INTRODUCTION

Marketing

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,

promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that

satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

In a most simple and non-technical language, marketing may be explained as a

business function entrusted with the criterion and satisfaction of customers to achieve

the aims of business itself in popular usage, the term "marketing" refers to the

promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. However, in professional

usage the term has a wider meaning. It can be divided into four sections. Often called

the "Four Ps'". They are:

Product - The product management aspect of marketing deals with the specifications

of the actual good or service, and how it relates to the end-user's needs and wants.

Pricing - This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including

discounts.

Promotion -- This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and personal

selling and refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand or company.

1

NEED FOR THE STUDY

The study was conducted to know the brand awareness regarding Airtel

cellular providers from the customers of different cellular service providers. The study

totally revolves around the opinions and feedback from the users. An opinion survey

with the help of questionnaire was conducted to know the users' view on the services

provided by Airtel with special emphasis on the other cellular users.

The study was also done to estimate the performance of the Airtel mobiles

with the other cellular service providers, and to whether the customers know about

different services provided by the Airtel mobiles.

Understanding the level of customer satisfaction with:

Reference to Airtel

Coverage

Call centers

Billing

2

INDUSTRY PROFILE

MARKETING

Marketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs. One of

the shortest definitions of Marketing is "Meeting needs profitably". When eBay

recognized that people were unable to locate some of the items they desired most and

created an online auction clearing house as when IDEA noticed that people wanted

good furniture of a substantially lower price and created knock-down furniture.

Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for

creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing

customer relations in ways that benefit the organization and its stoke holders.

3

Four Basic Features of Modern Marketing

Modern marketing is consumer oriented.

Modern marketing starts and ends with the consumer.

Modern marketing precedes and succeeds production.

Modern marketing is the guiding element of business.

Importance of marketing:

A high level of marketing activity is a prerequisite for a high level economic

activity. It has been aptly remarked. "Nothing happens until somebody sells

something". At present the urgency is for increased marketing and not merely for

increase in production. This alone shows the importance of marketing as a potential

force that commands high significance for society as a whole.

4

What Is a Brand?

Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their ability to

create, maintain, protect and enhance brands. Marketers say that "Branding is the art

and cornerstone of marketing".

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as follows:

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them,

intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to

differentiate them from those of competitors.

In essence, a brand identifies the seller or maker. It can be a name, trademark,

logo, or other symbol. Under trademark law, the seller is granted exclusive rights to

the use of the brand name in perpetuinity. Brands differ from other assets such as

patents and copyrights, which have expiration dates.

A brand is essentially seller's promise to deliver a specific set of features,

benefits, and services consistently to the buyers. The brands convey a warranty of

quality. But a brand is an even more complex symbol.

5

It can convey up to six levels of meaning:

1. Attributes: A brand brings to mind certain attributes. Mercedes suggests

expensive, well-built, well-engineered, durable, high-prestige automobiles.

2. Benefits: Attributes must be translated into functional and emotional benefits. The

attribute "durable" could translate into functional benefit "I won't have to buy

another car for several years". The attribute "expensive" translates into the emotional

benefit "the car makes me feel important and admires".

3. Values: The brand also says something about the producer's values Mercedes

stands for high performance, safety and prestige.

4. Culture: The brand may represent a certain culture. The Mercedes represents

German culture: organized, efficient, high quality.

5. Personality: The brand can project a certain personality. Mercedes may suggest a

no-nonsense boss (person), a reigning lion (animal), or an austere place (object).

6. User: The brand suggests the kind of consumer who buys or uses the product. We

would expect to see a 55-year-old top executive behind the wheel of a Mercedes, not a

20-year-old secretary.

If a company treats a brand only as a name, it misses the point. The branding

challenge is to develop a deep set of positive associations for the brand. Marketers

must decide at which level(s) to anchor the brand's identity. One mistake would be to

promote only attributes. First, the buyer is not as interested in attributes as in benefits.

Second, competitors can easily copy attributes. Third, the current attributes may

become less desirable later.

6

Promoting the brand only on one benefit can also be risky. Suppose Mercedes

touts its main benefit as "high performance". Then several competitive brands emerge

with high performance as compared to other benefits. Mercedes needs the freedom to

maneuver into a new benefit positioning.

The most enduring meanings of a brand are its values, culture, and personality.

They define the brand's essence, The Mercedes stands for high technology,

performance and success. Mercedes must project this in. its brand strategy. Mercedes

must resist marketing an inexpensive car bearing the name; doing so would dilute the

value and personality. Mercedes has built up over the years.

7

BRAND AWARENESS

Brand, the hip, catches all word of the New Economy. It suggested was

awareness. Image, as they say, was everything. Pat Harpell saw it up close as the CEO

of Harpell Inc., an integrated marketing firm in Maynard, Massachusetts. Over the

past few years, many entrepreneurs have called on her to create branding programs,

and she could see that old-fashioned branding strategies had gone astray. "That's not a

branding program; that's a logo." she says. "Basic business principles fell apart."'

Branding turned into a game of being seen for the sake of being seen, without

giving consumers a reason to buy.

What ultimately fell apart was the connection between companies and

consumers. Branding turned into a game of being seen for the sake of being seen,

without giving consumers reason to buy. "There's been a tremendous abuse of

branding," says Jeff Dufresne, managing director of Brand Storm, a brand consulting

group in Cincinnati. "I think people got confused and thought branding was just

throwing some ill-conceived advertising out there to gain awareness."

With the dotcom fallout, companies are relearning the basic lessons of what

makes a successful brand mainly that you can't live on image only. Eyeballs don't

equal sales, and logos don't create loyalty. Consumers want to know what you are all

about and why they should trust you enough to purchase your product. This will

never change, no matter how much technology alters our lives.

8

Branding has become a monologue instead of a dialogue.

Entrepreneurs need to leave their ivory office towers and talk to people.

It's that dialogue that's beer, missing lately, Koehn says, and it's essential to

any branding strategy. Branding has become a monologue instead of a dialogue.

Entrepreneurs need to leave their ivory office towers and talk to people. They need to

be responsive to their customers. They have to make sure their branding messages are

understood by everyone inside the company. Over the last few years people didn't

realize how hard branding really is." Koehn says. But its rewards are equal to is-s

difficulty.

Harpell recently studied a group of new companies to see how ingrained their

branding messages were inside those companies. She found that many employees

weren't aware of their companies' branding messages at all. "There were no brand

connection, no teaching of employees and no communicating with consumers,"

Harpell says.

The web problem is when management and technology consulting firm

Accenture and technology research company Online Insight surveyed 2000 online

consumers last year; they found that a lot of the givens about the web that marketers

operate under are false. While most of the marketing is aimed at youth, the average

online shopper is 35 to 44. Entrepreneurs also assumed that advertisements drew

consumers to their sites while customer's survey veiled on search engines. And the

low prices companies touted weren't what customers were looking for; they wanted

satisfying customer encounter that was Fast and convenient.

9

"Branding is about more than the sock puppet. It's about the total customer

experience," says Kelly Dixon, co-author of the study and director of e-branding at

Accenture in Chicago. "Companies haven't focused on the entire package."

Consumers developed a love-hate relationship with late-'90s branding strategies.

