS. NEHA JOSHI SATYARTHA SINGH PATEL
(Project Guide) ROLL NO.0701570093

PREFACE
The preparation of this report provides you great pleasure in releasing
our work and market experience in few pages which shows over all result and
experienced knowledge and the practical approach about the style of a
professional and think which we found various effecting to our marketing and
product image.
The research termed as “A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON COSTOMER
SATISFECTION LEVEL OF AIRTEL AND IDEA “ Has made an effort to find
out the issues concerning with the BSNL AND other telecommunication services.
2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am neither a research expert nor a trend spotter. I am a management student
with foundations of management principles and theories, who is curious about
various sectors and its latest happenings.
I am highly obliged to Miss Neha Joshi, Management Department for his
invaluable support; guidance and knowledge that he shared with me thereby
aiding me in making this project a successful research.
Definitely, I can’t ignore the technology, with Internet as the backbone and those
search engines which helped me in building up this research project.
Lastly, I would like to thank the ALMIGHTY and my parents for their moral and
financial support and my colleagues with whom I shared my day-to-day
experience and received lots off suggestions that improved my work quality.
Satyartha Singh Patel
3

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that I have completed my research project “ Comparative study
on customer satisfaction level of Airtel and Idea in Bareilly City. I here also
declare that all information in this report is not shared by other person.
Satyartha Singh Patel
M.B.A. 3rd Sem
Roll NO. 0701570093
4

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 TELECOM INDIA (7-9)
2. INTRODUCTION & SERVICES OF MOBILE OPERATOR (10-25)
2.1 AIRTEL (26-51)
2.2 IDEA (52-64)
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (65-83)
4. FINDINGS (84-94)
5 .ANALYSIS OF DATA (95)
6. SUGGESTION (96)
7. CONCLUSIONS (97)
8. LIMITATIONS (98)
9. BIBLIOGRAPHY (99)
10. ANNEXURE (100-102)
5

INTRODUCTION
India is the most competitive market in the world and boom in telecom has
Completely changed the Tele industry scene scenario in India. Both technologies
have been quite successful in increasing the mobile usage in the country and will
likely to continue so in the near future. The mobile industry of India believes the
market still offers lot of Opportunity for both GSM and CDMA techniques while
the service Providers have been launching various plans to customers. Cellular
operators are also providing many exciting features to Increase there customers
base like hello tunes, ring tones, mms, GPRS, call Forwarding, call waiting, voice
mail missed call in formations, call Conferencing contents free offers recharge
voucher discounts, life time Validity double voucher validity, favorite’s numbers,
right talk. It is still a big question as to which of to the technologies will lead
eventually.
6

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The study has been conducted to fulfill following
objectives:
• To determine the market share of various Mobile operators in Bareilly.
• To determine the services of Airtel and Idea
• To determine the comparison of customer services of Airtel and Idea.
• To know and compare consumer preference of various value added
Services produced by GSM and CDMA players in Bareilly.
7

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Telecom India
This was less than five years after the invention of the commissioning of a
50-line manual telephone exchange in 1882 in Kolkata. This was less than
five years after the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell.
India had approx. 82,000 telephone connections at the time of
independence (1947) and by 1984 the number of connections had slowly
risen to 3.05 million. India's telecom network was notoriously unreliable
and only available to a small section of households along with the
corporate sector. The telecom sector was a government monopoly until
1994 when liberalization gradually took place. Cellular service was
launched in November 1995 in Kolkata.
8

History of Cellular Telephony in India
1992 Telecommunication sector in India liberalized to
bridge the gap through government spending & to
provide additional resources for the nation’s telecom
target. Private sector allowed participating
1993 The telecom industry gets an annual foreign
investment Rs 20.6 million
1994 License for providing cellular mobile services granted
by the government of India for the Metropolitan cites
of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai. Cellular mobile
service to be duopoly (i.e. not more than two cellular
mobile operators could be licensed in each telecom
circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.
1995 19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses
1995(August) Kolkata became the first metro to have a cellular
network
1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is set up
1998 Annual foreign investment in telecom stands at Rs
17,756.4 million.
1999 FDI inflow into telecom sector falls by almost 90% to
9

Rs. 2126.7 million
1999 Tariff rebalancing exercise gets initiated
1999(March) National Telecom Policy is announced.
2000(June) FDI inflow drops further down to Rs 918 million
coming
2000
(January)
Amendment of TRAI Act.
2. GSM & CDMA compression
GSM and CDMA are two different modulation standards. GSM is used primerily
in Europe and CDMA in the US. GSM uses a system called TDMA to
10

differentiate between different mobile calls, TDMA means Time Division Multiple
Access. CDMA is a much more complex system which uses digital codes to
differentiate between the different mobile calls. CDMA stands for Code Divison
Multiple Access. Mobiles designed for CDMA and mobiles designed for GSM
look very similar, even the construction looks the same, infact most modern
mobiles can operate using either system so that they can be used around the
world.
The world of wireless communication has opened up new vistas of technology
and a number of dedicated attempts to enhance the existent systems. Each
system is unique in its approach and the competition simply lies in the
accessibility and facilities enabled. The sphere of mobile communication is
synonymous with the GSM and CDMA communication systems, worldwide. The
services are not contained or restricted and are accessible any where.
To understand the main difference between GSM and CDMA communication
systems, it is essential to understand that while the former is a universal concept,
the latter has emerged out of a proprietary effort. GSM or the Global System for
11

Mobile communication is an international organization established in 1987, to
develop and enhance wireless communication, worldwide. CDMA or Code
Division Multiple Access is relatively new in the industry and a design of
Qualcomm, a company based in the United States of America.
The CDMA or Code Division Multiple Access was initiated as an alternative to
GSM or the Global System for Mobile communication. The difference lies in the
speed made available for data transfer, which is traditionally considered faster
with CDMA. Nevertheless, just as diverse as the scope of wireless mobile
communication is, so is the scope for both these industry giants to outdo one
another in.the global market.
12

Mobile Network Statistics
India's Largest Cellular Operators as at Jan 31 2008
Operator
Subscriber Base
(millions)
Bharti Airtel 57.4
Reliance
Infocomm Ltd.
42.6
Vodafone Essar 41.1
Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd.
33.7
Tata Teleservices
Ltd.
22.5
Idea Cellular Ltd. 22.0
13

Introduction to the Indian Mobile services sector :
Indian Telecommunications Industry has entered the age of deregulated market
competition from one of regulated monopoly enjoyed by the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT). The attractiveness of the Indian market due to its low
tele-density, high latent demand and burgeoning middle class, brought in some
of the largest global telecom players, foreign institutional investors and major
Indian industrial houses to invest in telecom, especially in the Indian cellular
industry.
Growth of the Mobile Industry in India
telecom infrastructure facilities ridden with ineffective government regulations,
Until about a few years ago, India had one of the most backward and stagnant
inadequate financial resources and unaffordability for the common man. But this
sector has seen trailblazing growth from the year 2001. In fact, the increase in
wireless subscribers between 1998 and 2003 was approximately 100%. In the
beginning of 2005, there were 50.7 million mobile users in India - including both
GSM and CDMA users - and this number is expected to grow by 20 million in the
year 2005-06
14

