RESEARCH REPORTON

“EFFECT OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY ON THE NETWORK PROVIDER AND CUSTOMER

SUBMITTED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIRMENT FOR THE AWARD

OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Session 2010-12

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:-

Mr. RAJESH SINGH GAURAV SINGH Asst. Proff. MBA IV SEM

Roll No. 1112470042

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel immense pleasure in presenting this Research report on “EFFECT OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY ON THE NETWORK PROVIDER AND CUSTOMER. I wish there were some way to thank individually the respondent who played an important role on providing valuable information for the successful completion of the project.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. RAJESH SINGH for his continuous motivation, constant supervision and for extending their full co-operation in carrying out the project.

Finally, it was impossible to complete my project without the support and guidance of “my respected parents”. And last but not the least; I am very thankful to those who are very near and dear to me, for their support continuo assistance to give the best possible shape.

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DECLARATION

I, GAURAV SINGH, student of MBA of “ICCMRT, Lucknow ” hereby

declare that the research report titled ““EFFECT OF MOBILE

NUMBER PORTABILITY ON THE NETWORK

PROVIDER AND CUSTOMER” is an original word and the

same has not been submitted to any other institute for the award of any

other degree.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY

Industry Profile

INTRODUCTION & DESIGN OF STUDY

Introduction to the problem

Review of Literature

Objective of the Study

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Objective

Research Design

o Sampling Design

o Data Collection Design

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Conclusions

Limitation

Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION

The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million

connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among

the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market

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

the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has grown

by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007. According to

Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million

broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. The

wireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57

million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new

telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless

now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as

compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to

bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. 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

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

across the country.

Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones

Year

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

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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)

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

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications

and Mahanagar 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

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A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in

consumers' income and spending owing to strong economic growth have

helped make India the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. The

first and largest operator is the state-owned incumbent BSNL, which is

also the 7th largest telecom company in the world in terms of its number

of subscribers. BSNL was created by corporatization. while DTS

(Department of Telecommunication Services), a government unit

responsible for provision of telephony services. Subsequently, after the

telecommunication policies were revised to allow private operators,

companies such as Bharti Telecom, TATA Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL,

Idea, Vodafone and BPL have entered the space. Major operators in

India. However, rural India still lacks strong infrastructure.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 300 million

mark on June 18 2008The overall tele-density has increased to 36.98% in

March 2009 .In the wireless segment, 15.87 million subscribers have

been added in March 2009. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA

& WLL (F)) base is more than 391.76 million now. The wire line

segment subscriber base stood at 38.22 million with a decline of 0.13

million in October 2008.

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Market Share of Public and Private Industry

The fixed line and mobile segments serve the basic needs of local calls,

long distance calls and the international calls, with the provision of

broadband services in the fixed line segment and GPRS in the mobile

arena. Traditional telephones have been replaced by the codeless and the

wireless instruments. Mobile phone providers have also come up with

GPRS-enabled multimedia messaging, Internet surfing, and mobile-

commerce.The much-awaited 3G mobile technology is soon going to

enter the Indian telecom market. The GSM, CDMA, WLL service

providers are all upgrading them to provide 3G mobile services. Along

with improvement in telecom services, there is also an improvement in

manufacturing. In the beginning, there were only the Siemens handsets in

India but now a whole series of new handsets, such as Nokia's latest N-

series, Sony Ericsson's W-series, Motorola's PDA phones, etc. have come

up.

Touch screen and advanced technological handsets are gaining

popularity. Radio services have also been incorporated in the mobile

handsets, along with other applications like high storage memory,

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multimedia applications, multimedia games, MP3 Players, video

generators, Camera's, etc. The value added services provided by the

mobile service operators contribute more than 10% of the total revenue.

The Global Cellular Mobile Industry

Global telecom sector

Earnings visibility

Earnings growth is being driven by improving pricing conditions,

stabilizing operating trends, aggressive cost cutting initiatives, a positive

regulatory environment, strong wireless growth, and new market

opportunities. This has translated into greater visibility of forward

earnings as evidenced by recent increased analyst upgrades within the

sector.