Observes David Schumann, consumer psychologist and associate dean at the

University of Tennessee in Knoxville. On one hand, seeing logos invade every inch of

public space has left U.S consumers over-exposed to branding. On the other hand,

consumers are paying attention, if only briefly, to discover whether you'll reveal that

one clear benefit your product or service offers that'll make them try it. The problem

is this "one clear benefit" has been missing in plenty of branding campaigns, and

Schumann sees companies facing the fallout: consumers sticking with the products

they've trusted for a long time instead of taking a chance on products they don't really

understand. When the value proposition is missing, Schumann says, risk-averse

consumers will go with what they know.

10

Brand Awareness:

In developing brand, it is important to design communication messages that

reflect the brand's unique value for specific audiences. Med stat helps healthcare

providers strengthen their brand awareness efforts with those customers likely to use

their service as well as determine the most effective media for communicating their

brand value to the target audience based on lifestyle and media preference.

DEFINITION:

"The act of creating public awareness of a specific brand in order to maximize

its recognition, successful brand awareness strategies should define a company's

uniqueness and set it apart from competitors". Quite simply, if potential customers do

not know about a company, they will not purchase from it. Therefore, one of the

preeminent goals of any business should be to build brand awareness, albeit, in cost-

effective manner as possible.

Consumers tend to make purchasing decisions based on peer

recommendations and direct experience, as well as traditional advertising methods.

This is why it is necessary to build brand awareness strategies out by instilling trust

among consumers. Thus trust must be achieved through credibility, rather than just a

catchy advertising campaign. Promotional marketing involving a one-to-one

component is proving increasingly effective at building trust and acquiring new

customers.

11

WIRELESS MEDIA

Cellular Telephony:

The technology that gives a person the power to communicate anytime

anywhere has spawned an entire industry in mobile telecommunications. Mobile

telephones have become a business/economy,

The most prevalent wireless standard in the world today is GSM. The GSM

association (Global System for Mobile Communication) was instituted in 1987 to

promote and expedite the adoption, development, deployment and evolution of the

GSM standards for digital wireless communications. The GSM association was

formed as a result of a European community agreement on the need to adopt common

standards suitable for cross border European mobile communications. Starting of

primarily as a European standard, the group special mobile as it was then called, soon

came to represent the global system for mobile communication as it achieved the

status of a worldwide standard. GRM is today, the world's leading digital standard

accounting for 68.5% of the global digital wireless market. The Indian government

when considering the introduction of cellular services into the country, made a

landmark decision to introduce the GSM standard, leap fogging obsolescent

technologies/standards. Although cellular licenses were made technology neutral in

September 1999, all the private operators are presently offering only GSM based

mobile services. The new licenses for the 4'1 cellular licenses that were awarded in

July 2001 too, have opted for GSM technology to offer their mobile services.

Cellular Industry in India:

12

The government of India recognizes that the provision of a world class

telecommunication 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 the development

of this industry.

13

India today is emerging as one of the most important and exciting

wireless markets in the world.

History of telephony in India: The first telegraph line in India was commissioned

in October 1851 for the East India Company. That was the beginning of India's

electronic contact with the world. A hundred years later, the first automatic telephone

exchange opened in Calcutta. From then to 1995, (when the first cellular phone call

was made at the princely cost of Rs 16.80 per minute) for the average Indian, getting a

telephone connection meant having contacts at the right places.

Of course, what is playing out in India is just one exciting chapter in the global

wireless revolution that has ensured that mobile phones are the most widespread

communication devices on earth. There are more than 50 million subscriptions as 1st

October 2007; the company is one of the world's fastest growing telecom companies.

It offers its mobile services under the Airtel brand and is headed by "Sunil Mittal",

India's 6th richest man with a total worth of US$27 billion.

Some analysis advises taking slightly more conservative figure. They point out

that there is some degree of over-counting by cellular service operators in the mad

rush to report higher subscriber's numbers; it is often hard to tell just how many active

subscribers each operator has. While post-paid customers need to surrender their

number to recover their deposits, there is no such compulsion for prepaid customers,

who account for well over 80% of the subscriber base. And most operators allow a

pre-paid subscriber to exist in the system for anything ranging from 45 days to 6

months, even after they have stopped buying talk-time. So, many of those subscribers

simply do not exist.

14

Even the specter of double counting cannot take away from the fact that

India's mobile party is in full swing. And that it is likely to continue at least for the

next couple of years. Everyone - the Government, Vendors, Handset manufacturers,

and operators -is pulling out all the stops to make sure that the party doesn't end

prematurely. The introduction of the unified license has sorted out the key regulatory

concerns. Sure there are still a few direct investment limits to 74%.

The equipment and handset vendors are keeping the growth story going. If two

years ago, capacity enhancement cost over $100 per subscriber, it is under $40 now.

Nokia is now getting increasingly aggressive in the Indian telecom equipment market.

Recent data suggests that its equipment rates have come down to $25 per

subscriber- once again, among the lowest in the world.

In just a decade, the Indian telecom sector has transformed itself from a

musty tome of arcane into a growth story on steroids.

15

CELLULAR WORLD

Cellular telephones have revolutionized the communications arena, redefining

how we perceive voice communications. Traditionally cellular phones remained out

of hands of most consumers due to their high cost.

As a result, cell phone carriers have invested time and resources into finding

ways to give the systems higher capacity and thus lower cost. Cell systems are

benefiting from this research and starting to develop into large-scale consumer

products.

Today, cellular phones are truly consumer electronics devices with over 75

million subscribers. Since cell phones have ceased to be an exclusive status symbol of

high-powered lawyers and is now in the hands of millions of consumers. They are

now incredibly cost sensitive. Specifically it is not the cost of the device that counts,

but the cost of using the device. Today, more than ever, cellular companies are looking

for ways to bring down the call cost to attain even higher market penetration,

especially in metropolitan areas.

In this report, we will begin by examining how phone systems work, paying

close attention to details in system design that reduce cost and increase quality. After

knowing about how an eel! Phone system works, we will examine the various cell

phone systems in existence, examining the details of their operation and how that

impacts the cost of using the system and call quality on the system.

16

CELL PHONES

An Overview

It is common knowledge that cellular phone (Referred to as "cell'' phones from

here on) are wireless phones; however, many of us have confusion about how a cell

phone works.

Essentially, cell phones use high-frequency radio signals to communicate with

"cell towers" located throughout the calling area.

Cell phones communicate in the frequency range of 806-890 MHz and 1850-1990

MHz for the newly allocated "PCS" frequency range.

When the user wants to make a call, the cell Phone sends a message to the tower,

asking to be connected to a given telephone number.

If the tower has sufficient resources to grant the request, a device called a "switch"

patches the cell phone's signal throughout to a channel on (him "Public Switched

Telephone Network"(other\vise known as P S T N).

This call now takes a wireless channel as well as PSTN channel that will be held

open until the call is completed.

17

CELLULAR PHONES

As the name implies, cell phone systems are made up of many small "cells".

Each cell in a cell phone system represents the area served by one cell phone tower,

The concept of cells is key behind the success of cell phones because by spacing

many cells fairly close to each other, the cell phones may broadcast at very low power

levels (typically 200m\V 1W, depending on system). Since the cell phones may

broadcast at low power levels, they use small transmitters and small batteries, and

thus are able to tit in a shirt pocket, unlike amateur radios can occupy a tabletop.

Cells are typically spaced around 1-2 miles apart but can be spaced up to 20

miles apart in rural areas. In loaded areas with many obstacles (such as tall buildings),

the cell sites may be spaced closer together, some technologies, like PCS, require

closer cell spacing due to their higher frequency and lower power operation.