Developments in Mobile Technology in India
At present there are two mobile technologies in use in India; Global System for
Mobile Communication (GSM) technology, a type of Time Division Multiple
Access (TDMA) cellular network, and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
2000 1X technology. However, GSM technology has limitations in offering a
range of broadband services, which CDMA 2000 1X technology that powers WLL
can provide. The head start, which cellular companies had got in wireless, got
dissipated once WLL limited mobility from the service providers like Reliance and
Tata Indicom became fully operational.
There has been an evolutionary change in mobile communication systems every decade. The
first-generation (1G) in the 1980s and second-generation (2G) cellular systems in the 1990s have
been used mainly for voice transmission and to support circuit-switched services. 1G systems
were based on analog technologies; however, 2G systems are digital systems such as the GSM,
CDMAOne and PDC. These systems operate nationwide or internationally, and are today’s
mainstream systems. Initiatives such as SMS, WAP, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, i-Mode, etc., based on 2G
have exploited the data capability of wireless networks to deliver value-added services to
customers. Now third generation (3G) systems have emerged on the scene and the central
theme of these technologies is the convergence of communication and computing. Other than
voice, 3G supports video telephony, video games, multimedia, net-browsing, network games,
email and downloading, all at a very high data-transfer rate. The migration from 3G to fourth
generation (4G) technology will be a revolution both from technological and user perspectives.
4G today is only an evolving concept and there is no real definition of what it will be. The
concept of convergence has already begun with 3G, and 4G will bring about convergence of
communication, computing, broadcasting etc., (Pallab Dutta, “Zen of Mobile Communication”,
Government Rules and Regulations
15

With the advent of GSM in the 90’s two mobile licenses were issued per circle.
The licenses were however dogged by ineffective government regulations,
resulting in high consumer pricing (RaboCom, 2004(1)). In 2001 the deregulation
of mobile, fixed-line and long distance sectors spurred growth and allowed many
new players to enter the market. The regulatory norms introduced by TRAI had a
significant impact on the prices of long distance call charges, reducing them by
as much as 80% in just one year. It reduced the disparity between tariffs of wire
line and wireless services from a factor of 15 to 3. However, the single most
important catalyst that transformed the Indian telecom industry was the WLL
controversy which began in November, 2000 when TRAI proposed that Basic
Service Operators (BSOs) should be allowed to use cellular technology. Mobile
calling on the WLL licenses was restricted to relevant short distance calling areas
(SDCAs). However, the BSOs exploited a loophole in the license and offered full
mobility services by using call forwarding and multiple number registrations. As a
result, the GSM based operators who had paid a significant license fee (2.5
billion dollars) contested this decision. This legal battle continued for 3 years and
was finally resolved when the government introduced Unified Licensing making
cellular services technology neutral and allowing WLL players to provide full
mobility after payment of an entry fee equal to what the GSM operators had paid
(RaboCom. 2004(2)). Unified Licensing reduced the regulatory uncertainty
prevailing in the Indian Telecom industry and provided a level playing field for all
the major mobile service providers
Emergence of Strategic Alliances
The telecom industry in India started out with many small and big players.
However, with falling tariffs and greater demands by consumers, it became
16

difficult for smaller players to survive. This led to a consolidation in the industry
and as of now, there are only a few major players left in the field. A series of
strategic alliances, both formal and informal, have already been entered into in
the Indian Telecom Sector by companies who are either constrained by a
shortage of resources, do not have an adequate presence in all geographical
markets or driven by such needs as acquiring know-how, minimizing risks,
gaining critical mass or having access to brand names. For example, Reliance
Infocomm has entered into a technology agreement with Samsung of South
Korea to manufacture CDMA handsets in-house. entered into an equity
arrangement and have further plans to join hands with Bharti. Under this
arrangement, the three-company combine will operate in contiguous and
complementary circles with full internal co-ordination, thus creating in the
process, a third front in wire line business, capable of taking on the incumbent
public sector BSNL and MTNL (the first front) and Reliance Infocomm (the
second front). In the cellular segment, a three-company alliance called "Idea
Cellular" has come up. It has a large footprint (especially in the South) and
consists of the cellular businesses of the Tatas, Birlas and AT&T
Key Players in the Indian Telecom Industry
17

Bharati Group
It is the largest integrated private sector telecommunications service provider in
India today and has a presence over the entire country. It was the first private
sector company to offer basic services, national and international long distance
telephony in India. It started offering its services in the mid 90’s.
Hutchison Group
It is India’s third largest GSM operator and is part of the $55 billion Hong Kong
based Hutchison Whampoa Group. It initially began operations in one circle,
Mumbai, and has gradually expanded across the country to cover telecom circles
throughout India.
Reliance Infocomm Ltd
It is promoted by Reliance Industries Limited and offers mobile telephony
services on the CDMA platform on a nation wide optical fibre cable network
capable of supporting broadband services. Its strategy has been to acquire a
large subscriber base on the back of low tariffs and then promote calls within its
network to enable yet lower tariffs for its subscribers.
Tata Teleservices Ltd.
Owned by the Tata Group, it provides basic and wireless services on the CDMA
platform. As compared to its peers, the company has not been aggressive in
expanding in the wireless space.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
BSNL is a public sector organisation, wholly owned by Department of
Telecommunication (DoT). It is India’s principal provider of local and domestic
long distance telephony. It offers basic services nation wide, except for Mumbai
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and Delhi, where MTNL is the state-run telephony service provider. On the back
of its established and well spread infrastructure of telephone exchanges, it has
been able to roll out its network at a rapid pace. factors were decided on the
basis of in-depth interviews. The constituent attributes of the three factors are as
follows:
Factor Attributes Comprising the Factor
Call Charges
SMS Rates
Talk Time
Economy
Roaming Charges
Network Coverage
Voice (Transmission) Clarity
Timely SMS Delivery
Performance
Customer Care
Free Number / SMS Offers
Ring-tones & Downloads
News / Sports Updates
Value Added Services
Horoscope and Other Services
As an outcome of this initial study, three main factors were obtained that are
used by students for forming an opinion about a mobile service provider.
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These are:
1._ Economy
2._ Performance
3._ Value Added Services
In all, a total of four focus group discussions, with six students each, and thirty in-
depth interviews were conducted in this phase. Subsequent to this phase, a
survey of students was carried out during the Conclusive Study Phase, wherein
the importance of the different parameters and their constituents was
ascertained.
Conclusive Study Phase
In this phase, a questionnaire was designed using the preliminary data collected
from the Exploratory Phase (APPENDIX A). The questionnaire was administered
to respondents, who were graduate and post-graduate students from different
Major Players
There are three types of players in telecom services:
• -State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)
• -Private Indian owned companies (Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices,)
• -Foreign invested companies (Hutchison-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures.
2.3 Value added services
Value-added services (VAS) are unlike core services. They have unique
characteristics and they relate to other services in a completely different way.
They also provide benefits that core services can not.
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Value-added Service Characteristics
All VAS share the same characteristics:
1. Not a form of basic service but rather adds value total service offering
2. Stands alone in terms of profitability and/or stimulates incremental
demand for core service(s)
3. Can sometimes stand alone operationally
4. Does not cannibalize basic service unless clearly favorable
5. Can be an add-on to basic service, and as such, may be sold at a
premium price
6. May provide operational and/or administrative synergy between or among
other services – not merely for diversification
Every VAS will demonstrate one or more of the above characteristics.
Furthermore, a value-added service will never stand in stark contrast to any of
the above characteristics.
VAS also have a certain time dimension associated with them. Subjectively
speaking, a value-added service today becomes a basic service when it
becomes sufficiently common place and widely deployed to no longer provide
substantive differentiation on a relative basis.
21

