RESEARCH REPORT

ON

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL

Research Report

Submitted towards partial fulfillment

Of

Master of business management

(Approved by Mahamaya Technical University)

Academic session

2011-2013

I.T.S. ENGINEERING COLLEGE,

GREATER NOIDA

Submitted To: Submitted By:

MS. HIMANI GOSWAMI ANITA KHARKA

1122270009

1
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that research report entitled “MARKETING

STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL”submitted for the partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the award of Master of Business Administration is

the outcome of original study undertaken by me and the has not
formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or any other
similar title.

Date: (Name & Sign. Of Student)

Place:

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Report is a team project, while my name is on the cover page of this Research Report,

literally many of the people have contributed to this research report. Every work requires

commitment, but this commitment goes in vein when there is no guidance.

Last but not the least I also acknowledge with thanks for his valuable suggestions and I

am also indebted to the faculty MS. HIMANI GOSWAMI of for making me worth this

work.

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 PREFACE

“Acceptance of New challenge makes the path for future success”

Today companies must urgently and critically rethink their business mission and marketing

strategies. Instead of operating in a market place of fixed and known competition and stable

customer preferences, today companies work in war zone of rapidly changing customer/competitor

technological advance, new law, managed trade policies and diminishing customer loyalty.

Company considers the fact that today customer face a plenitude of product every category.

Consider that customer exhibit varying and diverse requirement for product service combination and

prices.

In the face of their vast choices, customer will gravitate to the offering that best meet their

individual needs and expectation.

Therefore it is not surprising that today’s winning companies are those who succeed best in

satisfying indeed delighting, their target customer. If they can’t bring something special to get

market.

They will not last long. These companies are market. They will not last long. These companies are

market focused and customer driven. They pay extreme attention to quality and service to meeting

and even exceeding customer expectation.

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 CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1. Introduction 01-15

2. Research Design 16-19

3. Industry Profile 20-31

4. Profile of the company/Organization System 32-60

5. Analysis and Interpretation of Data 61-77

6. Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations 78-82

Bibliography

Annexure

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 INTRODUCTION

The project aims at understanding the Marketing Strategies of Airtel and its impact on the
perception of Airtel Cellular Services. Research is to demonstrate conclusively that it is far
more costly to win a new customer than it is to maintain an existing one. There is no better
way to retain a customer than to exceed his expectations. For this purpose it is essential to
know the level of customer satisfaction. The focus of my research is the measurement of
customer satisfaction level for the services provided by Bharti Airtel. The research would be
done for the corporate clients of Bharti Airtel. My job is not only to represent the Corporate
Sales Dept. and collect the feedback from the clients but also to get the major complaints
resolved through internal counseling. There can be no better opportunity to interact with the
external as well as the internal customers of an organization. The aim of the research finally
is to verify the fact that keeping the customer satisfied is the best strategy not only to retain
the existing customers but also to expand the business to new horizons.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives are:

 To study the importance and development of telecommunication industry in today‘s
scenario.
 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in
highly competitive mobile telecom industry.
 To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.

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 SAMPLE SIZE

There would be 100 respondents from satellite station of Bangalore from different age
groups.

Age Group Sample size

15-22 years
23 – 30 years
31 – 38 years
above 39 years
Total 100

SAMPLING PROCEDURE

 In Random sampling and Judgment sampling there will be no scientific method

adopted it will be purely judgment based.
 Contact Method
 Personnel Interview

ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION:

From the data collected, I will tabulate the data and apply the frequency distribution and other
related statistical techniques.

CONTRIBUTIONS EXPECTED FROM THE RESEARCH:

 Tele-network brand preferred by the user respondents.

 To study the importance and development of telecommunication industry in today‘s
scenario.
 To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.
 Marketing strategies adopted by Airtel to enhance their brand image.
 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in
highly competitive mobile telecom industry.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its strategies
and how the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and
how it is cooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report
begins with the history of the products and the introduction of the Airtel Company.
This report also contains the basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel
Company for technology, promotion policy, advertising, collaboration, future
prospect and government policies. The report includes some of the key salient
features of market trend issues. In today‘s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it
is very essential to not only exist but also to excel in the market. Today‘s market is
enormously more complex. Hence forth, to survive in the market, the company not
only needs to maximize its profit but also needs to satisfy its customers and
should try to build upon from there.

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 TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA
The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is the fifth largest
in the world and is the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the
fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for UK companies in
the stagnant global scenario. Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in 1999, has shown
an impressive jump to 9.5% in 2009 and 10.5% in 2010 and is set to increase to 20% in the
next five years beating the Govt. target by three years. Accordingly, India requires
incremental investments of USD 25-30 billion for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164% p.a.) in India.
With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and GSM), wireless is the principal growth
engine of the Indian telecom industry. Given the current growth trends, cellular connections
in India will surpass fixed line by late 2011/early 2012. Intense competition between the four
main private groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector
incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop in tariffs.

There has been almost 74% in cell phone charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25% drop in NLD
charges, resulting in a boom time for the consumers. The Government has played a key
enabling role by deregulating and liberalising the industry, ushering in competition and
paving the way for growth. While there were regulatory irregularities earlier, resulting in
litigation, these have all been addressed now. Customs duties on hardware and mobile
handsets have been reduced from 14 percent to 5 percent. The Indian government has merged
the IT and Telecom Ministries to speed up reforms and decision on the Communication
Convergence Bill to enable the common regulation of the Internet, broadcasting and telecoms
will be taken after the new Government assumes responsibilities in may this year. An
independent regulatory body (TRAI) and dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is fully
functional.

In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic policy aimed at
improving India's competitiveness in the global markets and the rapid growth of exports. Key
to achieving these goals was a world-class telecom infrastructure. In India, the telecom
service areas are divided into four metros (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) and 20
circles, which roughly correspond to the states in India. The circles are further classified
under "A," "B" and "C," with the "A" circle being the most attractive and "C" being the least

9
attractive. The regulatory body at that time — the Department of Telecommunications (DOT)
— allocated two cellular licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900
cellular services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular service was provided
by, Modi Telstra in Kolkata in August 1995. For the auction, it was stipulated that no firm
can win in more than one metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu and Kashmir and
Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and Assam had only one bidder
each.

INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to be the country's largest cellular
operator, with 50 lakh subscribers. Vodafone, which operates in 22 circles, has a subscriber
base of 37 lakh subscribers. Thus Vodafone stands second largest cellular operator in terms
of subscriber base at the end of the fiscal ending March 31, 2010, displacing BSNL from the
second position. BSNL, which operates in only eighteen circles, is the third largest operator
with a subscriber base of 32 lakh. Unlike fellow public sector undertaking, MTNL, which
operates in Mumbai and Delhi, BSNL, has been a very aggressive player in the market.

"Cellular operators who expected BSNL to go the MTNL way, were taken by surprise and
did not take effective steps to counter it, till it was too late in the day," said a telecom analyst.
Belying fears of a slowdown in cellular subscriber acquisitions, the cell club has reported a
9.72% growth, the highest growth in any month so far, during March 2010. Year-on-year, the
cellular subscriber base in the country has almost doubled in March 2009, and is expanding at
the rate of 25% per year thereafter. The cellular subscriber club expanded by 21.31 lakh last
month. This is much higher than 5.9 lakh subscribers added in February 2010 and 2.13 lakh
in January 2010.