Additionally, buildings interfere with cell signals coming from outside so many

buildings have their own "micro cell1'. The Kingdome and New York subway are two

examples of where micro cells are used. Micro cells may also be used to increase

overall capacity within a heavily populated area such as city's core downtown area. In

fact, homes may have "Pico cells'' connected to the home's PSTN connection to allow

the eel] phone to be used as a cordless phone.

18

WELCOME TO

19

BHARTI AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company

with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in

New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service

providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's

product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile

commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH,

enterprise services including national & international long distance

services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G

wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had nearly 287

million customers across its operations at the end of Dec 2013.

Highlights

Bharti Airtel becomes the fourth largest mobile operator in the world

Education is now available anytime, anywhere with Airtel mEducation

20

Introduction

The Indian telecommunication industry is the world's fastest growing industry with

771 million mobile phone subscribers as of January 2011. It is also the second largest

telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections

after China.

As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that

India will have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013.Furthermore; projections by

several leading global consultancies indicate that the total number of subscribers in

India will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by 2013. The industry is

expected to reach a size of 344,921 crore (US$76.57 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate

of over 26 per cent, and generate employment opportunities for about 10 million

people during the same period.

According to analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million

people and for 7 million indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom equipments

revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore (US$30.38 billion) during the fiscal, as

against 115,382 crore (US$25.61 billion) a year before Today, it is the fastest growing

market in the world and represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies in the

stagnant global scenario.. The wireless technologies currently in use are Global

System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access

(CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile

services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns across the

country.

21

Telephone Subscribers (Wireless and Landline): 806.13 million (Feb. 2011)

Land Lines: 34.94 million (Feb. 2011)

Cell phones: 771.18 million (Feb. 2011)

Monthly Cell phone Addition: 18.85 million (Feb. 2011)

Teledensity: 67.67% (Feb. 2011)

Projected Teledensity: 1 billion, 84% of population by 2012.

Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones

History of Indian Telecommunications

1851 First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta,

(Seat of British power)

1881 Telephone service introduced in India

1883 Merger with the postal system

1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication

Company (IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts,

Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of

Communications

1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive provider of

domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the

postal system)

22

1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the Videsh

Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahan

agar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

adopted.

2000 DOT becomes a corporation, BSNL

23

Other Major Players in the Market:

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 (Vodafone-Essar, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile,

Spice Communications)

BSNL

On October 1, 2000 the Department of Telecom Operations, Government of India

became a corporation and was renamed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

BSNL is now India’s leading Telecommunications Company and the largest public

sector undertaking. It has a network of over 45 million lines covering 5000 towns

with over 35 million telephone connections. The state-controlled BSNL operates

basic, cellular (GSM and CDMA) mobile, Internet and long distance services

throughout India (except Delhi and Mumbai). BSNL will be expanding the network in

line with the Tenth Five-Year Plan (1992-97). BSNL, which became the third operator

of GSM mobile services in most circles, is now planning to overtake Bharti to become

the largest GSM operator in the country. BSNL is also the largest operator in the

Internet market, with a share of 21 per cent of the entire subscriber base.

MTNL

MTNL was set up on 1st April 1986 by the Government of India to upgrade the

quality of telecom services, expand the telecom network, and introduce new services

and to raise revenue for telecom development needs of India’s key metros – Delhi,

and Mumbai, the business capital. In the past 17 years, the company has taken rapid

strides to emerge as India’s leading and one of Asia’s largest telecom operating

24

companies. The company has also been in the forefront of 5 technology induction by

converting 100% of its telephone exchange network into the state-of-the-art digital

mode. The Govt. of India currently holds 56.25% stake in the company. In the year

03-04, the company's focus would be not only consolidating the gains but also to

focus on new areas of enterprise such as joint ventures for projects outside India,

entering into national long distance operation, widening the cellular and CDMA-

based WLL customer base, setting up internet and allied services on an all India basis.

MTNL has over 5 million subscribers and 329,374 mobile subscribers. While the

market for fixed wire line phones is stagnating, MTNL faces intense competition from

the private players—Bharti, Hutchison and Idea Cellular, Reliance Infocomm—in

mobile services. MTNL recorded sales of Rs. 60.2 billion ($1.38 billion) in the year

02-03, a decline of 5.8 per cent over the previous year’s annual turnover of Rs.

63.92 billion.

RELIANCE INFOCOMM

Reliance is a $16 billion integrated oil exploration to refinery to power and textiles

conglomerate

. It is also an integrated telecom service provider with licenses for mobile, fixed,

domestic long distance and international services. Reliance Infocomm offers a

complete range of telecom services, covering mobile and fixed line telephony

including broadband, national and international long distance services, data services

and a wide range of value added services and applications. Reliance India Mobile, the

first of Infocomm's initiatives was launched on December 28, 2002. This marked the

beginning of Reliance's vision of ushering in a digital revolution in India by becoming

a major catalyst in improving quality of life and changing the face of India. Reliance

25

Infocomm plans to extend its efforts beyond the traditional value chain to develop and

deploy telecom solutions for India's farmers, businesses, hospitals, government and

public sector organizations. Until recently, Reliance was permitted to provide only

“limited mobility” services through its basic services license. However, it has now

acquired a unified access license for 18 circles that permits it to provide the full range

of mobile services. It

Has rolled out its CDMA mobile network and enrolled more than 6 million

subscribers in one year to become the country’s largest mobile operator. It now wants

to increase its market share and has recently launched pre-paid services. Having

captured the voice market, it intends to attack the broadband market.

TATA TELESERVICES

Tata Teleservices is a part of the $12 billion Tata Group, which has 93 companies,

over 200,000 employees and more than 2.3 million shareholders. Tata Teleservices

provides basic (fixed line services), using CDMA technology in six circles:

Maharashtra (including Mumbai), New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat,

and Karnataka. It has over 800,000 subscribers. It has now migrated to unified access

licenses, by paying a Rs. 5.45 billion ($120 million) fee, which enables it to provide

fully mobile services as well. The company is also expanding its footprint, and has

paid Rs. 4.17 billion ($90 million) to DoT for 11 new licenses under the IUC

(interconnect usage charges) regime. The new licenses, coupled with the six circles in

which it already operates, virtually gives the CDMA mobile operator a national

footprint that is almost on par with BSNL and Reliance Infocomm. The company

hopes to start off services in these 11 new circles by August 2004. These circles

26

include Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Kolkata, Orissa, Punjab,

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East) & West and West Bengal.

VSNL

On April 1, 1986, the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) - a wholly Government

owned corporation - was born as successor to OCS. The company operates a network

of earth stations, switches, submarine cable systems, and value added service nodes to

provide a range of basic and value added services and has a dedicated work force of

about 2000 employees. VSNL's main gateway centers are located at Mumbai, New

Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. The international telecommunication circuits are derived

via Intelsat and Inmarsat satellites and wide band submarine cable systems e.g.

FLAG, SEA-ME-WE-2 and SEA-ME-WE-3. The company's ADRs are listed on the

New York Stock Exchange and its shares are listed on major Stock Exchanges in

India. The Indian Government owns approximately 26 per cent equity, M/s Panatone

Finvest Limited as investing vehicle of Tata Group owns 45 per cent equity and the

overseas holding (inclusive of FIIs, ADRs, Foreign Banks) is approximately 13 per

cent and the rest is owned by Indian institutions and the public. The company

provides international and Internet services as well as a host of value-added services.