Relationship to other Services
There are two types of VAS. The first service type are those value-added
services that stand alone from an operational perspective. These types of
services need not be coupled with other services, but they can be. Many non-
voice services fall into this category. They are often provided as an optional
service along with voice services, but they could be offered and used by
themselves without the voice service. For example, SMS could be offered and
used as a service without voice calling.
The second, and arguably more numerous and important type of VAS, are those
services that do not stand-alone. Instead, this category adds value to existing
services. While it seems implicit in the definition of value-added, this is an
important principle that makes value-added services stand apart from other
services.
22

Value-added Services Examples
There are many services that could be considered "value-added". For discussion
purposes, we will a few of these services below.
Push-to-Talk
Push-to-Talk (PTT) is a VAS because it:
Drives additional revenue to the wireless carrier, but doe not cannibalize existing
revenues
Provides differentiated service offerings
May be packaged with various other VAS such as MIM to provide even greater
value
23

Call Management Services
This type of service can not stand alone as a service. Instead, it adds value to a
core service by allowing the subscriber to manage incoming and/or outgoing
calls. For example, value-added service interactions occur when the subscriber
receives a call. Many call management services allow the subscriber to establish
when, where, and under what circumstances they may be reached by calling
parties. This provides value to the core service - voice communications - by way
of increased control and flexibility.
Depending on the specific commercial situation, this value-added service could
be offered as either a premium service (at a premium price) or be bundled with
other the core service offering. The benefit of bundling would be to provide a
differentiated core service and/or to increase the use of the core service.
24

Location Sensitive Billing
This is another example of a service that can not stand-alone. Instead, location
sensitive billing (LSB) adds value to the core service by location enabling the
core service. Location sensitive billing can be used in conjunction with post-paid,
prepaid, and/or VPN based mobile communications services to establish zones
for which differentiated billing treatment may be applied. For example, a "home
zone", "work zone", and "premium price zone" could be established to allow an
operator to offer differentiated service to its customers.
This is viewed as a value-added service to both the customer and the mobile
operator. The customer benefits from LSB through his ability to use the mobile
phone at preferred rates based on location. The wireless carrier benefits from
incremental revenues derived from additional usage and from premium charge
zones where there is already high demand and perhaps overly taxed system
capacity. While the issue of potential cannibalization of existing service arises,
customer behavior and studies indicate a net benefit derived from overall
increased usage and revenues.
Taken together, call management services and LSB also depict characteristic
number six, operational synergy. Call management services add value in terms
of providing the user options depending on location. For example, the user may
want to receive certain calls at the home zone, but not at work, and perhaps
receive only urgent calls when traveling or on vacation. LSB provides the
additional synergistic benefit of location based billing when the user is in those
various locations.
25

Mobile Data Services
This is an example of a value-added service that does stand-alone. Mobile data
services are considered value-added because they depict many of the
characteristics discussed earlier.
• Does not cannibalize existing services
• Can be offered at a premium price
• Provides differentiation
• Can provide synergy with basic service
Largely due to the current state of mobile communications evolution, many non-
voice services can be considered to be value-added. However, the extent to
which additional value-added services can be layered on top of mobile data
services will determine the limit of their value. For example, many non-voice
services will have even greater value through personalization. Two of the most
significant ways to personalize wireless services are through location enabling
them and making them personal profile driven.
Mobile data services are utilized to obtain information, content, and to perform
transactions. All of these activities are more meaningful if they are tailored to the
individual. Location based services add value by way of putting the data into a
location context for the user. Personal profiles further enhance the value through
Personalization.
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2.1 Company profile
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED
Bharti Airtel Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises is India's leading provider of
telecommunications services. Bharti Telecom Limited is the promoter company
of Bharti Airtel Limited.
Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel
Limited (“Bharti”), India’s largest private integrated telecom player since October
2001. He is the board director since July 1995. Bharti Airtel Limited was
established on July, 07, 1995 as a Private Company Limited. Sunil Mittal was
one of the first entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major
growth area and launched services in the city of Delhi and the National Capital
Region in the year 1995. Some of the Feathers in the cap of Mr. Sunil Bharti
Mittal are
“Best Asian Telecom CEO”, Telecom Asia Awards 2005
“Best CEO, India”, Institutional Investor, 2005
“Business Leader Of The Year”, Economic Times, 2005
“Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004”, Ernst & Young He is also the
Board Member of the Global GSM Association. Sunil is an alumnus of Punjab
University and has completed the “Owner/President Management Program” from
Harvard Business School.
27

Awards and Recognitions
For the Year 2006 – 2007
Sunil Bharti Mittal is ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT
Awards 2006 & Bharti Airtel bags ‘Wireless Service Provider of the Year' and
'Competitive Service Provider of the Year'
Bharti Tele-Ventures is the “BEST INDIAN CARRIER” at Telecom Asia Awards
2006 Bharti Airtel Limited was the first private operator to have an all India
presence. It has 23,072,579 GSM mobile and 1,504,840 broadband & telephone
(fixed line) customers (as at month ended June 30, 2006).
The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual
strategic business units (SBU’s) - mobile services, broadband & telephone
services (B&T) & enterprise services. The mobile services group provides GSM
mobile services across India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business group
provides broadband & telephone services in 90 cities. The Enterprise services
group has two sub-units - carriers (long distance services) and services to
corporate. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
The mobile services are provided under Mobility leader’s business group. The
broadband & telephone services and enterprise services comes under the Infotel
leaders business group. Company shares are listed on The Stock Exchange,
Mumbai (BSE) and The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE).
28

