Brand Preference Among The Mobile

Service Providers in Kolkata

1. Introduction

1.1 Brand preference

Measure of brand loyalty in which a consumer will choose a particular brand in presence

of competing brands but will accept substitutes if that brand is not available.

The Indian telecommunications industry is the world's fastest growing telecommunications

industry, with 742.12 Million telephone (landlines and mobile) subscribers and 706.69

Million mobile phone connections as of Oct 31st 2010. It is also the second largest

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

China. The Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size by a factor of more than one

hundred since 2001 when the number of subscribers in the country was approximately 5

million to 706.69 Million by Oct 2010.

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$76.23 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 equipment revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore

(US$30.24 billion) during the fiscal, as against 115,382 crore (US$25.5 billion) a year

before.

1.2 Indian telecom sector:

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post &

Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service. DoT was responsible for telecom

services in entire country until 1985 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)

was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the

telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of

Liberalization-Privatization-Globalization policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate

the Government's policy wing from its operations wing. After 1995 the government set up

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of

Government in deciding tariffs and policy making.

Recent policies:

• All the villages shall be covered by telecom facility by the end of 2002.

• National Long Distance Service (NLD) is opened for unrestricted entry.

• The International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been opened to competition.

• The basic services are open to competition.

• In addition to the existing three, fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros and

thirteen circles, has been permitted. The cellular operators have been permitted to provide all

types of mobile services including voice and non-voice messages, data services and Publica

Call Office PCOs utilizing any type of network equipment, including circuit and/or package

switches that meet certain required standards.

• Policies allowing private participation have been announced as per the New Telecom

Policy (NTP), 1999 in several new services, which include Global Mobile Personal

Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service, digital Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service

(PMRTS), Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Service.

• Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced for providing telephone

connections in urban, semi-urban and rural areas promptly.

• Introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Once a customer changes his/her

service provider & retaining the same mobile number they are expected to hold their number

with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another service

provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP services

provided by the service providers.

• Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), its funding and

administration.

1.3 Emergence of major players:

The Government of India corporatized the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and

named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as

Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Aircel, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully

entered the high potential Indian telecom market.

A list of ten states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their respective

states) with the largest subscriber base as of Oct 31st 2010 is given below

State Subscriber

base

Population

(01/08/2010)

Mobile phones per 1000

population

Uttar Pradesh 92,867,835 199,415,992 427

Maharashtra 84,543,727 110,351,688 707

Tamil Nadu 63,671,528 67,773,611 881

Andhra Pradesh 54,000,379 84,241,069 600

West Bengal 51,901,967 90,524,849 520

Bihar 46,311,291 97,560,027 430

Karnataka 43,802,688 58,969,294 709

Gujarat 40,158,662 58,388,625 618

Rajasthan 38,649,784 67,449,102 535

Madhya Pradesh 38,295,896 72,362,313 489

India 706,691,164 1,188,783,351 580

1.4 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

TRAI announced the rules and regulations to be followed for the Mobile Number

Portability in their draft release on 23 September 2009. Mobile Number

Portability (MNP) allows users to retain their numbers, while shifting to a

different service provider provided they follow the guidelines set by TRAI. Once

a customer changes his/her service provider & retaining the same mobile number

they are expected to hold theile number with a given provider for at least 90

days, before they decide to move to another service provider. This restriction is

set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP services provided by the

service providers.

As per news reports, Government of India decided to implement MNP from

December 31, 2009 in Metros & category ‘A’ service areas and by March 20,

2010 in rest of the country.

It has been postponed to March 31, 2010 in Metros & category 'A' service areas.

However, time and time again, lobbying by the state-run firms, BSNL and MTNL

has resulted in innumerable delays in the implementation of Mobile Number

portability. The latest reports suggest BSNL and MTNL are finally ready to

implement the Mobile Number Portability by October 31, 2010.

A press release by the Department of Telecommunications on 30 June 2010 said

"Keeping the complexity and enormity of the testing involved before MNP is

implemented and keeping in view the present status of implementation by

various operators, it has now been decided to extend the time line for

implementation of MNP to 31st October 2010.