Its revenues have declined from Rs. 70.89 billion ($1.62 billion) in 2001-02 to Rs.

48.12 billion ($1.1 billion) in 2002-03, with voice revenues being the mainstay.

VODAFONE ESSAR

27

Vodafone Essar, commonly referred to as Vodafone, is a cellular operator in India that

covers 23 telecom circles in India. It was formerly known as Hutchison Essar. It is

based in Mumbai. Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group 67%

and Essar Group 33%. It is the second largest mobile phone operator in terms of

revenue behind Bharti Airtel, and third largest in terms of customers. Vodafone had

about 130.9 million customers as of February 2011.

On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67%

held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance

Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the

remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction

closed on May 8, 2007. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products

are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone

coverage throughout India with good presence in the metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital

GSM technology. Vodafone Essar will launch 3G services in the country in the

January-March quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two

years on its 3G networks

IDEA

28

Indian regional operator IDEA Cellular Ltd. has a new ownership structure and grand

designs to become a national player, but in doing so is likely to become a thorn in the

side of Reliance Communications Ltd. IDEA operates in eight telecom “circles,” or

regions, in Western India, and has received additional GSM licenses to expand its

network into three circles in Eastern India -- the first phase of a major expansion plan

that it intends to fund through an IPO, according to parent company Aditya Birla

Group .

AIRCEL

The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of

Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose current

shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis

Communications holding a majority stake of 74%.

Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in

Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in

Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader - a position it has held since.

Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in

the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North

Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations. Now, the company has completed

rollout in all 23 telecom circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East,

Orissa, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kerala,

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, UP(West), UP(East), Maharashtra & Goa ,

29

Mumbai, Haryana , Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Aircel has won many awards and recognitions. Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest

rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006. Aircel emerged

as the top mid-size utility company in Businessworld's 'List of Best Mid-Size

Companies' in 2007. Additionally, Tele.net recognized Aircel as the best regional

operator in 2008.

With over 25 million happy customers in the country, Aircel is a full-fledged national

operator.

Telecom Policy Environment

Indian telecommunications today benefits from among the most enlightened

regulation in the region, and arguably in the world. The sector, sometimes considered

the “poster-boy for economic reforms,” has been among the chief beneficiaries of the

post-1991 liberalization. Unlike electricity, for example, where reforms have been

stalled, telecommunications has generally been seen as removed from “mass

concerns,” and thus less subject to electoral calculations. Market oriented reforms

have also been facilitated by lobbying from India’s booming technology sector, whose

continued success of course depends on the quality of communications infrastructure.

Despite several hiccups along the way, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI), the independent regulator, has earned a reputation for transparency and

competence. With the recent resolution of a major dispute between cellular and fixed

operators, Indian telecommunications, already among the most competitive markets in

30

the world, appears set to continue growing rapidly. While telecom liberalization is

usually associated with the post-1991 era, the seeds of reform were actually planted in

the 1980s. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi proclaimed his intention of “leading India into

the 21st century,” and carved the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) out of the

Department of Posts and Telegraph. For a time he also even considered corporatizing

the DOT, before succumbing to union pressure. In a compromise, Gandhi created two

DOT-owned corporations: Mahan agar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), to serve

Delhi and Bombay, and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), to operate

international telecom services. He also introduced private capital into the

manufacturing of telecommunications equipment, which had previously been a DOT

monopoly. These and other reforms were limited by the unstable coalition politics of

the late 1980s. It was not until the early 1990s, when the political situation stabilized,

and with the general momentum for economic reforms, that telecommunications

liberalization really took off. In 1994, the government released its National

Telecommunications Policy (NTP-94), which allowed private fixed operators to take

part in the Indian market for the first time (cellular operators had been allowed into

the four largest metropolitan centers in 1992). Under the government’s new policy,

India was divided into 20 circles roughly corresponding to state boundaries, each of

which would contain two fixed operators (including the incumbent), and two mobile

operators.

As ground-breaking as NTP-94 was, its implementation was unfortunately marred by

regulatory uncertainty and over-bidding. A number of operators were unable to live up

to their profligate bids and, confronted with far less lucrative networks than they had

supposed, pulled out of the country. As a result, competition in India’s telecom sector

31

did not really become a reality until 1999. At that time the government’s New

Telecommunications Policy (NTP-99) switched from a fixed fee license to a revenue

sharing regime of approximately 15%. This figure has subsequently been lowered (to

10%-12%), and is expected to be reduced even further over the coming years. Still,

India continues to derive substantial revenue from license fees ($800 million in 2001-

2002); leading some critics to suggest that the government has abrogated its

responsibilities as a regulator to those as a seller. Another, perhaps even more

significant, problem with India’s initial attempts to introduce competition was the lack

of regulatory clarity. Private operators complained that the licensor – the DOT – was

also the incumbent operator. The many stringent conditions attached to licenses were

thus seen by many as the DOT’s attempt to limit competition. It was in response to

such concerns that the government in 1997 set up the Telecom Regulatory Authority

of India (TRAI), the nation’s first independent telecom regulator.

Over the years, TRAI has earned a growing reputation for independence, transparency

and an increasing level of competence. Early on, however, the regulator was

beleaguered on all fronts. It had to contend with political interference, the incumbent’s

many challenges to its authority, and accusations of ineptitude by private players.

Throughout the late 1990s, TRAI’s authority was steadily whittled away in a number

of cases, when the courts repeatedly held that regulatory power play with the central

government. It was not until 2000, with the passing of the TRAI Amendment Act, that

the regulatory body really came into its own. Coming just a year after NTP-99, the act

marks something of a watershed moment in the history of India telecom liberalization.

It set the stage for several key events that have enabled the vigorous competition

witnessed today. Some of these events include:

32

The corporatization of the DOT and the creation of a new state-owned telecom

company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), in 2000;

The opening up of India’s internal long-distance market in 2000, and the subsequent

drop in long-distance rates as part of TRAI’s tariff rebalancing exercise;

The termination of VSNL’s monopoly over international traffic in 2002, and the

partial privatization of the company that same year, with the Tata group assuming a

25% stake and management control;

The gradual easing of the original duopoly licensing policy, allowing a greater

number of operators in each circle;

The legalization, in 2002, of IP telephony (a move that many believe was held up due

to lobbying by VSNL, which feared the consequences on its international monopoly);

The introduction in 2003 of a Calling Party Pays (CPP) system for cell phones,

despite considerable opposition (including litigation) by fixed operators; And, more

generally, the commencement of more stringent interconnection regulation by TRAI,

which has moved from an interoperate “negotiations-based” approach (often used by

the stronger operator to negotiate ad infinitum) to a more rules-based approach. All of

these events have created an impressive forward-momentum in Indian

telecommunications, resulting in a vigorously competitive and fast-growing sector.

India has also suffered from its fair share of regulatory hiccups. Many operators

(mobile players in particular) still complain about the difficulties of gaining access to

the incumbent’s (BSNL) network, and the government’s insistence on capping FDI in

the telecom sector to 49% (a move made in the name of national security) limits

capital availability and thus network rollout. In addition, ISPs, who were allowed into

33

the market under a liberal licensing regime in 1998, continue to haemorrhage money,

and have been pleading with the government for various forms of relief, including the

provision of unmetered phone numbers

For Internet access. Despite initially impressive results, the growth of Internet in the

country has recently stalled, with only 8 million users. Broadband penetration, too,

remains tiny.