Partners
The company has a strategic alliance with Singapore telecommunications
Limited, Singapore (SINGTEL), which owns it by 30.8%. Pastel Limited is the
investment company of SINGTEL. The company also has a strategic alliance
with Vodafone, UK; which Has 10% ownership in it. The company’s mobile
network equipment partners include Bird, Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia. In the
case of the broadband and telephone services and enterprise services (carriers),
equipment suppliers include Siemens, Nortel, Corning, among others. The
Company also has an information technology alliance with IBM for its group-wide
information technology requirements and with Nortel for call center technology
requirements. The call center operations for the mobile services have been
outsourced to IBM Daksh, Hinduja TMT, Teletech & Mphasis. Besides these
companies some other share holders of Bharti Airtel Limited are CITI GROUP
GLOBAL MARKETS MAURITIUS, MORGAN STANLEY & COMPANY
INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, LIC
29

Corporate Governance
Bharti Airtel Limited firmly believes in the principles of Corporate Governance
and is committed to conduct its business in a manner, which will ensure
sustainable, capital-efficient and long-term growth thereby maximising value for
its shareholders, customers, employees and society at large. Company’s policies
are in line with Corporate Governance guidelines prescribed under Listing
Agreement/s with Stock Exchanges and the Company ensures that various
disclosures requirements are complied in ‘letter and spirit’ for effective Corporate
Governance.
During the financial year 2003-04, your Company was assigned highest
Governance and Value Creation (GVC) rating viz. ‘Level 1’ rating by CRISIL,
which indicates that the company’s capability with respect to creating wealth for
all its stakeholders is the highest, while adopting sound Corporate Governance
practices.This rating was re-affirmed by CRISIL on April 20,2006.
30

Vision
By 2010 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India:
• Loved by more customers
• Targeted by top talent
• Benchmarked by more business
31

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
33

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 wordmark.
The Airtel Image style
34

It incorporates two solid, red rectangular forms whose counterform 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.
Airtel Outlets
35

Airtel Postpaid Connection
As it is clear with its name “Postpaid”, it allows user to pay charges after his
usage. Airtel Postpaid connection is a service recommended for regular users.
This connection allows the users to pay for their usage on monthly basis.
Documents Required for Airtel Connection.
36

According to a directive from Department of Telecom on the additional
documentation requirement for the customers of mobile services, the
following documents are mandatory and have to be collected from all
customers:
1. Photograph
2. Proof of Address- Arms license, Ration Card, Telephone / Electricity
Bill.
3. Proof of Identity – Any photo identity card, Income Tax PAN Card.
37

Airtel One 249 Plan
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges 150
Security Deposit 500
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED)
Bill Plan Charge 150
Monthly Rental 299 INCLUSIVE OF BILL PLAN CHARGE & CLIP
CLIP 50
Airtel Other GSM Landline/CDMA
LOCAL RATES 0.50 1.00
STD RATES
50-200 KM 2.00 2.00 2.00
200-500 KM 2.00 2.00 2.00
500+ KM 2.00 2.00 2.00
ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line),
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, New
14.24
38

Zealand.
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC
countries, Africa & Rest of the world
17.24
Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea
Bissau, Diego Garcia, Nauru, Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands,
Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk Island,
Sakhalin
40.00
SMS
Local 1.00
National 2.00
International 5.00
VAS 3.00
39

One World 699
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs. 250
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) 699
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 600
Monthly Rental Rs. 99
CLIP NA
Any Other Charges NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)
CLIP NA
LOCAL RATES Re. 1 per 2 min Re. 1 per min Re. 1 per min
STD RATES
50-200 KM Re. 1 per 2 min Re. 1 per min Re. 1 per min
200-500 KM Re. 1 per 2 min Re. 1 per min Re. 1 per min
500+ KM Re. 1 per 2 min Re. 1 per min Re. 1 per min
ISD
Rs.2.99 per min*
40

Zealand.
Rs.9.99 per min
Sakhalin
Rs. 40.00 per min
SMS
Local Re.1
Local CDMA Re.1
National Re.1
International Re.5
VAS Rs.3
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Group Save 249
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs. 250
Membership Fee Rs. 250
Security Deposit NA
CLIP NA
CLIP NA
LOCAL RATES Rs. 0.50/min Re. 1 Re.1
STD RATES
50-200 KM Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min
500+ KM Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min
ISD
Rs.7.20/min
42

Zealand.
Rs.9.99/min
Sakhalin
Rs.40.00/min
SMS
Local 50p
Local CDMA 50p
National Rs.2.00
International Rs.5.00
VAS Rs.3.00
Special CUG Offer:
 All local calls within the group - 30p/min.
 2.All STD calls within the group - 30p/min
 3.All roaming outgoing calls within the group - 30p/min
 Minimum member in a group required - 5
43

India Roam 399
Bill Plan Charge Rs.300
Monthly Rental Rs.99
CLIP NA
CLIP NA
LOCAL RATES Re.1 per 2 min Re.1 per min Re.1 per min
STD RATES
50-200 KM Re.1 per 2 min Re.1 per min Re.1 per min
200-500 KM Re.1 per 2 min Re.1 per min Re.1 per min
500+ KM Re.1 per 2 min Re.1 per min Re.1 per min
ISD
Zealand.
Rs.7.20 per min
Rs.9.99 per min
Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea Rs.40.00 per min
44

Sakhalin
SMS
Local Re.1
Local CDMA Re.1
National Re.1
International Re.1
VAS Re.3
 CLIP waived off in this plan
 National Roaming rent is waived.
 No additional Security Deposit required for National Roaming
45

India Home 299
CLIP NA
CLIP NA
LOCAL RATES Re.1 for 2 min Re.1/min Re.1/min
STD RATES
50-200 KM Re.1/min Re.1/min Re.1/min
200-500 KM Re.1/min Re.1/min Re.1/min
500+ KM Re.1/min Re.1/min Re.1/min
ISD
Zealand.
Rs. 7.20
Rs. 9.99
Sakhalin
Rs. 40.00
SMS
46

Local Re.1
Local CDMA Re.1
National Re.1
International Re.5
Roaming charges in Airtel network :-
 Incoming calls at Re.1/min
 Outgoing Local calls at Re.1/min
 Outgoing STD calls at Re.1/min
 Outgoing Local & National SMS at Re.1/msg
47

Advance Rental Plan 499
Bill Plan Charge Rs.499
CLIP Rs.50/-
LOCAL RATES Rs.1.75/min Rs.1.75/min Rs.1.75/min
STD RATES
ISD
Zealand.
Rs.7.20/min
Rs.9.99/min
Sakhalin
Rs.40/min
SMS
Local 30 paise
48

National Rs.2
International Rs.5
 Rental waived off for 12 months
 All customers activated in this plan will be migrated to Airtel One 249 Plan once
the advance rental tenure gets over.
 Local Toping 1 : Available at Rs.25
Calls: Airtel to Airtel Mobile @ Re.1/-
Calls: Airtel to any local Mobile or Landline @ Re.1/-
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 799
CLIP Rs. 50/-
STD RATES
49