The latest official report is that Mobile Number Portability will be phased in

slowly, starting with Haryana which will have MNP on or soon after November 1

2010.

A news report on 25 November 2010 said Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was

finally launched in Haryana. The MNP service inaugurate by the Union Minister

of Communications & IT Mr. Kapil Sibal by making the inaugural call to Shri

Bhupindrer Singh Hooda, the Chief Minister of Haryana from a ported mobile

number in function held at Rohtak city. Another news report said it will be

implemented across India on January 20, 2011. Even as DoT has recommended a

porting fee of Rs.19, some operators such as Idea Cellular may consider waiving

off the porting charges.

2 .Statement of the problem

Brand preference is going to be a burning issue of all the service providers since the mobile

number portability (MNP) is already introduced in Haryana and coming soon in other states

also. The states in Eastern India are having less cellular tele-density in comparison to overall

Indian average and are considered as potential market by all leading mobile service provider.

is a possibility of increasing the number of customers. That’s why every leading GSM mobile

service provider having business in this region. This study covers Kolkata only since it is

expected that being the metro city, with population more than 10 million the analysis of the

Kolkata customers may provide the brand preference of the entire Eastern India.

The service providers in Kolkata are given below

• Bharti Airtel

• Reliance Communications

• Vodafone Essar

• Idea Cellular

• Aircel

• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

• Tata Teleservices

• Uninor

• MTS India

For this study the 4 major players in Kolkata cellular telephone sector have been considered.

Those are as follows:

(1) Vodafone Essar

(2) Bharti Airtel

(3) Tata Teleservices

(4) Reliance Communications

2.2 Profile of service providers

2.2.1 Vodafone Essar, usually referred to simply 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. The company now has

operations across the country with over 113.77 million customers.

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, piping Reliance Communications

Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole

company was valued at USD18.8 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, offering voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 licence areas. It is

among the top three GSM mobile operators of India.

Vodafone Essar will launch third-generation (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.

Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest mobile carrier, will launch third-generation (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. Vodafone Essar won 3G licences in nine of 22

telecom zones for Rs. 11617.86 million, and has spent the second highest amount in the May

2010 auction. The circles where Vodafone will provide 3G services

are Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Uttar

Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. The company named Nokia Siemens Networks and

Ericsson as its 3G equipment suppliers. Vodafone is supposed to have the best network

among all networks.

In Kolkata Vodafone Essar have 3,657,252 customers.

2.2.2 Bharti Airtel Limited, usually referred to simply as "airtel", is a

Indian telecommunications company that operates in 19 countries across South Asia,

Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries,

providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth

largest telecom operator in the world with over 200 million subscribers as of October 2010. It

is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 143 million subscribers as of

September 30, 2010. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base,

behind China Mobile and China Unicom. It has a 29.00% market share of the GSM mobile

service in India.

Airtel also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its telecom services

under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian

telecom service provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification,

Bharti Airtel had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and

customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. The company also provides land-line telephone

services and broadband Internet access (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as a

carrier for national and international long distance communication services.

It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource everything

except marketing and sales and finance. Its network (base stations, microwave links, etc.) is

maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei.,[5] business support

by IBM and transmission towers by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India).

[6] Ericsson agreed for the first time, to be paid by the minute for installation and

maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front

2.2.3 Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) (BSE: 532371) is a subsidiary of the Tata Group

headquartered in Navi Mumbai, an Indian conglomerate. It operates under the brand name

Tata Indicom in various telecom circles of India. In Nov 2008, Japanese telecom giant NTT

Docomo picked up a 26 per cent equity stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 13,070 crore

($2.7 billion) or an enterprise value of Rs 50,269 crore ($10.38 billion). In Feb 2008, TTSL

announced that it would provide CDMA mobile services targeted towards the youth, in

association with the Virgin Group on a Franchisee model basis.