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Merger synergies

Given the substantial amount of excess capital available in the sector and

in private equity we expect to see additional merger and acquisition

activity, albeit at a slower pace than recently witnessed. Global telecom

M&A deals over the past two years have reflected market expansion but

have also had a positive effect on the buyers’ balance sheets. Partnering

companies have begun realizing their synergies through cost reductions

and economies of scale. In the US, the largest three companies now

account for over 70% of the sector market cap; this compares to 34% in

1990. Trends in bundled services are also paving the way for additional

M&A activity. Sector consolidation will further increase the importance

of stock selection.

Growth

While cost-cutting has been a major source of earnings growth, we have

seen top-line pressures decreasing which will help revenues become a

larger driver of earnings growth again. We see growth within the sector

coming from a number of areas including: broadband, 3G (third

generation) technology, expansion in emerging markets. Broadband

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penetration has been accelerating as internet customers are seeking faster

downloads for audio and video files. 3G services, which facilitate the

simultaneous transfer of both voice and non-voice (i.e. video, downloads,

SMS, etc.) data are providing mobile users with a much more robust

communication platform and should finally begin to realize their growth

potential in 2007. Emerging market companies benefit from low

penetration rates and also tend to have lower leverage, higher margins

and higher growth than most developed markets telecom companies.

Global opportunities

It has become less difficult to find attractive telecom investment

opportunities globally than it was a year ago. As the fog has lifted from

the sector, there are increased opportunities within both the growth and

value spaces.

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Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone

The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or

"hand phone") is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile

communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone,

The Global Cellular Mobile Industry:

The global mobile phone industry is based on many different

manufacturers and operators. The industry is based on advanced

technology and many of the manufacturers are operating in different

industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network,

market knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile

phones are today dominating the global mobile phone industry

&networks; Nokia, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Motorola . Airtel, Bsnl ,

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tataindicom ,Vodafone, reliance, others. In addition to these companies

there are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally.

Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in

India. India has nearly200 million telephone lines making it the

third largest network in the world after China and USA.

With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest

growth rate in the8world.

Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication

Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India

and China.

India‘s mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base

of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific.

Compared to that India’s share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone

market is 6.4%.

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History of Indian Telecommunications

It was Started in 1851 ,when the first operational land lines were laid by

the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services

were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were

emerged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign

telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts,

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

Ministry . Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the

government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first

wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s

when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment

manufacturing. In 1985, Department of

Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider

of domestic and long distance service that would be its own regulator

(separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-

owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited

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(VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone

Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening

up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other

countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led

Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in

opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National

Telecom Policy(NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive

roadmap for the Indian telecommunicationssector.

In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created.

TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the

telecom sector.. Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into

two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services.

Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long

distance and international long distance services. The state operators

(BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from

basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective

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urban areas, and collectively account .Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Essar, and Idea

Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata

Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance

telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry.

Cellular he tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main

source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long

distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven

demand.

Classification of Telecommunication services

1. Basic services

2. Cellular services

3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)

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INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF STUDY

Introduction to the problem

MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe. The international

and European standard is for a customer wishing to port his/her number

to contact the new provider (Recipient) who will then arrange necessary

process with the old provider (Donor). This is also known as 'Recipient-

Led' porting. The United Kingdom did not implement a Recipient-Led

system, where a customer wishing to port his/her number is required to

contact the Donor to obtain a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) which

he/she then has to give to the Recipient. Once having received the PAC

the Recipient continues the port process by contacting the Donor. This

form of porting is also known as 'Donor-Led' and has been criticised by

some industry analysts as being inefficient. It has also been observed that

it may act as a customer deterrent as well as allowing the Donor an

opportunity of 'winning-back' the customer. This might lead to distortion

of competition, especially in the markets with new entrants that are yet to

achieve scalability of operation.