ISD
Zealand.
Rs.7.20/min
Rs.9.99/min
Sakhalin
Rs.40/min
SMS
Local 30 paise
National Rs.2
International Rs.5
 Rental waived off for 12 months
 All customers activated in this plan will be migrated to Airtel One 249 Plan once
50

Top
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 999/-
CLIP 50
STD RATES
ISD
Zealand.
Rs.7.20/min
51

Rs.9.99/min
Sakhalin
Rs.40/min
SMS
Local 30 paise
National Rs.2
International Rs.5
Rental waived off for 12 months
All customers activated in this plan will be migrated to Airtel One 249 Plan once
Local Toping 1 : Available at Rs.25
Local Toping 2 : Available at Rs.50
52

2.2 COMPANY PROFILE
IDEA CELLULAR
IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007.
As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to
operate in all 22 Service Areas. Presently, operations exist in 11 Service Areas
covering Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh, UP-East,
Rajasthan and Kerala. With a customer base of over 26 million, IDEA Cellular's
footprint currently covers approximately 60% of India's telecom population.
Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states in
India. It initially started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tatas, Aditya Birla
Group and AT&T by merging "'Wings Cellular'" operating in Madhya 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
(excluding Mumbai), Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
53

Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and
Delhi (inclusive of NCR).
The company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company
has also been the first to offer flexible tarrif plans for prepaid customers. It also
offers GPRS services in urban areas.
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.
Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand
known for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch GPRS and EDGE in
the country. Idea has received international recognition for its path-breaking
innovations when it won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and
Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years
IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, a US$ 24 billion corporation with a
market cap of US$ 31.5 billion and in the league of Fortune 500. Anchored by an
extraordinary force of over 100,000 employees belonging to 25 different
nationalities, over 50% of its revenues flow from its overseas operations. 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.
The combined holding of the Aditya Birla Group companies in IDEA stands at
around per cent. 57 With ambitious future plans, the company is poised for rapid
growth across the whole country.The Indian telecommunications market for
54

mobile services is divided into 22 "Service Areas" classified into "Metropolitan",
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.The established service areas are Delhi, Andhra Pradesh,
Gujarat and 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. 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.
The New Service Areas are Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal
Pradesh.
Licenses for these New Service Areas were acquired through the acquisition of
Escotel (Escorts Telecommunications Limited).
Following significant investment in the roll-out of network in the New Service
Areas, amounting to approximately Rs. 4,678 million upto September 30, 2006, a
full commercial launch of mobile services was achieved in the New Service
Areas between September and November 2006 in a manner which also met the
network roll-out requirements of the licenses in 2007.One of India's leading GSM
mobile service operators, IDEA Cellular is headquartered in Mumbai and has
over 21 million subscribers. IDEA has licenses to operate in 13 circles comprising
55

states of Mumbai, Delhi, UP, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai), Goa, Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar and Kerala. IDEA's footprint covers approximately 70 per cent of the
national market for mobile telephony. Idea is targeting roll out in Mumbai and
Bihar circles shortly for which spectrum is already allotted. IDEA has also
received Letter of Intent for remaining 9 circles.IDEA offers GPRS on all its
operating networks for both postpaid and pre-paid services, and was the first
company to demonstrate and commercially launch the next generation EDGE
technology for its Delhi Circle. IDEA has also been a pioneer in technology usage
by employing satellite connectivity to reach inaccessible rural areas in Madhya
Pradesh.
56

A leader in value-added services, innovation is central to IDEA's VAS products.
IDEA was the first to offer 'Global SMS' in over 540 networks across all
technology platforms, and the first to offer a voice portal with 'SAY IDEA'. IDEA
has also recently launched services like ‘Press * to copy a Dialer tone’,
IDEA TV – first GSM Multi channel mobile television experience, IDEATIMES –
The first MMS magazine, Voice chat, Instant Messenger and more. IDEA has
also launched its PCO service to reach a customer base. IDEA’s tariff plans have
been customer friendly, catering to unique needs of different consumer
segments. 'WOMEN’S CARD' is meant to fulfill special needs of women on the
move, and ‘YOUTH CARD’ specifically caters to the emerging youth segment.
IDEA is also the only Indian GSM operator to win the GSM Association Award in
the Best Mobile Technology category for the 'Best Billing and Customer Care
Solution', both in 2006 and 2007.
Truly, an IDEA can change your life
57

Holding
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 license.
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 owned company.Currently, Birla
Group holds 98.3% of the total shares of the company.
Idea has successfully launched 5 more new circles (states) in India viz. Bihar,
Jharkhand,Orrisa,Mumbai and UP (East) to make itself a pan-India player.
Recently, Idea got licenses to operate in Mumbai & Bihar. They are awaiting the
spectrum from DoT
58

Subscriber Base
Idea's subscriber base as of December 2007 according to the Cellular Operators
Association of India is as follows
Maharashtra and Goa - 4,881,444
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - 3,226,230
Andhra Pradesh - 3,252,035
Kerala - 2,704,888
Gujarat - 2,623,072
Uttar Pradesh (West) - 2,568,279
Delhi - 1,897,693
Haryana - 980,760
Uttar Pradesh (East) - 967,862
Rajasthan - 824,805
Himachal Pradesh - 74,505
Totalling to 21,054,027 or 12.46%(Approx.) of the total 192,696,402[1]
mobile
connections in India
59

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman)
Smt. Rajashree Birla
Mr. M.R. Prasanna
Mr. Saurabh Misra
Mr. Sanjeev Aga (Managing Director)
Mr. Arun Thiagarajan
Ms. Tarjani Vakil
Mr. Mohan Gyani
Mr. Biswajit Anna Subramanian
Mr. Gian Prakash Gupta
60

Prepaid Recharge - UPW
MRP Service tax Processing
Fee
Talk Time Validity MOU Description
From To From To From To From To
100 108 11.00
11.8
8
10 79.00 86.12 0 56 62
109 109 11.99 97.01 0 0 30 0 0
Free 265 I2I
mins
110 117 12.10
12.8
7
10.00 87.90 94.13 0 63 67
118 118 12.98
12.9
8
105.02 0 0 0 0 0
All local calls
@ 50 paise
and all std
calls @ Re.1
119 149 13.09
16.3
9
10 95.91
122.6
1
0 69 88
150 198 16.5
21.7
8
128.64 4.86 47.58 30 3 34
199 199 21.89
21.8
9
156 21.11 21.11 60 15 15
200 200 22 22 0 178 178 0 127
12
7
201 209 22.11
22.9
9
128.64 50.25 57.37 30 36 41
211 250 23.21 27.5 128.6 59.19 93.9 30 42 67
251 296 27.61 32.5 120 103.3 143.4 30 74 10
61