Idea, which operates in seven circles, is the fourth largest operator with a subscriber base of
17.80 lakh, higher than BPL's 11.31 lakh subscribers across four circles. The subscriber
numbers per operator drop sharply with the sixth largest operator, Spice Communications,
having a subscriber base of 9.40 lakh, followed by Reliance Telecom's 8.9 lakh subscribers.
MTNL is the ninth largest operator, with a base of 8.32 lakh subscribers.
While the subscriber base-jumped by 3.38% to 44.39 lakh in the metros, subscriber base of
category A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

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jumped by 10.18 % to reach 43.64 lakh. Category B circles of Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal recorded
a jump of 10.69%, with a total base of 33.74 lakh subscribers. Circle C has reported 12.74 %
growth with subscriber numbers jumping to 5.08 lakh. Among the metros, while Mumbai
added 1,63,180 subscribers, higher than the 1,58,646 added by Delhi, the Capital's cellular
subscriber base of over 80 lakh is still higher than Mumbai's 66.89 lakh. While the cellular
industry has been on roll for the first three quarters of the previous financial year with an
average of 16.75 lakh monthly additions in the third quarter, the first two months of 2007 had
seen the growth slowing down.

In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was introduced in the Lok
Sabha, and the president officially announced the TRAI ordinance on 25 January 1997. The
government decided to set up TRAI to separate regulatory functions from policy formulation,
licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the creation of TRAI, these functions were the sole
responsibility of the DOT.

High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put tremendous financial burden
on the operators, diverting funds away from network development and enhancements. As a
result, by 1999 many operators failed to pay their license fees and were in danger of having
their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new telecom policy was put in place (New
Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be
replaced by a revenue-sharing scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue
were to be paid to the government.

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 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER ROADBLOCKS AND
THEIR RESOLUTION

Indian Cellular market immediately after the first round of licensing in 1994-96 was beset by
several problems for 3 - 4 years till the New Telecom Policy of 1999 was announced. Some
of these roadblocks / current positions are tabulated below:

High license fees-

Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund requirements for
payment of license fees. Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters
Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over 60% per annum, while
businesses with weak promoters continuing to languish - spate of acquisitions / mergers, with
4/5 major groups emerging in the last one/two years.

Regulatory authority not in place-

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its role being accepted by
all operators; Dept of Telecommunications (DOT) restructured, with operations and policy
making roles vested in different bodies.

Issues relating to unfavourable interconnect terms for private operators, pass through income,
intra circle long distance, spectrum availability and allocation and the like remained
unresolved for long periods. Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through
income to DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the satisfaction of
all parties with changes in methodology / revenue sharing, intra circle long distance allowed,
spectrum availability cleared with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM operators.
Problems in Financial closures due to:
1. Licensing tenure of 10 years

2. Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy license fee burden in initial
stages of deployment Asset based financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.

3. Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years

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4. Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments mitigated with migration to
revenue sharing mode allowing promoters to deploy more capital for capital expenditure;
project financing being considered by most financial institutions.

Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations

Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as a matter of routine
allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full control of businesses by foreign
companies.

Inadequate growth of market / subscribers

Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth, but with corrective
measures taken, market / subscriber base expected to zoom.

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY

The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line operators is still biased
against the former.

Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy. The cellular
penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation of over one billion people.

In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their cellular joint ventures in
India due to the difficult operating environment and bureaucracy. In 1999 alone, Swisscom
pulled out from Sterling Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the Telecom
Organization of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT Mobile. In 2000, Telecom
Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin

Telecom and both Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from Fascel. In June 2001,
British Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell South International has also indicated its
intention to pull out from Skycell Communications, and Hong Kong-based Distacom is
seeking to sell its stake in Spice Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong Kong)
continued commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is reviewing various options.

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The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and acquisition wave
sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent years. Hong Kong-based Hutchison
Whampoa, via Hutchison Telecommunications (HK), acquired major stakes in Sterling
Cellular (December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid-2000) and Fascel (September 2000).
Through a partnership with local company, Kotak Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa
practically controls Fascel and Usha Martin Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit
on foreign ownership in Indian cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is also the controlling
shareholder of Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be outdone, Bharti Enterprises — another
major cellular player — acquired control of JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti
Mobile (December 1999), and Skycell Communications renamed Bharti Mobinet (August
2000) Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of Essar and started operations, giving
competition to the lone operator there, Spice Communications. Going forward, Bharti is
likely to merge all its cellular companies into one entity.

Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the fourth operator slots in
four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as the No. 1 bidder with eight new licenses,
followed by Escotel with four, Hutchison with three, and Reliance and Idea cellular with one
each. Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced operations in all the circles while Idea
is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and Reliance have not made any headway.

BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started services in March 2001.
BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular operator, launched services in Kolkata and Bihar in
January 2002.

This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002. A nationwide launch was scheduled for 2
October 2002. However, this has been postponed until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls
out its service, most telecom circles will have four cellular operators. There will be
tremendous competitive pressure, which will result in lower tariffs. Future rate cuts are
expected, which will drive demand, together with falling handset prices and the introduction
of prepaid services. In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out
with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002. Leveraging on the success
of its cellular service, the company got a very good response from the primary market. The
total size of the IPO was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue was
oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will be used to fuel its
investment in long-distance, basic and cellular services.
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As of October 2002, only BPL Mobile has launched commercial general packet radio service
(GPRS) in Mumbai. However, large- scale uptake remains elusive. While both Bharti and
Idea have GPRS-enabled networks, there is caution on their part to launch the service. With
hardly any applications, the success of GPRS remains a question.

Building visibility and awareness

Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are actively promoting
their brand and service portfolio through high-visibility advertising and promotional
campaigns. Cellular operators like Bharti, Vodafone and Idea have been advertising
aggressively on hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the city rail system and cabs are
used widely to carry the message of mobility.

Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular operators with the
establishment of longstanding consumer benefit programs. Vodafone in Mumbai offers
"Vodafone Holidays" and "Vodafone Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added
benefits like discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer special
privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops.

Enterprise mobile applications — promising revenue stream

All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus. Few operators have
concentrated on offering differentiated services for businesses. However, as operators realize
that offering basic voice and Short Message Service (SMS) will get them the numbers but not
the margins, some are now seriously looking at the enterprise segment for provisioning
superior services.

Cost-centred solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like unified messaging and
instant alerts are being offered.

A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise segment. Bharti is in
the process of introducing a facility to fleet management companies so that they can improve
the efficiency of trucks or buses by tracking movement and ensuring higher-use, accurate
route planning. Premium automakers are also installing a global system for mobile
communications inside a vehicle to help trace lost vehicles and track down stolen cars.

15
Corporations can choose enhanced services like user-defined call routing to prevent misuse.
Calls can be barred, limiting access to select numbers and diverting calls to one single
number. Broadcasting services are also quite popular, especially among fast food centres that
have a central number. Group SMS is quite popular, especially among enterprises both in the
service as well as the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment that have a large field
force and need to provide regular updates on inventory status, discount schemes and
movement of goods from warehouse to the retail outlet. Banks too find bulk SMS service
very useful to forward transactional alerts to their customers.

FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT

There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus on differentiations to
maintain their lead.
• The implementation of enhanced networks like 3G will enable operators to offer data
services. This is an opportunity to customize and differentiate better. The entry of state-run
operators like BSNL and BHARTI means that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there
is less chance of a cartel being formed.
• Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of coverage is crucial
especially for the business subscriber.
• The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it is for businesses. On the
roaming front, signing up with a national operator is advantageous.
• Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed network service providers)
will be a disadvantage for cellular operators in the short term. Consequently, operators need
to streamline their customer relation activities and adopt aggressive subscriber acquisition
and retention strategies.