In India, MNP has been launched recently, which is Donor Led. Only the

terminology is changed from PAC to UPC (Unique Porting Code).

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India is set to become the world’s largest mobile youth market passing

China in 2011 with 281 million activations.  By 2012 mobile owning

youth in India will outnumber the entire population of the United States.

Up until this year, mobile operators in India have enjoyed very minimal

external threats, but in just a few months Mobile Number Portability

(MNP) will be introduced into the market. MNP enables mobile

subscribers to change their service providers or their location without

having to change their existing phone numbers. If the subscribers are not

satisfied with the services of their service provider, they can change their

service provider while retaining the existing phone number. This infuses

competition among service providers and forces them to improve their

service standards to check subscriber churn.

MNP presents a number of new challenges and opportunities for

marketers and brand managers to maintain and garner greater share of the

youth market. One of the biggest challenges for the them will be to retain

the existing customers. According to research from The Nielsen

Company, close to one in five (18%) of Indian mobile customers said that

they would change their operator if they have the ability to retain their

number.  For some mobile services, this news might cause some concern:

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a quarter of customers of Reliance and Tata Indicom said that they would

be keen to change if MNP becomes reality, while 19 percent of BSNL

subscribers would do the same.. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of

India (TRAI) itself has estimated the porting rate to be at 10% in the first

15 months and 7%, 6% and 5% for the successive three years.

So what does this mean for the Telecom marketers in India? Until now,

marketers adjusted their pricing strategies to cut out the competition.

However, in the wake of MNP, pricing won’t be the deciding factor.

Currently, there are brands who provide 1 paise a second plan, that’s

barely a quarter of a cent. Secondly, Mobile companies will be forced to

look at technology to retain a greater share of the market. However, the

reality in India is that not many people have woken up to the smart

phones consumption yet. So that will be another challenge.

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I won’t be surprised if brands start following the UK model of phone

contract systems, wherein a consumer is tied to a service provider for a

certain period of time which reduces the risk of consumers switching

between various brands. With the intensely competitive mobile phone

market, service providers will have to constantly come up with more

exciting offers and greater value-added features.

Social media will play a key role in helping marketers and brand

managers to retain a greater share of youth market. Needless to say,

brands who adapt this new promotion strategy will have a clear

competitive edge. There is a greater need to provide a package to the

consumers whereby they could form a network of friends and families

and enjoy free SMS, free internet access and the lowest call rates

within their network of people.

What do you think the challenges will be? Can you think of how Telecom

brands in India can over come the challenges of MNP?

Customer

According to Philip Kotler, “satisfaction is a person’s feelings of

pressure or disappointment resulting from product’s perceived

performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations.

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Customer satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting

from comparing a product’s perceived performance (outcome) in

relation to the person’s expectations”.

This satisfaction level is a function of difference between perceived

performance and expectations. If the product’s performance, exceed

expectation the customer highly satisfied or delighted. If the performance

matches the expectations the customer is satisfied. If the products

performance fall shorts of expectations the customer is dissatisfied.

Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who

are just satisfied still find it easy to switch when a better offer comes

along. High satisfaction or delight creates an emotional affinity with

brand.

Variety of factors that affect customer satisfaction includes product

quality, product availability and after sales support such as warranties and

services. Customer satisfaction is seen as a proof of delivering a quality

product or service. It is believed that customer satisfaction brings sales

growth, and market share. A company can always increase customer

satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services but this may

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result in lower profits. Thus the purpose of marketing is to generate

customer value profitability.

India is on the threshold of a new millennium. India chose for global

economy, exposing her to winds of change in the market place, which has

expanded vastly and become fiercely competitive. In the changed

environment, decision makers view the marketing concept as the key to

success. Marketing in practice has to manage products, pricing,

promotion and distribution.

A successful product can be developed by exploding these opportunities.