Tata Teleservices Provides mobile services under 3 Brand names:

• Tata Indicom (CDMA Mobile operator)

• Tata DoCoMo (GSM Mobile operator)

• Virgin Mobile (CDMA Mobile operator)

• Virgin Mobile (GSM Mobile operator)

Tata Teleservices is part of the Tata Group. Tata Teleservices spearheads the Group’s

presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch

CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle.

The company acquired Hughes Telecom (India) Limited [now renamed Tata Teleservices

(Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002. With a total Investment of Rs 19,924 Crore, Tata

Teleservices has created a Pan India presence spread across 20 circles that includes Andhra

Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, J & K, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, North East,

Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh

(E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Having pioneered the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has

established 3G ready telecom infrastructure. It partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent,Zte

and ECI Telecom for the deployment of its telecom network.

The company is the market leader in the fixed wireless telephony market with a total

customer base of over 3.8 million.

2.2.4 Reliance Communications (NSE: RCOM, BSE: 532712), formerly known as Reliance

Infocomm, along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance

Communications Ventures (RCoVL). Reliance Communications Limited, founded by

Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932–2002), is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai

Ambani Group. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group currently has a net worth in

excess of 64,000 crore (US$13.6 billion), cash flows of 13,000 crore ($2.8 billion), and a net

profit of 8,400 crore ($1.8 billion). The Equity Shares of RCOM are listed on Bombay Stock

Exchange Limited and National Stock Exchange Limited.

It ranks among the top 5 telecommunications companies [1] in the world by number of

customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100

Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers.

The company has established a pan-India, next-generation, integrated (wireless and wireline),

convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting services

spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000

villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next-generation IP-enabled

connectivity infrastructure,[2] comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable

systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

3. Objective

The main objectives of the study are:

1. The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating fast developing

area and so all the service providers were

2. To study the customer satisfaction towards mobile service providers.

3. To study and identify how the customers are benefited.

4. To evaluate the major service provider satisfied the customer.

5. To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to assess their

current satisfaction levels.

6. To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers.

7. To understand the performance of different brands in the market on various parameters like

product quality, performance of the customer relationship officer (CRO), service quality,

range and selection of products available.

4. Research Methodology

Research Definition

The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a systematic and a

replicable process, which identifies and defines problems, within specified boundaries. It

employs well-designed method to collect the data and analyses the results. It disseminates the

findings to contribute to generalize able knowledge. The main characteristics of research

presented below are:

• Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests relationships between

them,

• Collecting, organizing and evaluating data.

• Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others

• Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected

• Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a larger

population.

• Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it.

• Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts.

• Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would facilitate to

decision.

For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were use. It

helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data which will be collected

from a sample of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest.

Demographic factors like age, income and educational background was used for the

classification purpose.

4.1 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS

In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is graphical diagram.

4.2 METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA

The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more

effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective

presentation and hence results are being obtained.

4.3 Sources of Data

The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured

questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated

websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various

experts.

4.4 Sampling Design

RESEARCH DESIGN

The design for this study is Exploratory and Random samplin

4.5 Collection Method

DATA COLLECTION

The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of

questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. Because it is a pilot study and due to

time constraint the sample size is small.

of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest. Demographic

factors like age, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.

5. Data Analysis and Interpretation

Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have?

Table 1: No. of respondent by service provider

Brand NO. Of respondent

Vodafone 40

Airtel 32

Tata 16

Reliance 12

Graph 1: No. of respondent by service provider

Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

NO. Of respondent

NO. Of respondent

Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Kolkata, where the market leader is Vodafone.

That’s why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Vodafone. Above data analysis shows

that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two market leaders

Vodafone and Airtel. Minor is Tata.

Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

Table 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider

Brands Excellen

t

Good Avg Poor Total

Vodafone 50 37.5 12.5 0 100

Airtel 43.75 31.25 25 0 100

Tata 25 37.5 25 12.5 100

Reliance 25 25 41.67 8.33 100

Graph 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider

Excellent Good Avg Poor0

10

20

30

40

50

60

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Interpretation: Most of the Vodafone users (50%) rated the service as excellent whereas

41.67% of Reliance customers ranked their service as average. The graph as well as the table

indicates that in the opinion of the surveyed customers, Vodafone provides excellent service

followed by Airtel, Tata and then Reliance.