REGULATORY ISSUES

The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. A
document buried in the sands of time. The next major policy document, which was produced,
was the National Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of the on going process of
liberalization.

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The National Telecom Policy of 1994 document, which laid out broad policy guidelines
rather than a series of action points. Like other policies, it sought to achieve the impossible in
finite time like improve quality of service and its availability, wide coverage (a phone in
every village), at reasonable rates, etc. The targets in quantifiable terms were installation of
9.5mn additional lines, telephone on demand by 1997, and a PCO pop of 500. The Eighth
Plan had also allowed private operators in value added services. To facilitate licensing, the
nation was divided into 20 circles (akin to a state) for basic and 21 circles for cellular
telephony. Mumbai falls in Maharashtra circle and Delhi in itself a circle.

The basic premise on which competition has been introduced is that every circle will have
one private operator apart from DoT/ BHARTI for basic and two operators for cellular. DoT/
BHARTI have the option to become the third cellular operator in future.

Government did not achieve most of its stated targets. The basic theme, which was
broadening the reach of telephony in India, has not been met. Even liberalization policies
were not implemented properly. The regulator TRAI was set up after delays and confusion
and even after its creation, DoT continued to fight with it in courts. It was also affected by the
resource crunch, and financing options like BOT, BOOT and BOLT was not used at all. The
major policy direction it showed was to allow private sector entry in both basic and value
added services. The intention, though noble failed to achieve its goals because of improper
implementation, the economic costs are still borne by the end user.

The telecom sector has witnessed some fundamental structural and institutional reforms in the
past decade. Telecom equipment manufacturing was completely deregulated in 1991. Value-
added services (including cellular services) were thrown open to private sector participation
in 1992. Basic services were opened to private participation in 1994 by dividing the country
into 21 telecom Circles and allowing one private operator per Circle to compete with DoT.
An independent telecom regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997. A new Policy for
Internet Service Policy Providers (ISPs) was announced in 1998 allowing independent
service providers to enter the sector ending the earlier monopoly of VSNL. Reorganization of
DOT, separating policymaking function and service provision and corporatization of DOT's
operational network are two major institutional reforms, which need to be implemented.

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 Year Event
1851 First telephone in India
1943 Nationalization of Telephone companies
1985 DoT was created
1986 Creation of BHARTI and VSNL
1991 Telecom equipment liberalized
1994 License for paging
1994 Telecom policy announced
September 1994 Guidelines for private sector participation in basic services
November 1994 Cellular license issued for metros
December 1994 Tenders for cellular license in 19 cities apart from 4 metros
January 1995 Tenders for 2nd operators in basic services apart from DoT on circle basis
August 1995 VSNL Launches Internet Services
January 1996 TRAI Formed
November 1998 Internet Policy Announced

GSM MARKET IN INDIA

With a population of around 1.3 billion growing at roughly 1.7 per cent a year, India is
potentially one of the most exciting GSM markets in the world. After two rather difficult
years, the past 12 months have seen the region's promise beginning to come to fruition. Much
of this success can be attributed to the stabilisation of the licensing and regulatory
environment. India's telecommunications have undergone a steady liberalisation since 1994
when the Indian government first sought private investment in the sector. More significant
liberalisation followed in 1996 with the licensing of new local fixed line and mobile service
providers.

However, it has been the government's New Telecom Policy (1999) that has had the most
radical impact on the development of GSM services. 'The policy's mission statement is
'affordable communications for all'. There is a genuine commitment to creating a modern and
efficient communications infrastructure that takes account of the convergence of telecom, IT
and media. In addition, the policy places significant emphasis on greater competition for both

18
fixed and mobile services.' Competition in the mobile sector has already had a visible impact
on prices with calls currently costing less than 9 cents per minute.

This means that service costs have fallen by 60 per cent since the first GSM networks became
live in 1995. It also helps explain why a recent Telecom Asia survey revealed that more than
70 per cent of Indian mobile subscribers felt that prices were now at a reasonable level. One
of the challenges facing GSM operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions -from
remote rural regions to some of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world.
India has more than 40 networks, which cover the seven largest cities, over 7000 towns and
several lakhs villages. Such depth of coverage has required enormous investment from India's
operators.

It is estimated that more than Rs300 billion had been invested in India's GSM industry by
mid-2000, a figure that is set to be supplemented by a further Rs. 400 billion over the next
five years. The good news is that subscriber growth is beginning to look healthy. With India's
low PC penetration and high average Internet usage -at 14-20 hours a month per user it is
comparable to the US -the market for mobile data and m-commerce looks extremely
promising. WAP services have already been launched in the subcontinent and the first GPRS
networks are in the process of being rolled out. In the year ahead, GSM India will work with
its members to realise the potential of early packet services in anticipation of the award of
3GSM licences.

India fastest growing GSM mart

India is expected to have 245 million GSM (global system for mobile communications)
customers by 2010-11 compared to 26 million subscribers as on March 2005, according to
the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. "For GSM, India is a success story. It is one of the
fastest growing markets with its subscriber base doubling in 2009. At this pace, the target of
500 million subscribers by 2011-2012 is definitely achievable," Alan Hadden, president of
GSA, said at a news conference in New Delhi. Globally, the GSM market reached 1 billion
users in February 2005, he said, adding GSM accounted for 80 per cent of the new subscriber
growth in 2005."Almost every Latin American operator has chosen GSM. In North America
GSM growth is bigger than CDMA (code division multiple access)," he said. Commenting on

19
the raging debate over GSM versus CDMA in mobile services arena, Hadden said: "GSM is
the world's most successful mobile standard with over 1 billion users, and is an open mobile
standard. It also supports automatic international roaming, which is a major contributor to
business plans."

India’s GSM mobile firms’ revenue up 30 pct

India‘s private telecoms firms offering GSM-based mobile services reported a 24 percent rise
in revenue in the year March 2010 but said future growth rates could slow because of heavy
taxes on the nascent industry. Although India‘s mobile sector is the world‘s fastest growing
major wireless market, it is amongst the highest taxed industries in the country. Mobile
carriers pay as much as 25 percent of their revenue as licence fee, spectrum charges and other
taxes. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said revenue for fiscal 2010/11
stood at 283.08 billion rupees ($6.15 billion) compared with 64 billion rupees a year earlier.
According to T.V. Ramachandran, director general at COAI, ―These revenue growth rates
cannot be maintained unless there is a concerted effort by the government to cut excessive
levies and allow sharing of infrastructure‖ ―But the potential to do much better exists as there
is still huge demand in the sector.‖

Ramachandran said the sector was still losing money but declined to elaborate. Sales jumped
because of a doubling of the GSM (Global System of Mobile Communications) user base as
more people entered the flourishing market thanks to one of the lowest call rates in the world.
But the monthly average revenue per user, a key measure of profitability, declined 17.4
percent to 432 rupees in the fourth quarter compared with 523 rupees in the first quarter due
to a cut in tariffs and excessive competition among companies. Growth slowing, demand
untapped: The association has not included the financial performance and the GSM-user base
of state-run firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the second-ranked player, and Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Ltd, Ramachandran said. There are 150 million GSM customers and more
than 96 million users of the rival CDMA-based mobile services in the country.

The pace of growth in monthly additions is slowing after just 1.25 million users took up the
service in April compared with 1.9 million in the previous month and 1.63 million in
February. Ramachandran blamed the slowdown on a majority of small GSM operators being
unable to expand networks into rural swathes where demand remained largely untapped.