But perhaps the biggest – and, until recently, most intractable – regulatory problem

has been the drawn-out battle over “limited mobility” telephony. This imbroglio

began in 1999, when MTNL sought permission from TRAI to provide CDMA-based

WLL services with “limited mobility.” GSM cellular operators were soon up in arms,

arguing that “limited mobility” was simply a backdoor entry into their business.

Moreover, fixed operators had paid lower license and spectrum fees than cellular

one’s; were not required to pay access charges for cell-to-fixed calls (unlike their

cellular counterparts); and, amidst accusations of cross-subsidization, were charging

considerably lower rates than the cellular operators. The resulting conflict dragged on

in the courts and in the political arena for years. Fixed operators including new

entrants Reliance and Tata Teleservices claimed that they were being prevented from

providing a cheap service that would drive penetration and be of benefit to the

“common man”; cellular players bitterly opposed what they perceived as unequal

regulatory treatment for two kinds of operators who were in fact offering the same

service. The real victim, of course, was the Indian telecommunications market, which

suffered from investor perceptions of regulatory confusion and operator in-fighting. In

late 2002, for example, thousands of mobile users in New Delhi were for a time cut

off from the fixed-line network when MTNL shut down interconnection for cellular

34

companies. (MTNL later attributed the incident to a “technical snag.”) It was not until

late 2003 that the issue was finally resolved, under considerable government pressure,

when cellular operators agreed to withdraw their many cases against the fixed-line

operators. Fixed operators would in effect be allowed to enter the mobile business; in

return, the government granted cellular players several concessions, including lower

revenue-share arrangements estimated to total over $210 million. Perhaps most

notably, the government announced its intention to adopt a “unified access licensing”

regime, which would in the future provide a single, technology-neutral license for

fixed and cellular operators. The hope is that this new license category will prevent a

repeat of the recent controversy, and allow new technologies to enter the Indian

market without requiring a wholesale rewrite of licensing laws.

MAJOR MARKET TRENDS

35

The telecoms trends in India will have a great impact on everything from the humble

PC, internet, broadband (both wireless and fixed), and cable, handset features, talking

SMS, IPTV, soft switches, and managed services to the local manufacturing and

supply chain. This report discusses key trends in the Indian telecom industry, their

drivers and the major impacts of such trends affecting mobile operators, infrastructure

and handset vendors.

Higher acceptance for wireless services

Indian customers are embracing mobile technology in a big way (an average of four

million subscribers added every month for the past six months itself). They prefer

wireless services compared to wire-line services, which is evident from the fact that

while the wireless subscriber base has increased at 75 percent CAGR from 2001 to

2006, the wire-line subscriber base growth rate is negligible during the same period.

In fact, many customers are returning their wire-line phones to their service providers

as mobile provides a more attractive and competitive solution. The main drivers for

this trend are quick service delivery for mobile connections, affordable pricing plans

in the form of pre-paid cards and increased purchasing power among the 18 to 40

years age group as well as sizeable middle class – a prime market for this service.

Some of the positive impacts of this trend are as follows. According to a study, 18

percent of mobile users are willing to change their handsets every year to newer

models with more features, which is good news for the handset vendors. The other

impact is that while the operators have only limited options to generate additional

revenues through value-added services from wire-line services, the mobile operators

have numerous options to generate non-voice revenues from their customers. Some

36

examples of value-added services are ring tones download, colored ring back tones,

talking SMS, mobisodes (a brief video programmed episode designed for mobile

phone viewing) etc. Moreover, there exists great opportunity for content developers to

develop applications suitable for mobile users like mobile gaming, location based

services etc. On the negative side, there is an increased threat of virus – spread

through mobile data connections and Bluetooth technology – in mobile phones,

making them unusable at times.

MERGERS

Demand for new spectrum as the industry grows and the fact the spectrum allocation

in done on the basis of number of subscribers will force companies to merge so as to

claim large number of subscribers to gain more spectrum as a precursor to the launch

of larger and expanded services. However it must also be noted that this may very

well never happen on account of low telecom penetration.

NEW CIRCLES

As mentioned earlier there is a significant number of tier-2 and tier 3 cities that can

accommodate more players we expect aggressive response by the companies to such

opportunities as and when they are created.

Constraints:

37

Slow pace of the reform process .

It would be difficult to make in-roads into the semi-rural and rural areas because of

the lack of infrastructure. The service providers have to incur a huge initial fixed cost

to make inroads into this market. Achieving break-even under these circumstances

may prove to be difficult.

The sector requires players with huge financial resources due to the above mentioned

constraint. Upfront entry fees and bank guarantees represent a sizeable share of initial

investments. While the criteria are important, it tends to support the existing big and

older players. Financing these requirements require a little more liberal approach from

the policy side.

INTRODUCTION OF Bharti Airtel Ltd.

38

Vision & promise

By 2015 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India:

Loved by more customers

Targeted by top talent

Benchmarked by more businesses

We at Airtel always think in fresh and innovative ways about the needs of our

customers and how we want them to feel. We deliver what we promise and go out of

our way to delight the customer with a little bit more

Mission

“We at Airtel always think in fresh and innovative ways about the needs of our

customers and how we want them to feel. We deliver what we promise and go out of

our way to delight the customer with a little bit more.”

Core Values

Empowering People - to do their best

Being Flexible - to adapt to the changing environment and evolving customer needs

Making it Happen - by striving to change the status quo, innovate and energize new

ideas with a strong passion and entrepreneurial spirit

Openness and transparency - with an innate desire to do well

Creating Positive Impact – with a desire to create a meaningful difference in society.

Goals

39

To undertake transformational projects that has a positive impact on the society and

contribute to the nation building process.

To Diversify into new businesses in agriculture, financial services and retail business

with world-class partners

To lay the foundation for building a “conglomerate” of future

Company overview

Incorporated on July 7, 1995, Bharti Airtel Ltd is a division of Bharti Enterprises. The

businesses of Bharti Airtel are structured into two main strategic groups -Mobility and

Infotel. The Mobility business provides GSM mobile services in all 23

telecommunications circles in India, while the Infotel business group provides

telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 15 circles. The company

complements its mobile, broadband, and telephone services with national and

international long-distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing

station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and

Singapore. Bharti Tele-Ventures provides end-to-end data and enterprise services to

corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber- optic backbone, last mile

connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth

access through the gateways and landing station. All of Bharti Tele-Ventures' services

are provided under the Airtel brand.

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti

40

Group has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the

telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti

Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has

successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export

fresh agree products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world

leader in financial protection and wealth management.

Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first

private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti

Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the

course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services.

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

business units (SBU’s) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise

Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM

technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business

offers broadband & telephone services in 95 cities and has recently launched India's

best Direct-to-Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV.

Organization Structure

41

Business Divisions

Mobile Services (2G + 3G)

Bharti Airtel offers GSM mobile services in all the 23-telecom circles of India and is

the largest mobile service provider in the country, based on the number of customers.