6 9 4 2
297 297 32.67
32.6
7
254.33 10 10
Super
lifelong
7 7
298 298 32.78
32.7
8
120
145.2
2
145.2
2
30 104
10
4
299 299 32.89
32.8
9
116.11 150 150 15 107
10
7
300 300 33 33 0 267 267 0 191
19
1
301 302 33.11
33.2
2
110
157.8
9
158.7
8
30 113
11
3
303 303 33.33
33.3
3
156
113.6
7
113.6
7
60 81 81
304 344 33.44
37.8
4
110
160.5
6
196.1
6
30 115
14
0
345 345 37.95
37.9
5
257.04 50.01 50.01 180 36 36
451 494 49.61
54.3
4
110
291.3
9
329.6
6
30 208
23
5
495 495 54.45
54.4
5
430.55 10 10 Lifetime 7 7
496 600 54.56 66 110
331.4
4
424 30 237
30
3
601 665 66.11
73.1
5
117
417.8
9
474.8
5
45 298
33
9
666 666 73.26
73.2
6
243.37
349.3
7
349.3
7
90 250
25
0
62

667 750 73.37 82.5 117
476.6
3
550.5 45 340
39
3
996
100
0
109.5
6
110 150
736.4
4
740 90 526
52
9
Assumptions
Traffic rates and pattern
I2I 1 45%
I2M 1.5 40%
I2L 1.5 5%
STD 2.75 10%
Airtime rate per min 1.4
63

VALUE ADDED SERVICES OF IDEA
Just when you thought you had the cake, we made it possible for you to eat it
too.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.
64

The Research methodology for the present study is outlined
below:-
Developing a Research Design:
Problem Definition
Type of research adopted
Method used in the research
Sampling Design:
Type of approach followed
Sample size
Data Collection:
Basic method adopted
Questionnaire-Design & Construction
Analysis & Interpretation:
Developing a research design
67

Significance of Research
“All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence. For it
leads to inquiry leads to invention” is a famous Hudson Maxim in context of with
the significance of research can be understood. Increased amounts of research
make progress possible. Research includes scientific and inductive thinking and
prompted the development of logical habits of thinking and organization. The role
of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to business or
to the economy as a whole, ahs greatly. Increased in modern times. The
increasingly complex nature of business and government has focused attention
on the use of research and solving operational problems. Research, as and aid
to economic policy, has gained assed importance, both for government and
business. Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our
economic system. Research has its special significance in solving various
operational and planning problems of the business and industry. Research is
equally important for social scientists in studying social relationship and in
seeking answers to various social problems.
To philosophers and thinkers, research methodology, research may mean a
source of livelihood. To philosophers and thinkers, research may be development
of new ideas and insights. To literate men and women, research may mean the
development of new styles and creative work. To analysis and intellectuals,
search may mean the generalization of new theories.
68

“Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research
problem. It may be understood as a studying how research is dined
scientifically.”
In it way study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher
problem along with the logic behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to
know not only the research methods/techniques but also the methodology.
Researchers not only need to know and develop certain indices or tests, how to
calculate the mean, the median or the standard devotion or chi-square, how to
apply particular research techniques. The scope of research methodology is
wider than that of research methods but also consider the logic behind the
methods following order concerning various steps provides a useful procedural
guideline regarding the research process.
• Formulating the research problem.
• Extensive literature survey.
• Developing the hypothesis.
• Preparing the research design.
• Collecting the data.
• Execution of the project.
• Analysis of data.
69

Hypothesis Testing:
Generalization and Interpretation
Preparation of the report of presentation of the results, i.e. formal write-up of
conclusion reached.
Research methodology:
Research in common parlance refers to search for knowledge. One can also
define research as scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on
specific topics. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.
According to Clifford Woody, “Research comprises defining and refining a
problem. Formatting hypothesis or suggested solution: and at last carefully
testing the conclusion: to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.
70

Objectives of Research
The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the
application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the
truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each
research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives
as falling into a number of following broad grouping:
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into
(studies with this object in view are know as descriptive research studies).
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation
or a group (studies with this object in view are know as descriptive
research studies).
To determine, with which something occurs or with which it associated with
something else (studies with this object in view are know as diagnostic research
studies).
To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables (such studies are
know as hypothesis sting research studies).
71

Types of Research:
The basic types of research are as follows:
Descriptive v/s Analytical:
Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquires of different kinds.
The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs, as
it exists at present. In social science and business research we quite often use
the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research has no control over the
variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening.
Applied v/s Fundamental:
Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (or basic or
pure) research. Applied Research aims at finding solution for an immediate
problem facing a society or an industrial / business organization, whereas
fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalization and with the
formulation of a theory. “Gathering Knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic
research’.
72

Quantitative v/s Qualitative:
Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is
applicable to phenomenon that can be expressed in terms of quantity
phenomenon, i.e. phenomenon relating to or involving quality or kind. For
instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behavior
(i.e. why people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation
Research’, an important type of qualitative research. The type of research aims
at discovering the underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for
the purpose.
Conceptual v/s Empirical:
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea (s) or theory.
Philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing
ones generally use it. On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience
or observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is data
based research, coming up with conclusion, which is capable of being verified, by
observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of research.
73

Some other types of research:
All other types of research are variation is one or more of the above stated
approaches, based on either the purpose of research, or the time required to
accomplish research, or the environment in which research is done, or on the
basis of some other similar factor, from the point of view of item, we can think or
research either as one time research of longitudinal research. In the former case
the research is confined to single time-period, whereas in the latter is carried on
over several time-period. Research can be field-setting research of laboratory
research or simulation research, depending upon the environment in which is to
be carried out. Research can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostics
research. Such researchers follow case-study methods or in depth usually go
deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small
samples and very deep probing data gathering devices. The objectives of
exploratory or it may be formalized. The objectives of exploratory research is the
development of hypothesis rather than their testing; whereas formalized research
studies are those with substantial structure and with specific hypothesis to be
tested. Historical research is that utilized historical sources like documents
remain, etc. to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of
persons and groups at any remote point of time. Research can also; be classified
as conclusion-oriented and decision-oriented. While doing conclusion-oriented
research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as he
proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wished. Decision maker and
the researcher in the case are not free to embark on research according to his
own inclination. Operations research is an example of decision-oriented research
since it is scientific methods of providing executive departments with a
quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control.
74