20
―Our surpluses are not enough to cover costs of network expansion and financing charges on
loans. We are making money only to cover operating expenses,‖ he said. Carriers are now
subsidising handset costs to woo users into the underpenetrated industry forecast to have
more than 250 million customers by 2007. Roughly three percent of Indians own a mobile
phone compared with about 20 percent in China. About a dozen firms such as Bharti Airtel
Ltd, 28 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications, Reliance Infocomm Ltd and the
Indian GSM-unit of Vodafone group battle in the hotly competitive sector.

DOES GSM HAVE THE EDGE?

GSM operators are not the only ones who are worried about the rapid strides made by CDMA
mobile players Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom in the Indian cellular market? The
GSM suppliers – both handset and equipment – who incidentally also have their other foot
firmly placed in the CDMA pie, are beginning to lose some sleep over what was earlier
termed as `niche‘ and `minuscule‘ data carriage market by the operators. Apart from the
strong success of the two CDMA operators whose networks are based on code division
multiple access (CDMA), the miserable showing of the four global standard for mobile
(GSM) based networks that launched general packet radio service(GPRS) service for data
connectivity in last three years, has the vendors worried. Global mobile Suppliers Association
(GSA) now believes that even though India will primarily remain a voice traffic-led market in
next two-three years, the data traffic component will grow by 25-30 per cent, an optimism
that it‘s trying to make GSM operators feel as well.

THE CDMA CHALLENGE

CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1Xbased networks, which can
give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to the Internet, and other data services. GSM operators,
on the other hand, have had to migrate from the frustrating experience of WAP (wireless
application protocol) to GPRS, which has not significantly improved the subscriber‘s
experience of surfing the Net on/from mobile. The top brass of GSA, an organisation
comprising Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies - met on Tuesday in
the capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM
Evolution) and leave GPRS behind as a dream gone sour. Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL

21
Mobile and Idea Cellular had launched GPRS, but the data transfer speeds of GPRS have
been abysmal. The field trials gave a speed of around 54 kbps, but the actual speeds have not
exceeded 14-18 kbps, a major reason why GPRS growth has been so slow.

As against the total GSM cellular base of 5.61 crore, the country has between 2,80,000 lakh
GPRS users only. In comparison, the two CDMA operators have about 120 lakh connections.
All these sets are data compliant. Though no figures are available as to how many use these
for data services, the figure is believed to be respectable as a percentage ratio for CDMA.

Bharti Is Almost There

But first, the EDGE! Bharti Cellular is close to commercially launching its EDGE service in
Delhi and Mumbai by end May or early June, sources said. The company was the first to
conduct field trials in November with its equipment supplier Ericsson. Idea too held EDGE
field trials in February this year with its vendor Nokia. Vodafone and BPL are yet to hold the
trials. The two companies would eventually migrate to EDGE, but perhaps after seeing the
response to Bharti‘s service. EDGE holds the promise of delivering data speeds of around
170- 180 kbps (as against the theoretical speed of around 380 kbps) which, if achieved,
promises the launch of many data applications. The scalable cost of migrating from GPRS to
EDGE is not too high and mainly comprises software upgrades in case of a modern network
such as Bharti and Hutch, claimed chairman of GSA India chapter Rakesh Malik.

Will GSM maintain its headstart?

At the GSM Evolution Forum held in New Delhi, GSA president Alan Hadden predicted that
GSM growth will far outstrip CDMA as was happening globally. According to GSA, there
are over 1.1 billion GSM subscribers worldwide as against 250 million CDMA customers.
The revenue of top 25 global operators from data averages 18 per cent and 22 of these
operators run GSM networks. Overall, there are 76 operators in 50 countries that have
committed to deploy EDGE. Almost every country has a GSM-based network and even those
US operators, which operated on now-defunct TDMA technology, were migrating gradually
to GSM, not CDMA, pointed out Hadden at the GSM Evolution Forum.

22
The Forum is a global GSA program to assist the operators for evolution to third generation
(3G) technologies. ―People are using their phones for much more than voice. Fifteen
networks have commercially launched EDGE as it can run 3G like services in the existing
spectrum for the operators without needing a 3G license. Even the migration to a full-fledged
3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be smooth with EDGE,‖ said Hadden.
―Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in almost 200 countries is a
power that CDMA doesn‘t give you. We know for sure that almost 20-25 per cent of the
revenue for some GSM operators comes from roaming customers,‖ he added.

But CDMA is no pushover with Korea and Philippines as the shining jewels in its crown. The
first CDMA 2000 1X was commercially deployed in October 2000. Already, 81 operators
have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks whereas nine have launched services based on
1xEV-DO platform across Asia, the Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new 1X and six
1xEV-DO networks are scheduled to be deployed in 2004, according to CDMA Development
Group. EV-DO and EV-DV are the next level of evolution on the CDMA 2000 1X platform,
capable of delivering services comparable to 3G WCDMA.

Where Are The Models?

What will matter a lot in this war will be the availability of EDGE compliant handsets at
affordable rates. While the two CDMA operators have been giving out handsets that can give
hi-speed data transfer, same has not been the case with GSM. Even now, GPRS handsets
have not become commonplace and GPRS feature is found only in mid and high-end segment
handsets.

End Sum Game

When the networks deploy EDGE, subscribers can expect the delivery of advanced mobile
services such as easy downloading of video and music clips, full multimedia messaging,
besides high-speed Internet and e-mail access, provided their handset supports all this. But
the real cruncher will be the migration at a later stage to 3G technologies such as WCDMA,
EV-DO or EV-DA as and when the government decides what to do with the 3G licences.
WCDMA for example promises delivery of a phenomenal 2 megabytes per second (mbps),
equivalent to what a leased line in many middle level corporate gives. More importantly,
WCDMA will spawn a whole new range of full motion audio-video applications, including

23
video telephony. GSM lobby may continue to remain gung ho over the future of their
technologies over that boosted by the American firms Qualcomm and Motorola, but Indian
market could well throw an interesting scenario that industry experts will do well to watch. In
the coming months, Reliance plans to offer its CDMA subscribers much more than what
GSM players intend to deliver through their EDGE for their subscribers. Who succeeds in
this battle for mobile customer‘s eyeballs is most difficult to predict. A Korea and Japan may
not be waiting to happen in India, but India will probably be more like the Chinese market
with both standards co-existing. For now, GSM rules!

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Indian communications scenario has transformed into a multiplayer, multi product
market with varied market size and segments. Within the basic phone service the value chain
has split into domestic/local calls, long distance players, and international long distance
players. Apart from having to cope with the change in structure and culture (government to
corporate), Airtel has had to gear itself to meet competition in various segments – basic
services, long distance(LD), International Long Distance (ILD), and Internet Service
Provision (ISP).It has forayed into mobile service provision as well.

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its strategies
and how the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and
how it is cooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report
begins with the history of the products and the introduction of the Airtel Company.
This report also contains the basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel
Company of manufacturing process, technology, production policy, advertising,
collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report
includes some of the key salient features of market trend issues.

In today‘s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not only exist
but also to excel in the market. Today‘s market is enormously more complex. Hence
forth, to survive in the market, the company not only needs to maximize its profit
but also needs to satisfy its customers and should try to build upon from there.

24
 NEED OF THE STUDY
 To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and its rival
firms.
 To study the market of Airtel Industry and its rival firms on big scale sector.
 To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing process,
technology adopted, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export
scenario, future prospect for the two companies and government policies.
 To study the level of customer satisfaction in Airtel and its rival firms.
 To study customer buying behaviour and factors which influence the purchase
decision process.
 To study consumer preferences.
 To study the consumer trend in telecommunication sector.
 To study competitive marketing strategies adopted by Airtel and its rival firms.