Airtel Telemedia Services

The group offers high speed broadband internet with a best in class network. With

Landline services in 94 cities we help you stay in touch with your friends & family

and the world. Get world class entertainment with India’s best direct to home (DTH)

service digital TV in more than 150 cities

Enterprise Services

Enterprise Services provides a broad portfolio of services to large Enterprise and

Carrier customers. This division comprises of the Carrier and Corporate business unit.

42

Enterprise Services is regarded as the trusted communications partner.

Services Offered By Airtel

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

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

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

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

GSM mobile services across India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business

group provides broadband & telephone services over 96 cities. The Enterprise

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

corporate.

Al these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Its include

Voice Services

Mobile Services (2G + 3G)

Satellite Services

Managed Data & Internet Services

Managed e-Business Services

Voice Services:

43

Bharti Airtel became the first private fixed-line service provider in India. It is now

promoted under the Airtel brand. Recently, the Government opened the fixed-line

industry to unlimited competition. Airtel has subsequently started providing fixed-

line services in the four circles of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu & UP (West).

Airtel Enterprise Services believes that these circles have high telecommunications

potential, especially for carrying Voice & Data traffic. These circles were strategically

selected so as to provide synergies with Airtel’s long distance network and Airtel’s

extensive mobile network. Airtel Enterprise Services, India's premium

telecommunication service, brings to you a whole new experience in telephony. From

integrated telephone services for Enterprises and small business enterprises to user-

friendly plans for Broadband Internet Services (DSL), we bring innovative, cost-

effective, comprehensive and multi-product solutions to cater to all your telecom and

data needs.

Voice - Product Portfolio:

Airtel Enterprise Services telephone services go beyond basic telephony to offer our

users a whole host of Value Added Services as well as premium add-ons. Each

telephone connection from Airtel Enterprise Services is backed by a superior fiber-

optic backbone for enhanced reliability and quality telephony. Few of the Value

Added Services offered are Calling Line Identification, Three Party Conferencing,

Dynamic Lock, Hunting Numbers, and Parallel Ringing etc. Airtel Enterprise Services

Voice Services provide Free Dial-up Internet access that is bundled along with your

44

Telephone connection from Airtel. It’s fast, reliable and gives you unlimited Internet

access.

Mobile Services:

Airtel’s mobile footprint extends across the country in 21 telecom circles. Its service

standards compare with the very best in the world. In fact, that’s how Bharti has

managed to win the trust of millions of customers and makes it one of the top 5

operators in the world, in terms of service and subscriber base. The company has

several Firsts to its credit:

The First to launch full roaming service on pre-paid in the country.

The First to launch 32K SIM cards.

The First in Asia to deploy the multi band feature in a wireless network for efficient

usage of spectrum.

The First to deploy Voice Quality Enhancers to improve voice quality and acoustics.

The First telecom company in the world to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification

from British Standards Institute

Satellite Services:

Airtel Enterprise Services provides you connectivity where ever you take your

business Our Satellite Services bring you the benefits of access in remote locations.

Airtel Enterprise Services is a leading provider of broadband IP satellite services and

DAMA/PAMA services in India. Our solutions support audio, video and voice

applications on demand.

Satellite Services include:

45

PAMA/DAMA

BIT - Internet

VPN

Satellite based IPLCs for redundancy reasons

Managed Data & Internet Services:

Airtel Enterprise Services brings you a comprehensive suite of data technologies. So

we are able to support all types of networks and ensure our customers can migrate

their network to the future seamlessly.

Our Managed Data & Internet services make our customers future proof. Managed

Data & Internet Services include:

MPLS

ATM

FR

Internet

IPLC

Leased Lines

Customized Solutions

International Managed Services

Metro Ethernet

Managed e-Business Services:

46

Airtel Enterprise Services offers an internationally benchmarked, carrier class hosting,

storage and business continuity services. A range of services that help to keep your

business running the way you want- 24x7. Thanks to our world-class high tech Data

Centers. Managed e-Business Services include:

Co-lo: Dedicated and Shared

BCRS Services

Web hosting

47

AIRTEL

All of us communicate all the time and AIRTEL believes that's the way it

should be. All of us communicate whether it's mid day or mid night. Whether it's

someone at the other end of the world, or the other end of the room. Technology

shouldn't control when and with whom you can communicate.

About Airtel

Airtel, of course is a product of the Bharti Tele-ventures Limited. It provides

mobile broadband & telephone (fixed line), long distance (international& national)

and enterprise service. It was established as Public Limited Company on July 07 in

the year 1995. The proportionate revenue as per the Indian GAAP Accounts are RS

81,558 million (year ended March 31.2005-Audited); Rs 50,369 million (year ended

March 31, 2004-Audited). The Proportionate EBITDA is Rs 30,658 million (year

ended March 31, 2005-Audited) and RS 17,055 million (year ended March 31, 2004-

Audited) as per the Indian GAAP Accounts,

The shares in issue as at December 31, 2005 are 1,890,061,154. The listings of

the Bharti tele-ventures limited are The Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE),

and the National Stock Exchange Limited of India Limited (NSE).

Market Capitalization as on March 20,2006 is Approximately Rs.727 billion

and the closing BSE share price = Rs 384.65.

The customer base of the Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited is there are 18,450,074

GSM mobile customers and 1,290,246 broadband & telephone (fixed line) customers

as at the month ended February 28, 2006.

48

Operational network of Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited is that it provides

GSM mobile services in all the 23 telecom circles in India, thus being the only

telecom operator having an all India presence. It provides broad band (DSL) and

telephone services (fixed line) in 15 telecom circles in India.

About our Mobile:

It's the instrument that will change your life making communication simple

and effective, besides keeping you within a phone call away from any one on the

planet always. However it is to be made sure that your handset is GSM 1800

compatible handset.

Battery

This is the heart of your phone. Before using your battery for the first time,

charge it up to 6-8 hours depending on the phone you are using.

Adapter/Charger

This is the food for your battery. Connect it to your phone and plug it to an

electric point to make sure your batter," never lets you down.

SIM- Subscriber identification Module

This little card needs to be inserted into your phone. It will instantly connect

you to, the AIRTEL network, and put you in touch with the world. Your SIM card will

already have the numbers of all the Dial-in-Services and SMS based services, which

you can access directly from the phone book built into your AIRTEL phone.

Getting Connected

49

Before you say "HELLO" for the first time on your AIRTEL phone, make sure

you check two things:

• Your battery is full charged.

• Your SIM card is properly inserted.

Saying 'Hello'

These keys vary depending upon the model of your cell phone or the button

you use to make a call of the button you use to end a call.

The button bearing the instruction "call" key(generally in green color) or "Yes"

or "Semi" or "Ok" is used to make a call and the button bearing the instruction

"cancel" key(generally in red color) or "No" or "C" is used to end the call.

Making calls from your AIRTEL mobile

To make a local call

If you are calling n landline in your city/town, dial 0891 followed by the

landline number in case of Lucknow i.e... You have to dial the local code followed by

the landline number to be called. E.g.: 0891-2538791.

To call a local cellular number

Directly dial the 10 digit cellular number you want. E.g.: 98490XXXXX,

98660XXXXX.

To call a three digit landline number

Dial the three digit landline number you want. Eg: 108.

50

To call an STD number

Dial the STD code followed by the landline number you want same as that of

you have called a local number in Lucknow. E.g.: 040XXXXXXXX if called to a

landline in Hyderabad.

To call a cellular number outside Andhra Pradesh

Dial "0" (zero) followed by the 10 digital cellular number you want. Eg:

098100XXXXX.