What is a Research Problem?
A research problem, in general, refers to some difficulty, which a researchers
experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation and wants
to obtain a solution for the same.
Selecting the Problem:
The research problem undertaken for study must be carefully selected. The task
is a difficult one, although is may not appear to be so. Nevertheless, every taken
from a researcher must find out his own salvation for research problems cannot
be borrowed. A problem must spring from the researcher’s mind like a plant
springing from its own see. We have to see ourselves and enable him to
prescribe for us the right number by cooperating with him. Thus, a research
guide can at the most only help a researcher choose a subject. However, the
following points may observe by a researcher in selecting a research problem or
a subject for research.
(a) Subject that is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it will be a
difficult task to throw any new light in such case.
(b) Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average
researcher.
(c) To narrow or too vague problems should be avoided. The subject
selected for research should be familiar and feasible so that the related
research material or sources of research are within one’s reach. Even that
it is quite difficult to supply definitive ideas concerning how a researcher
should obtain for his research.
(d) The importance of the subject, the qualification and the training of a
researcher, the cost involved, at a time factor are few other criteria that
must also be considered in selecting a problem.
75

(e)The selection of problem must be preceded by a preliminary study. This
may not be necessary.
(f) When the problem requires the conduct of a research closely similar to
one that has already been done. But when the field of inquiry is relatively
new and does not have available a set of well-developed techniques, a brief
feasibility study must always be undertaken.
Research Design:
The formulated problem that follows the task of defining the research problem
that follows the task of defining is the preparation of the design of the research
project, popularly known as the ‘research design’. “A research design is the
arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data is a manner that
aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure”.
Features of a good design:
A good design is often characterized by adjectives like flexible, appropriate,
efficient and economical and so on. Generally, the design which minimizes bias
and maximizes the reliability of the data collected and analyzed is considered a
good design. The design that gives the smallest experimental error is supposed
to be the best design in many investigations.
76

A research design appropriate for a particular research problem, usually involves
the consideration of the following factors:
• The means of obtaining information.
• The availability and skills of the researchers and his staff, if any
• The objectives of the problem to be studied.
• The availability of time and money for the research work.
Developing a Research Plan:
77

Research plan must contain the following items:
(1) Research objectives should be clearly stated in a line or two, which tells
exactly what it is that the researcher expects to do.
(2) The problem to be studied while researcher must be explicitly stated so
that one may know what information is to be obtained for solving the
problem.
(3)Each major concept which researcher wants to measure should be
defined in operational terms in context of the research project.
(4)The plan should contain the method to be used in solving the problem.
An overall description of the approach to be adopted is usually given and
assumption, if any, of the concerning method to be used are clearly
mentioned in the research plan.
(4)The plan must also state the details of the techniques to be adopted. For
instance, if interview method if too used, an account of the nature of the
contemplated interviews procedure should be given. Similarly, if test are to
be given, the condition under which they are to be used. If public records
are to be consulted as sources of data, the fact should be recorded in the
research plan. Procedure for quantifying data should also be written about
in all details.
78

(5)A clear mention of the population to be studied should be made. If the
study happens based, the research plan should state sampling plan i.e.
how the samples is to be identified. The method of identifying the sample
should be such that generalization form the sample to be original
population is feasible.
(6)The plan must also contain the method to be used in processing the data
statistical and other to be used must be indicated in the plan. Such
methods should not be left until the data have been collected. This part of
the plan may be reviewed by experts in the field for they can often suggest
changes that result in substantial saving of time and feasible.
(7)Result of pilot test, if any should be reported. Time and cost budgets for
the researcher project should also be prepared and laid down it.
79

Sampling Design
Census and Sample Survey:
All items in any field of inquiry constitute a Universe or Population. A population
complete enumeration of all in the population is known as a census inquiry.
Steps in Sampling Design:
(1) Type of Universe:
The first step in developing any sample design is to clearly define the set of
objects, called technically called the Universe, to be studied. The Universe can
be finite or infinite. In finite universe the numbers of items is certain, but in case
of an infinite universe the number of the number of items if infinite.
(2) Sampling List:
A decision has to be taken concerning a sampling unit before selecting sampling.
Sampling unit may be geographical one such as state, district, village etc. it may
be a social unit as family, club, school etc. or it may be an individual.
80

(3) Source List:
It is known as ‘sampling frame’ which sample is to be drawn. It contains the
name of all items of a universe. It is extremely for the source list to be as
representative of the population as possible.
(4) Size of Sample:
This refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a
sample. This is a major problem before a researcher. The size of sample should
neither be excessively large, nor too small. It should be optimum. Cost too
dictates the size of sample that we can draw. As such, budgetary constraint must
invariably be taken consideration when we decide the samples size.
(5) Parameters of Interest:
For instance, we may be interested in estimating the proportion of person with
some characteristics in the population of in knowing some average or the
measure concerning the population. There may also be important sub-groups in
the population about whom we should like to make estimates. All this impact
upon the sample design we would accept.
81

(6)Budgetary Constraint:
Cost consideration from practical point of view, have a major impact upon
decision relating to not only the size of a non-probability sample.
(7) Sampling Procedure:
Finally, the researcher must decide the type of sample he will use. There are
several sample designs (explained in the pages that follows) out of which the
researcher must select that design which for a given sample size and for a given
cost, has smaller sampling error.
82

SAMPLING PLAN
The Sampling plan was designed as follows:
Sampling Unit: Sampling Units are those people who are above the age of 18
years, they are belonging to different in Income levels that is below the
Rs.50,000 Rs.50,000-1,00,000 Rs.1,00,000-2,00,000 and more then Rs.2,00,000
these income is yearly.
Sample Size: The sample size of my data is 100. People are belonging to the
different areas of urban Bareilly.
83

COLLECTION OF DATA
The task of data collection begins after a research problem has been defined and
research design is chalked out. While deciding about the method of data
collection to be used for the study; the researchers should keep in mind two
types of data i.e. Primary and Secondary data.
The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and
thus happen to be original in character. The secondary data on other hand are
those which have already been collected by someone else and which have
already been passed through the statistical process. The data used for the
present research is primary data. The different methods that are used for
collecting primary data are as follows:
A) Contact Method:
The 'contact method ' considering the short coming was selected to personal interview.
B) Observation Method:
The present investigation was done on the basis of making note of behavior and
gestures of the target customers.
84

C) Questionnaire Method:
The method of data collection is quite popular and is being adopted by
researchers, private individuals and organization.
D) Schedule Method:
The method of data collection is very much like the collection of data through
questionnaire, with little difference which lies in the fact that schedules are being
filled in by the enumerates who are specially appointed for the purpose, these
enumerators go to the respondents along with the schedule and put up the
question. Inferences are drawn on the answers given by them.
85

According to the survey done of 300 retailers, about 97% of the retailers
were aware of the value vouchers offered by the mobile service providers.
Only 3% of the retailers were not aware of these value vouchers.
Maximum numbers of retailers are aware of Value Voucher because
customers demand for it & communication from the company is proper.
87

After the survey it was found that 28% of the retailers were not aware of the
Value Added Services offered by service providers. Only 72% of the retailers
were aware of these services and vouchers.
The main reason behind it is that the communication channel about VAS is
not satisfactory.
Companies can serve its customers well only if its distribution channel is
properly informed.
The need is to communicate more our distribution channel to communicate
right information to them; effectively and timely
88