25
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential for an
organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive products. This
survey research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for the product. The
objective of the study is as under:-

 To study the importance and development of tele – communication industry in today‘s

scenario.
 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in
highly competitive cell phone industry.
 To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.
 What marketing strategies the Airtel is implementing to defend and increase the
market share.
 To find who the competitors of the Airtel are and the market shares of the competitors
and what strategies Airtel is implementing to beat its competitors.
 To find out how Airtel reacts to the technology changes in the communications sector,
 To know about customer acceptance of the product
 To suggest the steps for the sales promotion of the product
 To study the requirement regarding to the future of the product
 To analyse the consumer perception about the quality of the services
 To find out solution of customers problems.
 To know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive
marketing strategies of competitors.

26
 LIMITATIONS
Every attempt was be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in
this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of
following limitations-

 Respondent‘s unavailability.
 Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.
 Courtesy bias.

27
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
 To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, who are using
GSM technology.
 Target geographic area. Sample size of 100 was taken.
 The date during which questionnaires were filled.
 To these 100 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire was a combination
of both open ended and closed ended questions.
 Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective.
 Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also conducted.
 Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and compiled to arrive at the
conclusion and recommendations given.

28
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding the subject. As the prime
objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitors in the market and
the impact of WLL on Airtel, The research methodology adopted is basically based on
primary data which the most recent and accurate piece of first hand information could be
collected. Secondary data has been used to support primary data wherever needed.

The methodology adopted for this project is exploratory in nature since there is no hypothesis
that has to be tested. The conclusions have been drawn by exploratory research work. There
have been two sources of information collected:

a) Primary Sources
I have met retailers of the Airtel Company and have been able to get first hand information
regarding the product, its features and the buying patterns of the product. Their input has
been valuable.
 Observation method
 Experiment
 Questionnaire Method
 Direct Interview Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a
face-to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with
the questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he
works in.

b) Secondary Sources
Secondary source has played a vital role to play in this report. A good amount of data has
been collected from various published articles and reports found in magazines and journals.
Another vital source has been the Internet and particularly the companies own website.
 Internet
 Newspaper
 Magazines

29
 COMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA

The Indian telecommunication industry is the world's fastest growing industry with 811.59
million mobile phone subscribers as of March 2011. It is also the second largest
telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections after
China. As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that
India will have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013. Furthermore, projections by several
leading global consultancies indicate that the total number of subscribers in India will exceed
the total subscriber count in the China by 2013. The industry is expected to reach a size of
344,921 crore (US$76.57 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate of over 26 per cent, and generate
employment opportunities for about 10 million people during the same period. According to
analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million people and for 7 million
indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom equipments revenue in India stood at 136,833
crore (US$30.38 billion) during the fiscal, as against 115,382 crore (US$25.61 billion) a
year before.

MODERN GROWTH

A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumer spending power
has helped make India the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. The market's first
operator was the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), created by
corporatization of the Indian Telecommunication Service, a government unit formerly
responsible for provision of telephony services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication
policies were revised to allow private operators, companies such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance
Communications, Tata Indicom, Idea Cellular and Aircel have entered the market (Bharti
Airtel currently being the largest telecom company in India). In the fiscal year 2008-09, rural
India outpaced urban India in mobile growth rate.

The total number of telephones in the country stands at 846.32 million, while the overall tele-
density has increased to 70.89% as of Mar 31st, 2011. Mobile telephony experiences growths
at rates such as 20.21 million subscribers a month, which were added in March 2011.

30
 INTRODUCTION OF THE TELEPHONE

In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The
Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish
telephone exchanges in India. The permission was refused on the grounds that the
establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself
would undertake the work. In 1881, the Government later reversed its earlier decision and a
licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening
telephone exchanges at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal
telephone service was established in the country. On the 28th January 1882, Major E. Baring,
Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges
in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The exchange in Calcutta named the "Central Exchange",
was opened at third floor of the building at 7, Council House Street, with a total of 93
subscribers. Later that year, Bombay also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange.

FURTHER MILESTONES AND DEVELOPMENTS

 Cable telegraph

 1902 - First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Islands and
Sandheads.

 1907 - First Centra

 Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.

 1913-1914 - First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla.

 1927 - Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial Wireless
Chain beam stations at Khadki and Daund. Inaugurated by Lord Irwin on 23 July by
exchanging greetings with King George V.

 1933 - Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India.

 1953 - 12 channel carrier system introduced.

 1960 - First subscriber trunk dialing route commissioned between Lucknow and
Kanpur.

31
  1975 - First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri
telephone exchanges.

 1976 - First digital microwave junction introduced.

 1979 - First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune.

 1980 - First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at

Secunderabad, A.P.

 1983 - First analog Stored Program Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at
Mumbai.

 1984 - C-DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital

exchanges.

 1995 - First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis on 15 August

1995 in Delhi.

While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during the
British period, the total number of telephones in 1948 numbered only around 80,000. Post
independence, growth remained slow because the telephone was seen more as a status symbol
rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of telephones grew leisurely to
980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in 1991, the year economic reforms
were initiated in the country.

While certain measures were taken to boost the telecom industry from time to time, (for
example introduction of the telex service in Mumbai in 1953 and commissioning of the first
Subscriber trunk dialling route between Delhi and Kanpur and between Lucknow and Kanpur
in 1960), the first waves of change were set going by Sam Pitroda in the eighties. The real
transformation in scenario came with the announcement of the National Telecom Policy in
1994.

32
 INDIAN TELECOM SECTORS: RECENT POLICIES

 All villages shall receive telecom facilities by the end of 2002.

 A Communication Convergence Bill introduced in the Parliament on August 31, 2001

is presently before the Standing Committee of Parliament on Telecom and IT.
 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, a fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros
and thirteen circles, has been permitted. Cellular operators have been permitted to
provide all types of mobile services including voice and non-voice messages, data
services and 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) and Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Services.
 Wireless Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced to provide telephone connections in
urban, semi-urban and rural areas promptly.
 Two telecom PSUs, VSNL and HTL have been disinvested.
 Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), funding, and
administration.
 A decision to permit Community Phone Service has been announced.
 Multiple Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) licensing guidelines were announced.
 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been allowed to set up International Internet
Gateways, both Satellite and Landing stations for submarine optical fiber cables.
 Two categories of infrastructure providers have been allowed to provide end-to-end
bandwidth and dark fiber, right of way, towers, duct space etc.
 Guidelines have been issued by the Government to open up Internet telephony (IP).

EMERGENCE AS A MAJOR PLAYER

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post &
Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service. DoT was responsible for telecom

33
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
Liberalisation-Privatization-Globalization policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate
the Government's policy wing from its operations wing. 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, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom
market.

PRIVITIZATIONS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA

The Indian government was composed of many factions (parties) which had different
ideologies. Some of them were willing to throw open the market to foreign players (the
centrists) and others wanted the government to regulate infrastructure and restrict the
involvement of foreign players. Due to this political background it was very difficult to bring
about liberalization in telecommunications. When a bill was in parliament a majority vote had
to be passed, and such a majority was difficult to obtain, given to the number of parties
having different ideologies.