While delivering the value of the consumer we make use of marketing

support. This support is based on the knowledge of consumers and

distribution. Marketing support both at the introduction of products and

maturing is considered

Marketing, as suggested by the American Marketing Association is "an

organizational function and a set of processes for creating,

communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing

customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its

stakeholders".

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The two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers

(acquisition) and the retention and expansion of relationships with

existing customers (base management). Marketing methods are informed

by many of the social, particularly psychology, sociology, and

economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing, influence. Market

research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also related

to many of the creative arts.

For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps"1 i.e.

product, price, place, promotion must reflect the wants and desires of the

consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a market segment to

buy something they don't want is extremely expensive and seldom

successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and

informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to

pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable

competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical

application of this process. The offer is also an important addition to the

4P's theory.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE1

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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

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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.

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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

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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. Kumar (2008), in their study titled “Customer Satisfaction and

Discontentment vis-a-vis BSNL Landline Service: A Study”

analyzed that at present, services marketing plays a major role in

the national economy. In the service sector, telecom industry is the

most active and attractive. Though the telecom industry is

growing rapidly, India's telecom density is less than the world's

average telecom density as most of India's market is yet to be

covered. This attracts private operators to enter into the Indian

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telecom industry, which makes the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

(BSNL) more alert to run its business and survive in the market.

7. 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.

8. 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

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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.

9. 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.

10.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

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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.

11.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

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12.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.

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Objective

The main objective of the study are:

1. Service providers in the market which are not reaching the customer.

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

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

4. To evaluate the major service provider satisified 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.

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Research Objectives

Scope of study: scope is limited to Lucknow region only

Objectives of the study: This project aims at studying the present

market scenario.The major players in the market today are Airtel,

Vodafone,Bsnl, Tata indicom ,Reliance,Idea.All

The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating

fast developing area and so all the service providers were taken to

measure the satisfaction of customer

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

The design for this study is Exploratory and Random sampling

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.

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.

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TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS

In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is CHI

SQUARE test. It is used as because sample size is 100.

Sampling Design

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.

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

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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

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 entire population was interest.

Demographic factors likeage, income and educational background was

used for the classification purpose.

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DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have?

Particular No. of respondents

AIRTEL 40

VODAFONE 32

IDEA 16

BSNL 12

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Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Lucknowand

Secunderabad, where the market leader is Airtel. That’s why majority of

the questionnaire I got filled by Airtel. Above data analysis shows that

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

market leaders Airtel and vodafone. Minor is bsnl.

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Q2:- What kind of service you have?

Particular No. of respondents

Pre-Paid 84

Post-Paid 16

Interpretation: - Above data shows that most of the respondents in the

area have pre-paid connections. And I got only 16% questionnaire filled

by post-paid users.

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Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

Brands Excellent Good Avg Poor Terrible Not

Sure

Airtel 7 18 10 0

Vodaphone 5 15 20 0

Idea 1 06 04 05

Bsnl 0 10 03 08

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Interpretation:- From the graphic it depict that Airtel is the most

excellent and good service provider as 19 out 20 responded believes that

the service of the company is excellent. Then vodaphone has also good

rate of excellence as 16 out of 18 respondents rated Vodaphone as a good

service provider. But the idea and Bsnl are not under good ratings. 8

respondents of BSNL and 5 of Idea have rated their service provider as

Poor. BSNL is found to be worst service provider from all above as 12

respondents rate it as a average service provider and 8 as a poor service

provider.

45

Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy

the service of your choice?

H1: -Price factor is not the most influencing factor for the purchase of

Telecom service.

H0: - Price factor is the most influencing factor for the purchase of

Telecom service.

Brands Price Network

Service

Brand

Image

VAS Expected

values

Airtel 16 4 25

Vodafone 7 4 3 6 25

Idea 6 7 3 10 25

Bsnl 22 10 25

46

Interpretation of Chi: - As the 95% level of confidence Chi square

value 6.035 is more than the table value 5.991, so the null hypothesis is

rejected, it means Price factor is the most influencing factor for the

purchase of Telecom service.