According to the survey, 18% of the retailers were not satisfied with
the services of AIRTEL, while 82% were satisfied with the services of
AIRTEL.
As 18% of the retailers were not satisfied with the Airtel services; the main
reason is improper communication. To satisfy them more communication of
various schemes is required among the distribution channel members.
89

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Market Demand
(%)
Airtel Hutch Tata
Indicom
Idea Excel Reliance
Market Share of Different Service Providers according to
Customers
After survey done on 400 mobile users it was observed that about 26% were
using hutch while Airtel was just behind with 23%. Reliance was at third
place with 19%. 17% customers were using Idea.
Hutch is really doing well and we need to offer good value vouchers at
competitive prices.
While Excel & Tata Indicom was having 9% & 6% market share respectively.
After the survey it was found that Airtel is behind hutch by 3%. Reliance has
left Idea behind in market share and has 19% of market share in compare to
17% of Idea.
90

Satisfaction Level of Mobile Users
with their Service Providers
91%
9%
Satisfied
Not Satisfied
After interacting with 400 mobile users, it was found that 93% of the total
customers were satisfied with the services offered by their service providers.
Only 7% of the mobile users were not satisfied with their mobile service
providers.
91

Awareness Status of Value
Added Services among
customers
21%
79%
Aware
Not Aware
customers were aware of value added services While 21% of the mobile After
interacting with 400 mobile users, it was found that 79% of the users were
not aware of it.
A customer avail any product/service only if, he/she is aware of its
advantages or utilities. So we have to convey it very efficiently & effectively.
92

Awreness Status of Value Voucher
among the Customers
11%
89%
Aware
Not Aware
After the survey, it was found that about 89% of the mobile users were
aware of the value vouchers available in the market. Only 11% of the mobile
users were not aware of these value vouchers.
The main reason of high awareness is better communication about Value
Voucher.
Every service provider pay more attention on Value Voucher as it is most
demanded service by the mobile user in the market.
93

After the survey it was realized that 39% of the mobile users use mobile
mainly for incoming purpose. 36% of the mobile users use mobile for making
outgoing calls. 18% of users use mobile mainly for short messaging service
(SMS). 7% of mobile users uses mobile mainly for outgoing at night.
Customer perception about mobile phone has shifted from an incoming
device to an outgoing one.
39% of users use mobiles mainly for incoming. The main reason is Life Time
Incoming. A person who can not afford mobile, Life Time Incoming scheme
has made it affordable as there is no need to recharge again and again.
When Life Time Incoming scheme was launched, the customer has to make
initial investment of app. 1000Rs. But now Airtel has made it more easy with
its new scheme,”Pay 99Rs. per month and get one month validity, after 12
month no need to recharge, Plan will be converted to Life Time Incoming
Scheme automatically.
94

Only 7% of users make outgoing at night. This is minimum amount as
awareness is low as it is recently launched.
Status of Mobile Users Travel in
Roaming
12
3
11
9
28
37
Frequently
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annualy
Uncertain
51% of the mobile users make more local calls and less STD calls.
22% of the mobile users make only local calls.
16% of the mobile users make local and STD calls in the equal ratio.
Users, which make more or only STD calls account for 6% & 5% respectively
of total customers’ sample.
The survey has showed that 51% of the mobile phone users use it, mainly
for making more local calls and less STD/ISD calls. 22% of the customers
make only local calls.
It means that local call tariffs are the major area of improvement.
We should more emphasize on local call rate reduction Value Voucher.
95

SUGGESTIONS
Suggestions are valuable which play a vital role in any area of Business. They
not only help to develop the product but also enable it to stay in Tune with the
changing tastes and preferences of customers.
 There should be proper management of telecommunication devices which
will be more compliable for customer loading case of Airtel
 There must be local Service Point.
 The Complaints must be attained with the period of 24 hours in Airtel
specifically
 Airtel services should to give more emphasis on internet and voice quality
and other facility also.
 The employee should make better relation with customer.
 The company should conduct seminar and awareness program of
telecommunication services.
 Emphasis on better advertising by services.
 Take feedback with customer time to time for improving their services.
 Improving there services and makes better relation with customer.
 Communicate with customer for knowing the problem of customer in
respect with services.
 Improve services by the customer care.
96

CONCLUSION
 The conclusion of my research report is that none is best one in
telecommunication services.
 Idea is growing vastly time to time
 It is found in the research the tata indicom’s is not as good due to voice
unclearty.
 Generally BSNL customer faces more discomfort with network, it is due to
overloading of customerbase and relatively lack of machines and
management.
 At this time airtel is good and it may be said that its leader of this time .
 Some new services is now coming as virgin.
 Reliance is also good in the area and launching new schemes also.
97

LIMITAIONS
 Since the feedback of the customers was done through Questionnaire
major limitation was unavailability of customers thus leading to highly low
success rate.
 Most of the customers were so furious that they refused to part with any
information.
 Employees of company were so furious that they don’t interested in giving
any information about broadband.
 Time factor
 Most of the customers visiting had no time to fill questionnaire.
 Most of the time when I asked customers to fill the form, they started
talking about their problems and asked me to solve the problems they
were facing instead of filling the form.
 As Airtel has very wide customer base from higher educated class to
small uneducated businessman, so they were not able to answer
properly.
98

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www.ideacellular .com
 www.airtel.com
 www.relianceinfo.com
 Research Metholodgy “C.R.Kothari”
 Economic Times
 Business Standard
99

ANEXTURE
QUESTIONARE
Name of Retail Outlet ……………………………………………
Contact Person …………………………………………………….
Contact No…………………………………………………………..
Address ………………………………………………………………
Q.1. Which operator’s connection do you USE?
1. Airtel 2. Idea
3. Hutch 4. BSNL
5. Tata Indicom 6. Reliance
100

Q.2. What is the activation status of each operator (according to last 3
months Sales)?
1. Airtel 2. Idea
3. Hutch 4. BSNL
5. Tata Indicom 6. Reliance
Q.3. Do you know about the value vouchers?
1. Yes
2. No
Q.4. Which of the following are the common selling vouchers in the market?
1. Night Chat 2. SMS Pack
3. Local Call rate reduction 4. STD/ISD Call rate reduction
Q.5. Do you know about the Value Added Services of Airtel & IDEA?
IDEA AIRTEL
1. Yes 1.YES
2. NO
2. No
101

Q.6. Which of the following common Value Added Services is in demand
(please rank)?
1. Hello Tunes 2. Call Conference
3. Ring tones 4. Missed call alert
5. GPRS 6. Call divert
Q.8. What new features you expect to be in the Value Added Services?
1.
2.
3.
Q.9. What new features you expect to be in the Value Voucher?
1.
2.
3.
Q.10. Are you happy with Airtel services?
102

1. Yes
2. No
Q.11. Any Suggestions?
103

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