Liberalization started in 1981 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with
Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to
set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon the policy was let down because of political
opposition. She invited Sam Pitroda a US based Non-resident Indian NRI to set up a
Centre for Development of Telematics(C-DOT), however the plan failed due to political
reasons. During this period, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, under the leadership of
Rajiv Gandhi, many public sector organizations were set up like the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) , VSNL and MTNL. Many technological developments took
place in this regime but still foreign players were not allowed to participate in the
telecommunications business.

The demand for telephones was ever increasing. It was during this period that the Narsimha
Rao-led government introduced the national telecommunications policy [NTP] in 1994 which
brought changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of
telecommunications infrastructure. They were also successful in establishing joint ventures

34
between state owned telecom companies and international players. But still complete
ownership of facilities was restricted only to the government owned organizations. Foreign
firms were eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in
technology transfer, and not policy making.

During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to liberalize
long distance services in order to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and VSNL;
and to enable competition in the long distance carrier business which would help reduce
tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead liberalized the
local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and assuring foreign
involvement in the long distance business after 5 years. The country was divided into 20
telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for mobile services. These
circles were divided into category A, B and C depending on the value of the revenue in each
circle. The government threw open the bids to one private company per circle along with
government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service two service providers were allowed
per circle and a 15 years license was given to each provider. During all these improvements,
the government did face oppositions from ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labour unions,
but they managed to keep away from all the hurdles.

After 1995 the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which
reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The DoT
opposed this. The political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the
leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalization
policies. They split DoT in two- one policy maker and the other service provider (DTS)
which was later renamed as BSNL. The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors
from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political party and leftist thinkers. Domestic
business groups wanted the government to privatize VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the
government decided to cut its stake of 53% to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to
private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake in VSNL.

This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian Telecom Markets.
After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing
licenses to private operators. The government further reduced license fees for cellular service
providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign companies. Because of all
these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling
35
every common middle class family in India to afford a cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets
were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market.

In March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375
million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous year. As the
unbranded Chinese cell phones which do not have International Mobile Equipment Identity
(IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the country, Mobile network operators
therefore planned to suspend the usage of around 30 million mobile phones (about 8 % of all
mobiles in the country) by 30 April. 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers additions
were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002
stood at 10.5 millions. However, after a number of proactive initiatives were taken by
regulators and licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased greatly to
811.59 million subscribers as of Mar 31st 2011.

India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile communications) and
CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector. In addition to
landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also provide the WLL service. The
mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can
be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15 only. In 2005 alone additions increased
to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05.

In June 2009, the Government of India banned the import of several mobile phones
manufactured in China citing concerns over quality and the lack of IMEI's which make it
difficult for authorities in India to track the sale and use of such phones. In April 2010, the
Government was also reported to be blocking Indian service providers from purchasing
Chinese mobile technology citing concerns that Chinese hackers could compromise the
Indian telecommunications network during times of national emergency. A series of attacks
on Indian government websites and computer networks by suspected Chinese hackers has
also made Indian regulators suspicious with regards to the import of potentially sensitive
equipment from China. The companies reported to be affected by this are Huawei
Technologies and ZTE.

36
 TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT IN
INDIA

LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarizes

stakeholders‘ perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the
environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted
in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The tool measured seven dimensions:

i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v)
anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed,
mobile and broadband sectors.

The results for India, point out to the fact that the stakeholders perceive the TRE to be most
conducive for the mobile sector followed by fixed and then broadband. Other than for Access
to Scarce Resources the fixed sector lags behind the mobile sector. The fixed and mobile
sectors have the highest scores for Tariff Regulation. Market entry also scores well for the
mobile sector as competition is well entrenched with most of the circles with 4-5 mobile
service providers. The broadband sector has the lowest score in the aggregate. The low
penetration of broadband of mere 3.87 against the policy objective of 9 million at then end of
2007 clearly indicates that the regulatory environment is not very conducive.

REVENUE AND GROWTH

The total revenue in the telecom service sector was 86,720 crore (US$19.3 billion) in 2005-
06 as against 71,674 crore (US$15.9 billion) in 2004-2005, registering a growth of
21%.estimted revenue of FY'2011 is Rs.835 Bn (US$ 19 Bn Approx).The total investment in
the telecom services sector reached 200,660 crore (US$44.5 billion) in 2005-06, up from
178,831 crore (US$39.7 billion) in the previous fiscal. Telecommunication is the lifeline of
the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to
more than a 100 million in 2010. Out of this 11.47 million were broadband connections.
More than a billion people use the internet globally. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme,
the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have
not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However
doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.

37
It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the
enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public
Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004.

TELEPHONE

On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are considered long
distance calls. Currently Government is working to integrate the whole country in one
telecom circle. For long distance calls, the area code prefixed with a zero is dialled first
which is then followed by the number (i.e. To call Delhi, 011 would be dialled first followed
by the phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialled first followed by the
country code, area code and local phone number. The country code for India is 91.

Telephone Subscribers (Wireless and Landline): 846.32 million (mar. 2011)

Land Lines: 34.73 million (mar. 2011)

Cell phones: 811.59 million (mar. 2011)

Monthly Cell phone Addition: 20.21 million (mar. 2011)

Teledensity: 70.89 % (mar. 2011)

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

MOBILE TELEPHONES

With a subscriber base of more than 811 million, the Mobile telecommunications system in
India is the second largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the
1990s. The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state
boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long distance telephone
services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls across India are one of the cheapest
in the world. The rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the
Information Ministry. In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed
the number of fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wireline segment by a ratio of
around 20:1. The mobile subscriber base has grown by a factor of over a hundred and thirty,
from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over 810 million subscribers as of Mar 2011 (a period

38
of 10 years). India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent
operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant players are Airtel, Reliance
Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with
operations in only a few states. International roaming agreements exist between most
operators and many foreign carriers.

India is divided into 22 telecom circles. They are listed below:

 Assam
 Andhra Pradesh
 Bihar
 Delhi & NCR
 Gujarat
 Haryana
 Himachal Pradesh
 Jammu and Kashmir
 Karnataka
 Kerala
 Kolkata
 Madhya Pradesh
 Maharashtra & Goa
 Mumbai
 North East (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, &
Tripura)
 Orissa
 Punjab
 Rajasthan
 Tamil Nadu
 Uttar Pradesh (East)
 Uttar Pradesh (West)
 West Bengal

39
 MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNO)

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 the mobile 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."

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.

40
 TELECOM TRAINING IN INDIA

The incumbent telecom operators (BSNL & MTNL) have maintained several telecom
training centres at regional, circle and district level. BSNL has three national level
institutions, namely Advanced Level Telecom Training Centre (ALTTC) at Ghaziabad, UP;
Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute Of Telecom Training at Jabalpur, MP; and
National Academy of Telecom Finance and Management.

MTNL incorporated Centre for Excellence in Telecom Technology and Management

(CETTM) in 2003-04. It is the largest telecom training centre in India and one of the biggest
in Asia. It provides training in telecom switching, transmission, wireless communication,
telecom operations and management to corporates and students besides its own internal
employees.

Other than the government operators some private players like Bharti (Bharti School of
Telecom Management part of IIT Delhi), Aegis School of Business and Telecommunication
(Banglore and Mumbai) and Reliance have started their own training centres.

41
 INTRODUCTION TO BHARTI AIRTEL
Bharti Airtel Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for promoting investments in
telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti
Airtel is India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications services based on a
strong customer base consisting of 50 million total customers, which constitute, 44.6 million
mobile and 5.4 million fixed line customers, as of March 31, 2007. Bharti Airtel limited is a
leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and
Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband,
IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long
distance services to carriers. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing
technology companies in the world by business week. Bharti Airtel had 200 million
customers across its operations. Airtel comes to us from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the
biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range
of telecom services, which Bharti Airtel Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for
promoting investments in telecommunications services.

Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti Airtel is India's leading private
sector provider of telecommunications services based on a strong customer base consisting of
50 million total customers, which constitute, 44.6 million mobile and 5.4 million fixed line
customers, as of March 31, 2007. Airtel comes to us from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the
biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range
of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National
Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless
phones.

Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first
company to export its products to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into Insurance
and Retail segment in collaboration with Multi- National giants. Bharti is the leading cellular
service provider, with a footprint in 23 states covering all four metros and more than 50
million satisfied customers.

42
 Bharti Airtel and Apple to bring iPhone 4 to India
Bharti Airtel will launch iPhone 4 in India in the coming months. iPhone 4 is the most
innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple's stunning Retina display, the highest
resolution display ever built into a phone and FaceTime, which makes video calling a reality.

Airtel rolls out 3G services in the cyber city of Bangalore

 Reaches a milestone of 2 million customers on Airtel 3G
 Launches High Definition gaming for Airtel 3G customers across India
 Offers special B2B programme for Airtel 3G enterprise customers
Leading telecommunications company, Bharti Airtel today started the roll out of 3G
services in Andhra Pradesh with launch of the service in the cyber city of Bangalore.
With this, Bangaloreans can now join the 2-million-strong base of mobile customers in
India that are already leveraging the Airtel 3G advantage to experience a host of exciting
capabilities including Mobile TV, video calls, live streaming of videos and on the go
social networking - all at speeds never experienced before. Airtel today also announced
the launch of High Definition (HD) gaming for its 3G customers. With 3G powered HD
games such as NFS Shift Super, FIFA11 and EACricket10 - gaming lovers across
Airtel‘s network in India can enjoy a console-like experience on their mobile handsets.
On the B2B front, Airtel announced that it now offers special programmes catering to the
3G needs of enterprise customers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Atul Bindal, President - Mobile Services, Bharti
Airtel said, "We are humbled by the trust of over 16.5 million customers in Karnataka
who have made us the market leader. In keeping with our commitment of bring the best
to our customer, we today bring the Airtel 3G advantage to the tech savvy and youthful
city of Bangalore. Over the next few weeks, we will be extending Airtel 3G services to
other key locations such as Mysore cities and towns of this state. Our customers here can
now join the 2 million 3G enabled customers in India. We welcome you all to experience
Airtel 3G services and join 2 million of our customers that are already enjoying this part
of this all new world of possibilities."

"Today we also announce the national launch of High Definition gaming for all the 3G
customers on our network. Now avid gamers will be able to enjoy an enhanced console

43
 like gaming experience on the go. And for our B2B customers we bring customised 3G
programmes that will aid and enhance their business capabilities." he added.

High Definition gaming on Airtel 3G speeds will allow customers to use their HD
enabled mobile handsets to benefit from various exciting features such as touch interface,
motion sensors, enhanced 3D graphics and quality music special effects - in effect,
bringing alive the ultimate console like gaming experience on to the mobile device.
Airtel currently offers over 25 HD games for its mobile customers in India.

Customers can now subscribe to Airtel 3G services to enjoy fast access to data services
and experience innovative applications like Mobile TV and video calls. For faster
internet accessibility, Airtel 3G dongles are also available for laptop users. Aimed at
addressing the 3G requirements of enterprise customers, B2B packages have now been
launched by Airtel.

All these services can be enjoyed seamlessly without a 'bill shock' as Airtel provides its
customers with timely updates and alerts on their data usage and helps them control their
expenditure. The company has also introduced a first of its kind ‗internet usage
calculator‘ available online to help customers monitor and analyse their current internet
data usage and choose an Airtel 3G plan accordingly.

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

Total Cost Control

You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more rentals or deposits – simply
recharge as much as you need to from as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.

44
Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals
You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your Airtel Prepaid. No more paying
deposits or having a minimum balance in your account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-free
calls are here to stay!

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel‘s world-class technology and unbreakable
network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each chargeable
call. You can also call 123 from your mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or
simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will be displayed on
the screen of your handset.

Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing as you make calls or use
any other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that‘s right for
you, from a variety of tailor– made recharge coupons with different denominations, which are
available at a number of outlets across your city. Simply follow the procedure mentioned
below, to recharge your phone.

Prepaid Roaming
Airtel Prepaid comes preactivated with 'National Roaming', so you stay connected no matter
wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS, check your email and access other
GPRS services while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While travelling
abroad you can receive calls & send or receive SMS.

Other Services
Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try
them and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement.

45
Call management Services
Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation – all with your
Airtel prepaid connection.

Voice Mail
When your handset is switched off, or you‘re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail
will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly
cost for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you don't have much
time. It's the way to share those interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling
jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Subscription Alerts
Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone with
Subscription Services. SMS <SUB NEWS> to 3333 for News, <SUB JOKE> for Jokes,
<SUB BIZ> for Business News, <SUB SPO> for Sports Alerts & <SUB VAASTU> for
Vaastu tips.

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings, with MMS from Airtel! To
activate MMS on your phone, SMS 'MMS' to 56465 and save service settings.

Airtel Live!
Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel Live! Airtel
brings you the latest in entertainment and information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live! WAP Services

Download the latest ring tones, games, wallpapers, videos and much more. You can also get
news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on you phone. To get Airtel Live!
Settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the settings that you receive as your

46
preferred connection. Airtel Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by
sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services

Just Dial 56465, and name the service. For e.g. say ring tones to download your favourite ring
tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like Live Cricket Commentary, latest
National / International News, Movie Reviews or Stock Market Updates.

Airtel Live! SIM Services

Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your phone at the
touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your SIM card menu. To
download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose the "What's new" option under the "Airtel
services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services

You can enjoy a host of services by sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465! Choose
Astrology / Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case you
need assistance SMS, Help to 56465.

Hello Tunes
Tired of that boring old ‗tring tring‘ on your phone? Well now when a friend calls, you can
make them groove to the hottest new tracks burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes
from Airtel! You get a wide choice of songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories that
are updated regularly. What's more you can directly call the number for your kind of music,
e.g. call 678005 for English New and 678001 for Hindi New. This would directly take you to
your favourite artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Copy a Hello Tune

Get the tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow the simple voice
instructions to copy your favourite Hello Tunes. Once inside the copy feature, just key in the
10-digit Airtel mobile number you want to copy the Hello Tune from and you get the same
Hello Tune assigned to your number.
47
Gift a Hello Tune
Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a song instead! Gift a Hello
Tune to that special someone. Just call 55055 and choose the song that you want to gift.
Follow the simple voice instructions and key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number that you
want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get an SMS notification upon successful receipt of
that gift.

Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops

Buying your favourite Hello Tune or Ring tone is as simple as recharging your phone with
talk time. Simply walk into your nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favourite song.
Choose from Bollywood Hits to Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati Garba, Bhajans to
Jazz, and Bhangra Beats to foot tapping Tamil Hits from a list of more than 18000 songs.

Reach us anytime anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number, accessible from anywhere in the
country, even while roaming. You can also send us an SMS to 121 or mail us at
121@airtelindia.com. *In case of email, mention your mobile no. like, 9810012345, in the
subject of the mail for a quicker response.