Interpretation:- Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred

because of its best network service and Brand image as well. Where

Vodafone is preferred because of its good pricing strategy, network

service, brand image and the most Value Added Services of the company.

And Idea is preferred because of all above factors. Where Bsnl is

preferred the most because of its low price as compare to its competitors

and because of its value added services as well.

47

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

service:

Particular Airtel Vodafone Idea Bsnl

SMS Pack 0 9 4 16

Concession

Call Rates

3 15 6 11

Internet

Service

6 1 6 0

Full Talk

Time

5 7 4 7

48

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being

preferred because of its internet service. And vodaphone because of its

Concession calls rates and full talk time VAS. Where Idea the most

because of its Concession Call Rates and SMS pack. But BSNL because

of its SMS pack mainly and then concession rates also.

49

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

Brands >1 Month 1-6 Month 6 M– 1

Year

< 1 Year < 3 Year

Airtel 2 7 13 6

Vodafone 1 3 11 13

Idea 2 3 7 3 3

Bsnl 2 5 3 9 2

50

Interpretation:- Above table analysis depicts that most of the users are

using their telecom service from last one year. Some of the users are also

using it from last 3 year, where majority of the users are BSNL

connection holders. Most of the users of the Vodaphone are using it from

last 6 months. Very few respondents are a new users of their services that

let our study not vague.

51

Q7:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your

company?

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisf

y

Airtel 7 23 0 0 0

Vodafone 3 18 1 0 0

Idea 2 13 2 0 0

Bsnl 2 14 8 6 0

52

Interpretation: - Above table data analysis shows that the satisfaction

rate of network service is leaded by Airtel as not a single user of service

is neutral or dissatisfy. And vodaphone network service satisfaction rate

is also good. And it can be also found that BSNL network service is not

good as compare to others competitors as 14 respondents are found to be

not satisfied with the company network service.

53

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

Brands Excellent Good Fair Poor Not Sure

Airtel 9 24 6

Vodafone 6 20 5

Idea 2 10

Bsnl 3 14 1

54

Interpretation: - Above data and chart analysis depicts that BSNL has

the highest rating of Value for /money as 33 persons out 34 has rated it as

a excellent and good service provider. Then Idea Company is following

Bsnl as a best service provider for value for money. Other two players

Airtel and Voda has similar performance approximately. Both has been

rated good and excellent, where good has been rated more as compare to

other options.

55

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

contact customer care/service department of your service provider?

H0: - People do not contact customer care mostly for activation and

deactivation of the service

H1: - People contact customer care mostly for activation and deactivation

of the service

Brands Billing

Related

Activation/

Deactivatio

n

Informati

on of

VAS’s

Network

Problem

Expected

values

Airtel 1 8 10 25

Vodafone 18 7 25

Idea 6 12 5 3 25

Bsnl 6 11 13 25

56

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value

9.351 is more than the table value 7.815, so the null hypothesis is

rejected, it means People contact customer care mostly for activation and

deactivation of the service.

Interpretation: - From the above data analysis it has been found that

most of the users of telecommunication contact to their customers care

for activation and deactivation of various services. Then they also contact

for information about various value added services provider by

companies like validity, call rates, sms pack, caller tones etc. Network

service has been found a problem of mainly BSNL users and to some

extent of Idea users as well.

57

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that

company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care

service?

H0: - Airtel is not the best service provider of customer care service.

H1: - Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service.

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisf

y

Airtel 14 6

Vodapho

ne

3 12 3

Idea 1 11 6 3 7

Bsnl 2 3 7 22

58

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value

11.143 is more than the table value 9.488, so the null hypothesis is

rejected, it means Airtel is the best service provider of customer care

service in the industry..

Interpretation:- From the above data interpretation we can conclude that

Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service. As it has been

also found in some of the article that Airtel is expending more on its

customer care service as compare to other competitors in the market. The

Vodaphone service is also satisfactory as most of the users has rated it as

satisfied service provider. But Bsnl is to be found as a not satisfactory

service provider. Most of the users said that they have not talk to their

customer care service provider even for a single time.