Q3:-Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced?

Table 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP

Brands Stay Not to Stay

Vodafone 40 0

Airtel 30 2

Tata 10 6

Reliance 9 3

Graph 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP

Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

StayNot to Stay

Interpretation: from the respondents it is clear that Vodafone would be the least affected service

provider after introduction of MNP. Tata may be the worst affected.

Q4:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company?

Table 4:- Percentage distribution of respondent by satisfaction level of network service

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisfy

Total

Vodafone 60 35 5 0 0 100

Airtel 55 25 15 5 0 100

Tata 40 30 12 12 6 100

Reliance 38 22 8 20 12 100

Very Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very Dissatisfy0

10

20

30

40

50

60

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q5:- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile

service:

Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS

Particular Airte

l

Vodafone Relianc

e

Tata

SMS Pack 15 32 40 48

Concession

Call Rates

28 30 12 14

Internet

Service

40 10 40 32

Full Talk

Time

17 28 8 6

Total 100 100 100 100

Airtel Vodafone reliance Tata0

10

20

30

40

50

60

SMS PackConcession Call RatesInternet ServiceFull Talk Time

Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?

Table 6:-

Brands <1month 1-6month >6month-

<1year

>1year-

<3year

>3year

Vodafone 2 8 12 10 8

Airtel 1 6 10 7 8

Tata 6 6 2 1 1

Reliance 5 4 2 1 0

<1month 1-6month >6month-<1year

>1year-<3year

>3year0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

VodafoneAirtelTata Reliance

Q7:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your

choice

Table 7:- showing number of customer buy the connection of service provider

Brands Price Network

Service

Brand Image VAS

Vodafone 3 11 21 5

Airtel 4 10 15 3

Reliance 6 0 4 2

Tata 8 1 4 2

Vodafone Airtel Reliance Tata0

5

10

15

20

25

PriceNetwork ServiceBrand ImageVAS

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money?

Table 8:-

Brands Excellent Good Fair Poor Not Sure

Vodafone 20 12 8

Airtel 15 8 8 1

Tata 2 6 3 3 2

Reliance 1 1 5 4 1

Excellent Good Fair Poor Not Sure0

5

10

15

20

25

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer

care/service department of your service provider?

Brands Tariff

Related

Activation/

Deactivation

Information

of VAS’s

Network

Problem

Vodafone 5 15 20

Airtel 5 15 10 2

Tata 5 4 3 4

Reliance 4 3 1 4

.

Tariff

Related

Activa

tion/ Dea

ctiva

tion

Informati

on of VAS’s

Network

Problem

0

5

10

15

20

25

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied

are you with the customer care service?

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisfy

Vodafone 20 14 6

Airtel 14 12 5 1

Tata 6 5 4 1

Reliance 1 4 2 3 2

Very Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very Dissatisfy0

5

10

15

20

25

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisfy

Vodafone 25 13 2

Airtel 15 10 2 3 2

Tata 4 2 3 4 3

Reliance 3 2 4 2 1

Very Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very Dissatisfy0

5

10

15

20

25

30

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewhat

Agree

Strongly

Agree

Vodafone 1 3 1 16 19

Airtel 3 5 2 12 10

Tata 4 2 2 3 5

Reliance 6 1 1 2 2

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Neutral Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewhat

Agree

Strongly

Agree

Vodafone 1 3 4 11 21

Airtel 2 4 2 9 15

Tata 4 5 3 2 1

Reliance 6 3 2 1

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Neutral Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

0

5

10

15

20

25

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewhat

Agree

Strongly

Agree

Vodafone 1 6 15 18

Airtel 1 3 2 12 14

Tata 6 4 5 1

Reliance 9 2 1

Strongly Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Neutral Somewhat Agree

Strongly Agree

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

VodafoneAirtelTataReliance

6 Limitation of Research

• Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some

problems, which are listed here:

• The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and

every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time.

• Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in

responding rightly.

• Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about

themselves and their organization.

• Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services

provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information.

• Most of the respondents don’t want to disclose the information about the various other

companies’ which they have experienced before.

• Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they

were not able to properly differentiate among their product.

7. Review of Literature

1) Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile telephones.

The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is usually known as

“3G” for short. There are various issues about that new innovative. One is how to price

3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone operating companies to

recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments for operating licenses.

Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed international standards and

companies do not yet know what new services the technology will prove capable of

delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain dependent on largely unproven

technology. Marketing 3G is going to be about services which are new and in many cases,

yet to be designed. At the same time, it will involve services which can also be obtained

by computer and other means. It follows that the marketing task will be high risk. First,

3G has no obviously unique selling proposition to build on except, perhaps, the

combination of live video and easy portability. Second, the potential customers have not

yet had adequate opportunity to signal their service likes and dislikes. Third, the cost and

complexity of service provision leave doubt about the market’s reaction to price.

2) Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to

create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing

customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic

liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure

through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign

companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom

equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows

private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the state-

owned department of telecommunications. However, several companies are expected to

benefit from the policy change.

3) Bhatt (2008), in his study titled “A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post

Graduate Students” analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers,

content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people

alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks

associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This

paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference

manufacturing and service provider companies.

4. Jha (2008), in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of the

telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot

of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions

of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged

between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and

years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the

study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to

formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.

5. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given

favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the

attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services

promised and services offered. The overall customers’ attitude towards cell phone

services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more

services to be provided.

6. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled “Managing the Customer Perceived Service

Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation” analyzed that there

is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the

most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality,

assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers

to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the

development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service

quality for cellular mobile services.

7. Fernandez (2007) in their study titled “Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry:

Case of Mobile VAS in India” analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) is a

rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is made at

understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within which the

Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our literature and

industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is complicated yet one

can observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators

and content aggregators.

8. Bismut (2006) in his study titled “Competition in European Telecom Markets” analyzed

that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed major

developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a

surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors have

contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry, competition has

played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new technologies, to innovate

and to offer new services.

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

Services: A Customer Perspective” analyzed that the increasing competition and changing

taste and preferences of the customer’s all over the world are forcing companies to

change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the customer attitude and their

satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was found that

advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most of the

customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are more sale

oriented rather than customer oriented.

10. Fredric (2008) analyzed the importance of yield management and discrimination pricing

in telecommunication sector. Yield management is the process of allocating the right type

of capacity or inventory unit to the right kind of customer at the right price so as to

maximize revenue or yield. Yield management and dynamic pricing strategies could be

usefully applied to preserve and increase profitability. Yield management techniques can

help telecom operators and similar companies to optimize the benefits they can derive

from a subtle management of information networks and partnerships. However, such an

approach is more difficult to implement in the telecommunications industry than in the

airlines sector because of the difficulty to control (and sometimes to refuse) network

access to customers

11. Chris (2003) has analyzed ‘Telecom advertising in print media.’ This research attempted

to investigate why Telecom theme are used in advertisement, and the motives that lead

companies and advertisers to use sport celebrities and sport concept in advertisements.

From study it has been revealed that the appearance of sport celebrities in advertising

endorsement occurred more often in Telecom magazines than in other magazines,

because their target group is more acquainted with athletes. The sport celebrities that

dominated each printed media are related with their target group characteristics.

8. Conclusion

CONCLUSION

As per my belief we have seen that the choice of mobile handset and services can not

be separated came out true because when we tried to find out the customer

decision .we successfully classified customers in to eight group each with some

special requirement service wise and handset’s attribute wise. Competition in telecom

industry is heating up its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new

dynamic business environment.

Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of

customers to satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of

Indian telecom scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of

other .They should also think for searching new space or we can say either creating a

new blue space to sustain their growth in long run.