To make a call out of the country

Dial 00 or + followed by the country code, then the area code and finally the

landline number you want. E.g.: 00449743XXXX.

To make a call to a cellular number in another country.

Dial 00 or -t- then the country code and the cellular number you want. E.g.;

001225389XXXX.

To leave a message on a pager

Dial the local city/town code followed by the pager number. Eg; 0891XXXX.

For Customer's Security:

A1RTEL phone is built within built safety features. Getting familiar with them

will prevent misuse of your phone.

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

51

This 4 digit password helps ensure that not just anyone can use your AIRTEL

phone. To activate it we have to follow the instructions given in the cell phone user

guide. Once activated you are given a default password 0000. You can change this

through the menu setting on your AIRTEL mobile. If incorrect PIN is entered thrice in

succession, your SIM card will be blocked.

Personal Unblocked Key (PUK)

This 8 digit number used to unblock your SIM card. If the PUK is incorrectly

entered 10 times, your SIM card will be permanently damaged. It would be replaced

by a new one. If your card does not get blocked you can call 24 hour AIRTEL

CUSTOMER CARE at 98490 98490 or 121. Toll free number from your AIRTEL

phone. Our personnel will help you unblock it.

Be Careful

The SIM card can get completely damaged if:

It is inserted or removed often, or handled in a rough manner.

Something is stuck onto to it, scratched or written upon, or cut.

It is exposed to a very high/low temperature or to a magnetic field.

An incorrect PUK is entered 10 times.

Replacements

52

A SIM card can be conveniently replaced at The AIRTEL Shop in the city, at

an additional charge. Your AIRTEL phone number will not be changed when you

replace the SIM card.

To prevent misuse of the AIRTEL phone in the case the owner loses it. He can

call 24 hour AIRTEL Care at 98490-98490 or 121 toll free numbers from any AIRTEL

phone. The AIRTEL SIM will be disconnected till you collect your new one.

53

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To understand the concept of Brand Awareness of Airtel Cellular.

2. To find the awareness strategies of the Airtel brand.

3. To know how many cellular users know about the services provided by Airtel.

4. To find out the reasons for the retention of the Airtel customers.

5. To collect the suggestions and complaints of customers of other cellular

service providers.

6. To know the customer preferences.

7. To understand the problems of mobile customers.

8. To study the basic need of the customer for switching from one Cell

Company to another.

9. To compare the service of "Airtel" with that of the other market players.

54

METHODOLOGY

This study is done using the following primary and secondary data:

Primary Data: The primary data was collected by a market survey in Lucknow.

Questionnaire was prepared and administrated by taking a sample of 100 consumers,

which contains different categories of consumers like students, businessmen and

employees.

Secondary Data: The secondary data comprises of various Books, Journals,

Periodicals and other published magazines are included in the study. Data was also

collected from the company's records and from the websites "www.Airtel.co.in"'.

Sampling

Deliberate sampling:

Deliberate sampling is known as purposive or non-probability sampling.

This sampling method involves purposive or deliberate selection of particular units of

the universe for constituting a sample, which represents a universe. When population

elements are selected for inclusion in the sample on the basis of access it can be called

convenience sample.

Simple random sampling:

This type of sampling also known as chance sampling or probability

sampling. Where each and every item in population has an equal chance of inclusion

55

in this sample and each one of the possible sample, in case of finite universe, has the

sample probability of being selected.

Stratified sampling:

If the population from which a sample is to be drawn does not constitute a

homogeneous group than a stratified sampling techniques applied so as to obtain

representative sample.

Quota sampling:

In stratified sampling the cost of talking random samples from individual

strata is often so expensive that interviewers are simply given quota to be filled from

different strata, the actual selection of items for sample being left to the interviewer's

judgment.

Cluster and area wise sampling:

Cluster sampling involves grouping the population and then selecting the

groups or the clusters rather than individual elements inclusion in the sample.

Multi-stage sampling:

56

This is the further development of the idea of cluster sampling. This technique

is meant for big enquires extending today considerably large geographical area like

entire country.

Sequential sampling:

This is somewhat a complex sample design where the ultimate size of the

sample is not fixed in advance but it is determined accordingly to the mathematical

decisions on the basis of information yielded as study progress.

57

ANALYSIS OF BRAND AWARENESS OF AIRTEL SERVICES TO THE

CUSTOMERS OF OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS

Number of samples collected: 100:

Out of the samples chosen, maximum respondents were male and minimum

respondents were female.

All the respondents were in the age group of 20-55 years.

Sex Number of Respondents

Male 90

Female 10

58

From the tale it is incident that the numbers of male respondents who are

considered for the survey are 90%.

It is incident that 10% of the respondents were female.

59

Kind of Service

Out of the 100 samples chosen, maximum people were using the Prepaid Service.

Out of the chosen samples the minimum numbers of respondents were using the post-paid services.

Kind of Service Number of Respondents

Prepaid 70

Postpaid 30

70% of respondents have chosen prepaid service since they want to be economical

and can have an idea on the amount being spent.

30% of the respondents have chosen postpaid service since they had confidence of

controlling their bill amount. And of them used Postpaid because their respective

offices mostly provide them.

60

Occupations of the Respondents

Maximum numbers of respondents were students.

They were mostly satisfied by the services offered by Airtel to its customers, mainly its SMS and its

value added services.

Occupation Number of Respondents

Public Sector Employee 5

Private Sector Employee 30

Business Men 20

Students 40

Others 5

61

From the table, the survey regarding the occupations of the employees it is incident

that:

5% of the total Airtel customers belong to "Public Sector".

30% of the customers belong to the "Private Sector".

20% of the customers are "Business Men".

40% of the customers belong to "Student Community".

62

Factors Considered while taking cell connection

Out of 100 respondents, maximum respondents will look in for the services and the

call charges the service provider is providing to them.

Some of the respondents looked in for all the factors like Brand image, services, call

charges and availability.

Only very few respondents looked in for the availability and the Brand Image individually.

Factors Considered Number of Respondents

Brand Image 05

Services 25

Call charges 30

Availability 10

All the above 30

63

From the table the following factors are observed regarding the "Factors that are

considered while taking a cellular connection".

5% of the respondents will consider "Brand Image" as the main criterion while

taking a cellular connection.

25% of the respondents will consider "Services" Provided by the service provider.

30% of the respondents consider "Call Charges as the main criterion while taking

a cellular connection.

105 of the respondents consider the "Availability" factor as the main criterion

while taking a cellular connection.

And finally 30% of the respondents consider all the above stated factors while

taking the cellular connection.

64

Services Provided by the Current Service Provider

Maximum number of respondents said that the services provided by their current

service provider are satisfactory.

Some of the respondents said that the services are good.

Many of the respondents were unsatisfied with the services provided by their current service provider.

Rate of Satisfaction Number of Respondents

Excellent 11

Good 20

Satisfied 44

Not Satisfied 25

65

The above table determines the rate of satisfactions of customers who are using other

than Airtel.

11% of the respondents have said that the services provided by their current service

provider are "Good".

44% of the total respondents have said that the services provided by the current

service provider were "Satisfactory".

66

How they are aware of various service providers

Many of the respondents have answered that they have to come to know about various

service providers through advertisements.

Some of them have said that they came to know about different service providers

through friends and News Papers.

Very less amount of people have got aware of various cell service providers through

Hoardings.