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

59

Brands Very

Satisfied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very

Dissatisf

y

Airtel 12 17

Vodafone 2 12 3

Idea 1 1 8 6 2

Bsnl 3 3 9 19

Interpretation: - From above data analysis we can say that most of the

users, who are satisfied with their customer care service, are also satisfied

60

with the process of getting their queries resolved. Airtel again has been

rated as the best service provider for getting queries resolved. Results are

similar approximately with the 10-question analysis.

61

Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewha

t Agree

Strongly

Agree

Airtel 7 13

Vodapho

ne

8 14

Idea 2 12 10

Bsnl 20 12 2

62

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all

companies found their customer service provider courteous. But the result

of BSNL is not good as the users say that they have not talk to their

customer care service provider even for a single time. Some of them have

talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are found not satisfied and

rated this question also as dissatisfied. So after studying their views with

a personal discussion we can not say that the customer care

representatives of BSNL are not courteous.

63

Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewha

t Agree

Strongly

Agree

Airtel 3 22

Vodapho

ne

1 17

Idea 8 5 10

Bsnl 20 12 2

64

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all

companies found their customer service provider knowledgeable. But the

result of BSNL is again not good as the users say that they have not talk

to their customer care service provider even for a single time. Some of

them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are found not

satisfied and rated this question also as dissatisfied. So after studying

their views with a personal discussion we can not say that the customer

care representatives of BSNL are not knowledgeable. But one more

finding is there in that question that Idea is not perfect in hiring best

personnel for customer care representatives as 8 users are neutral for this

question reply.

65

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

satisfactory.

Brands Strongly

Disagree

Somewhat

Disagree

Neutral Somewha

t Agree

Strongly

Agree

Airtel 2 23

Vodafone 3 15

Idea 8 5 10

Bsnl 20 12 2

66

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all

companies are found satisfactory with the waiting time their queries

resolved. But the result of BSNL is again not good as the users say that

they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a

single time. Some of them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So

they are found not satisfied and rated this question also as dissatisfied and

neutral. So after studying their views with a personal discussion we can

not say that the customer care representatives of BSNL are not able to

solve their customer queries in a satisfactory time.

67

68

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

69

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 this effect-Mobile

services has experienced the negative attributes of not being

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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

71

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Limitations

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.

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Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their

company and they were not able to properly differentiate among

their product.

Due to human behavior information may be biased. Mainly in

BSNL case.

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75

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME             

MOBILE MODEL

AGE

OCCUPATION

Q1:- Which mobile connection do you have?

a) Airtel                      b) Vodafone             c) Idea             d) Bsnl

Q2:- What kind of service you have

a) Pre-paid                                   b) Post-paid

Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

a) Excellent     b) Good    c) Average     d) Poor     e) Terrible      f) Not

Sure

Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you to buy the service

of your choice?

76

a) Price

b) Network Service

c) Brand Image

d) Value Added Services (Rel to Rel Free after 11PM)

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

retain the mobile service:

a) SMS pack 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

--1 2 3 4 5 -- Poor

b) Concession Call Rates 1 2 3 4 5

c) Internet Service 1 2 3 4 5

d) Full Talk Time 1 2 3 4 5

77

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

company?

a) Very satisfied

b) Satisfied

c) Neutral

d) Dissatisfied

e) Very dissatisfied

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

a) Excellent     b) Good           c) Fair      d) Poor        d) Not sure

78

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

contact customer care/service department of your service provider? Rank

them.

a) Billing 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

f) N/A

79

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

80

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

81

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Jallet, Frederic, “Yield management, Dynamic pricing and CRM in telecommunications”, (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B45CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1747102&history=true>) [Viewed 13/3/09]

2. Debnath, Roma Mitra, “Benchmarking telecommunication service in India”, 2008(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B45CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?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/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B45CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=854647&history=true>) [Viewed 2/4/09]

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.

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