There is more room for data analysis but the rest of the part is beyond the scope of

this project report According to the results, the most important determinant for

consumers are price and sacrifice perception (monetary and non-monetary sacrifice),

which in perception. These are periodical fixed cost, minute or traffic charge and

opening cost when purchasing mobile phone. The results indicate that the minute

charge is the most influential factor when a customer assesses to purchase. The

second most important factor is the periodical fixed cost and another factor is the

opening cost. These indicate, not surprisingly, that communication firms need to

deeply consider. Also, this indicates that a lot of effort must be put in the pricing

strategy.

Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or

failure of next-generation communications service providers. In today’s competitive

environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations.

The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another,

demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and

performance. To be successful, communications service providers must deliver

positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by

comprehensive service quality management. To these effect-Mobile services has

experienced the negative attributes of not being customer focused and realizes that

quality is an attribute that creates customer satisfaction profitably. Therefore quality

must be fused with all resources channeled towards their customers

BibliographyREFERANCES

1. Jallet, Frederic, “Yield management, Dynamic pricing and CRM in

telecommunications”,

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

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contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1747102&history=true>)

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2. Debnath, Roma Mitra, “Benchmarking telecommunication service in India”, 2008

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

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contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1742535&history=true>)

[Viewed 2/3/09]

3. Robins, Fread, “The marketing of 3G”, vol 21, no 6, 2008

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

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contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=854647&history=true>)

[Viewed 2/4/09]

4. Kalwani, Banumathy, “Consumer’s Attitude towards Cell phone Services”, 2006

5. Fernandez, Fronnie, “Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of

Mobile VAS in India”, 2007

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F0757A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?

contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=881588&history=true>)

[Viewed 4/4/09]

6. Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, “Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing

Strategies in the Competitive Scenario”, 2007

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

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contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=881588&history=true>)

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7. Seth et, Etal, “Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile

Telephone: an Empirical Investigation”, 2008

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/

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8. Tecor, Jha, “Understanding Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among College-Goers”,

2008

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Journal

The Indian Telecom Industry, IIM Calutta, Vatsal Goyal, 2007

Investment Surge in the Indian Telecom Space, Times Global, Issue 2, 2008

A multiple-perspective model for technology assessment, vol 3, 2008

The marketing of 3G, Vol 21, no. 6, 2003

Books

Zeithaml, Valarie (2008), Service Marketing, 4th Ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing

Company Lmt.

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

NAME- ___________________ MOBILE MODEL- ________

AGE- ________ OCCUPATION-_________________

Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have?

A) Vodafone B) Airtel C) Tata D) Reliance

Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Average 4) Poor

Q3:- Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced?

a) Stay b) Not to stay

Q4:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company?

a) Very satisfied

b) Satisfied

c) Neutral

d) Dissatisfied

e) Very dissatisfied

Q5:- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service:

Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS

1) SMS Pack 2) Concession Call Rates 3) Internet Service 4) Full Talk Time

Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?

a) Less than one month b) 1 to 6 months c) 6 months to a year

d) 1 to 3 years e) Over 3 years

Q7:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice

1) Price 2) Network 3) Service 4) Brand Image 5) VAS

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money?

1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Fair 4) Poor 5) Not Sure

Q9:- :- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service?

a) Tariff related

b) Activation/deactivation related

c) Information about VAS’s

d) Network problem

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you

with the customer care service?

a) Very satisfied

b) Satisfied

c) Neutral

d) Dissatisfied

e) Very dissatisfied

Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved?

a) Very satisfied

b) Satisfied

c) Neutral

d) Dissatisfied

e) Very dissatisfied

Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous.

a) Strongly Disagree

b) Somewhat Disagree

c) Neutral

d) Somewhat Agree

e) Strongly Agree

Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.

a) Strongly Disagree

b) Somewhat Disagree

c) Neutral

d) Somewhat Agree

e) Strongly Agree

Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory.

a) Strongly Disagree

b) Somewhat Disagree

c) Neutral

d) Somewhat Agree

e) Strongly Agree

If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, will you please describe the reasons for

your dissatisfaction?

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Thank you for spending your precious time on filling in the questionnaire for us!