Only two customers have said that they have cam to know about the cell service providers

through all the above stated means.

Means of Number of

Awareness Respondents

Hoardings 4

News Papers 20

Friends 40

Advertisements 36

67

The following are the observations that are made from the study regarding the "Means

of Awareness".

Only 4% of the total respondents are aware of the cell service providers through

"Hoardings".

20% o the respondents are aware of the product through "News Papers".

40% of the total respondents are aware of the product through "Friends".

And 36% of the respondents are aware of the product through "Advertisements".

The maximum number of respondents got aware of the product through

"Friends" and only 4% of the respondents are aware of the product

through "Hoardings".

68

Are you aware of Airtel Services?

Many of the customers are aware of the Airtel Services and offers. These respondents

know about Airtel through various means and mainly through friends.

Very few of the respondents do not know about the Airtel services and offers.

Awareness about Airtel Number of Respondents

Yes 60

No 40

From the survey it is incident that only 60% of the total respondents are aware of the

Airtel product and its services.

40% of the respondents are not aware of the Airtel product and the services being

provided them.

69

Have you used Airtel Connection Before?

Many of the respondents said that they haven't used the Airtel connection before.

And only few of them have used Airtel before and have shifted from Airtel to other service provider.

Usage of Airtel Number of Respondents

Yes 28

No 72

From the survey it is incident that only 28% of the total respondents have used Airtel

connection in the past.

72% of the respondents have not used the Airtel connection before

70

Reasons for shift to other service provider

The respondents who have used Airtel and shifted to other cell service provider have

answered to this question.

Many of them said that they have shifted to other cell service provider due to high call charges in

Airtel.

Shifting Reasons Number of Respondents

High Call Charges 15

Improper Signal 0

Want to try 10

new operator

Others 3

71

From the above table it is incident that the customers who have used Airtel before

have shifted due to the following reasons.

15 respondents out of 28 respondents have shifted from Airtel

due to "High Call Charges".

None of them have shifted due to the improper signal coverage.

10 respondents out of the total respondents have shifted from

Airtel for the reason that they want to try a new cellular

service operator.

3 respondents have shifted from Airtel due to other reasons like;

they family influences etc.

72

Interested in using Airtel In future

Many of the respondents want to use Airtel in the future if any customer related

benefits are provided.

They also said that if the call charges have been reduced they will be definitely using

Airtel.

The Post-Paid customers who have shifted from Airtel said that it is the wrong billing

in Airtel which made them shift from Airtel.

Some of them don't want to shift from their current cell service provider.

Usage of Product Number of Respondents

Yes 64

No 36

73

From the survey conducted regarding the usage of the Airtel cellular in the future the

respondents have responded in the following way:

64% of the total respondents have said that they are interested in using Airtel in

the future.

36% of the total respondents have said that they are not interested in using Airtel

connection in the future.

Rating about the services provided by Airtel

Out of 100 respondents only 60 respondents know about the Airtel services offers.

Many of the customers have accepted that the services provided by Airtel are

excellent regarding the Network coverage and signal quality.

Some of them have stated that the customer care and the call charges are satisfied.

They have stated that the value added services provided by Airtel are good.

74

On an average the customers rating for the services provided by Airtel are good when

compared other cell service providers.

1. Rating for Network coverage:

Network Coverage Number of Respondents

Excellent 40

Good 15

Satisfied 05

Un Satisfied 0

75

From the above table the following interpretation is made regarding the network

coverage of Airtel.

Out of the 60 respondents who are aware of Airtel product 40 respondents have said

that the network coverage of Airtel is "Excellent".

15 respondents of the total respondents have stated that the network coverage of Airtel

is "Good".

05 of the respondents have stated that the network coverage is "Satisfactory".

There were no "Unsatisfied" customers regarding the Airtel network coverage.

76

FINDINGS

Many of the respondents who are using cell phones of various service providers other

than Airtel arc aware of Airtel Brand; its features and the various other services of

Airtel.

Some of the respondents who are dissatisfied with their current cell service provider

wanted to shift to Airtel if they provide low call charges and better customer care.

Some of the Vodafone Post-Paid customers have complained about the wrong billing

which is less in Airtel when compared to the other service providers.

Airtel brand has attained a good awareness mainly due to its advertisements, which

clearly explains about the offers they are providing.

In many rural areas also Airtel has its network coverage and due to this aspect it

gained lot of importance as well.

It is also found that the areas of Rishikonda and Seethamadhara have less coverage.

The company has many parts in the same city or in the same region having low

frequency of signals due to which the customer are facing problem.

77

SUGGESTIONS

From the Survey reports the suggestions that can be made are:

Awareness programs: Still more awareness programs have to be implemented

in order to attract more customers like: -

1. Increase advertisement campaigns.

2. Increase Electronic media usage for the awareness programs.

3. Establishment of Hoardings in rural areas also.

4. Bringing awareness through issue of pamphlets in the newspapers.

Consumer Retention: Airtel has to implement some more retention programs like: -

1. Extra talk times should be given to the potential customers who are there for more

than 2 years in the subscriptions.

2. Some festival offers should be given in order to retain the customers.

3. If more messages and extra talk time benefits are given then it can help for the

retain for the potential customers.

Airtel has to increase the customer care centers in order to concentrate more on the

customer's queries and their problems.

The reduction in the call charges can still attract more number of customers who are

willing to shift to Airtel from other service providers.

78

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The sample size was comparatively very small compared to the population and there

are chances that it may not represent the whole population.

The time and cost factors affected the size of the sample.

A few of the questions asked were ranking based and hence there was every

possibility of biased user opinion.

There were only three open ended questions, which were comparatively low when

compared to the number of the number of closed ended questions in the questionnaire

keeping in the respondent's precious time.

Most of the samples were collected during the office time. So there is a chance of

receiving some wrong responses due workload from the respondents.

Many of the respondents gave oral complaints, but hesitated to write those complaints

in the complaints column.

79

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name :

Age : Sex: Male/Female

Address :

Occupation:

a) Public Sector Employee b) Private Sector Employee

c) Business d) Student

e) Others (please specify)

Mobile No._______________________

1) Which cell service are you using currently?

A)Airtel b) Vodafone c) Idea

d) BSNL e) Reliance f) Tata Indicom

2) For how long are you using this connection? .....................

3) What factors do you consider while taking a cell connection?

a) Brand image b) Services c) Call Charges

D) Availability e) All the above

4) How are the services provided by your current cell service provider?

80

a) Excellent b) Good c) Satisfied d) Not Satisfied

6) Are you aware of Airtel services and offers?

a) Yes b) No

7) Have you used Airtel connection before?

a) Yes b) No

8) If yes which type of Airtel connection have you used before?

a) Pre-paid b) Post-paid

9) What is the reason for your change to other cell service provider?

a) High call charges

b) Improper signal

c) Want to try new operator

d) Others

10) Are you interested in using Airtel in future?

a) Yes b) No

81

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) MARKETING MANAGEMENT

- By Philip Kotler

2) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

- By C.R. Kothari

3) STATISTICS FOR MANAGEMENT

- By G.C Beri

4) LESSONS ON SERVICES MARKETING

- By Ram Mohan Rao

5) GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT

- By Keesan Warren J

Web Sites:

http://www.Airtel.co.in

http://www.Baniboovvcb.com

http://www.netmba.com

http://www.coai.com

82