Airtel Postpaid
Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting, innovative
yet simple new ways to communicate, just when you want to, not just through words but
ideas, emotions and feelings. To give you the unlimited freedom to reach out to your special
people in your special way.

Easy Billing
Enjoy a host of rich features only with Airtel e-bill. Register free on ‗My Airtel‘ section and
view your monthly bill with call details for last three months. Sort your calls between
personal and official or analyze your usage, at the click of a button. To change your tariff
plan call our IVR at 121 and leave a request.

48
Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere
You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only with Airtel. Walk into any
Airtel relationship centre and make your payments by cash or credit card. Drop a cheque at
any of the drop boxes for making payments or simply log on to My Airtel section and pay
instantly through your credit card. You can also opt for easy payment options like:

Standing Instructions
You can give us standing instructions to debit your credit card account for your monthly
Airtel bills. All you have to do is fill the Standing Instruction Form and mail, fax it to us or
drop it any of our relationship centres.

Electronic Clearing System

Fill an ECS form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship centres to directly
debit your bank account for your monthly Airtel bill.

Pay while roaming

Airtel has introduced 'Anywhere payment' that offers you the convenience of making
payments while you roam. Walk in to any Airtel Relationship Centre in the country, make
payments by cash or credit card and enjoy uninterrupted Airtel Services.

Credit limit
Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you keep your mobile charges
in control, keeps track of your usage and ensures that your mobile phone is not misused.
Should you exceed your credit limit, you will be informed via a voice or a non-voice message
to make an interim payment and reduce your account balance below your credit limit. You
may also choose to pay us an additional refundable deposit to enhance your credit limit or opt
for our convenient payment method of Credit Card Standing instruction .You can also make
use of ECS facility.

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel .It offers you world class technology and
unbreakable network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

49
Long Distance Calling Facility
Call long distance calls in India and Overseas with STD / ISD facility on your Airtel phone.

Widest Roaming - National and International

Airtel's roaming service allows you to stay connected and use your mobile phone to make or
receive calls from almost anywhere in India and also over 160 countries, abroad.

GPRS - Roaming
Use Airtel Postpaid's GPRS services, while roaming, to access the internet and office mails
(eg. BlackBerry services), from almost anywhere in India and abroad.

Say it. In more than just words, with Services from Airtel
Airtel brings you a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try
them and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement.

Conference call
You can hold a teleconference with 5 people simultaneously with Call Conferencing service
from Airtel. In fact, you can set up a conference even when the other five are using a landline
phone. To know more, call customer service at 121.

Missed call alert

A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls that you missed. The SMS
will detail the CLI and the time when the call was made. To activate, dial *135*2# then press
the call button and wait for the request to be completed.

Get the EDGE

Browse the internet on your mobile phone with Airtel's EDGE services. Enjoy live TV,
enhanced WAP experience and Airtel Data Cards on our high speed network.

50
 TARIFF STRUCTURE

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

Airtel Prepaid Regular

Pulse Rate 60 secs
Price of Pack Rs.249
Free Airtime on Pack Nil
Incoming Calls Free while in home
network
Airtel GSM/CDMA WLL/Landline
Local Rates 0.20p 0.50p Re.1
STD Rates Rs.1.50 Rs.1.50 Rs.1.50
ISD Rates
USA, Canada, Europe Rs.6.40
(Fixed
Line), Australia,
Singapore,
Hong Kong, Thailand,
Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand.
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), Rs.9.20
SAARC
countries, Africa & Rest
of the
world
Cuba, Sao Tome & Rs.40
Principe,
Guinea Bissau, Diego

51
 Garcia,
Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands,
Tuvalu,
Tokelau, Norfolk Island,
Sakhalin
SMS
Local 100 free per day 0.50p after that
National Re.1
International Rs.5

Other Details
 Rs 50 Local Airtel-Airtel Mobile talktime per month for 6 months
 First month Airtel-Airtel credit within 72hrs of activation & balance credit by 1st
week of every month)
 The SMS charge as applicable is per 160 characters
 Validity- 24 months.

POSTPAID
Airtel Postpaid allows you to choose from a variety of affordable talk plans, convenient
payment options and host of rich features. So get set to enjoy a world of limitless
possibilities!

Reference Tariff Packages (RTP)

On-time charges

Activation Rs.250
Membership Fees Rs.250
Security Deposit NA
Monthly Rs.524
Charges(Fixed)
Bill Plan Rs.444
Monthly Rental Rs.150

52
 Clip NA
Monthly Charges
(Optional)
Clip Rs.99
Airtel GSM/CDMA(10digits) Landline/WLL
Local Rates 0.49p 0.99p 0.99p
STD Rates
50-200kms Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99
200-500kms Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99
500+kms Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99 Rs.1.99
ISD
USA, Canda, Rs.7.20
Europe (Fixed
Line),
Austalia, Singapore,
Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, new
Zealand
Gulf, Europe Rs.9.99
(Mobile), SAARC
Countries, Africa &
Rest of the
world
Cuba, Sao tome & Rs.40
Principle,
Guinea Bissau,
Diego Garcia,
Nauru, Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu,
Cook Island,
Tuvalu, Tokelau,
Norfolk Island,

53
 Sakhalin
SMS
Local 2000 messages Next Re.1 per message
free
National Rs.2
International Rs.6
Value Added Rs.3
Services

Airtel One Standard 150

ON-Time Charges Rs.250
Activation Charges Rs.250(Converts into security after 24
months)
Membership Fees NA
Security Deposit Rs.150
Monthly Charge(Fixed) Rs.50
Bill Plan Charge Rs.150
Monthly Rental
Clip NA
Monthly Charges(Optional)
Clip Rs.50
SMS
Local Free up to 2000 messages(0.50p there after)
National Rs.2
International Rs.6
VAS Rs.3

This Bill Plan is also available under Advance Rental of Rs. 799 for 2 years.
Local Pack
 Airtel to other local mobiles (non Airtel) At Rs 1 / min
 Monthly rental Rs 25 per months/-

54
STD Pack
 Airtel to other mobiles (non Airtel) & fixed lines nos. at Rs 2 / min.
 Monthly rental Rs 75 per month/-

Special offer for Airtel Telephone service customers for availing Airtel Mobile services if
you already have Airtel Telephone service, you can buy a new Airtel Mobile connection
under Airtel One Standard 150 Plan.

Benefits
 Non security deposit.
 No membership / activation fee
 Enjoy calls to your Airtel fixed line no. at just 50 P / min.
 Monthly rent of Rs 25 for reduced call rates to your Airtel fixed line has been waived
off for 1 year.

For details, call us 516-12345

Advance Rental benefits (1year scheme)

Pay an advance rent of Rs 499 and enjoy Airtel One Standard 150 plan at Zero monthly rental
for one year. Advance rental of Rs 499 gives you a rental discount of Rs 150 every month for
the next 2 months. All other options and charges are as per the existing Airtel One Standard
150 Plan.

55
 Airtel one Standard 299
One Time Charges
Activation Charges Rs.250
Membership Fee Rs.250(converts
in to security after
24 months)
Security Deposit NA
Monthly Rs.299
Charges(FIXED)
Bill Plan Rs.150
Monthly Rental Rs.299
Clip NA
Monthly
Charges(OPTIONAL)
Clip NA
Airtel GSM/CDMA(10 WLL/Landline
digits)
Local Rates 0.30p 0.60p 0.60p
STD Rates
50-200kms Re.1 Rs.2 Rs.2
200-500kms Re.1 Rs.2 Rs.2
500+kms Re.1 Rs.2 Rs.2
ISD
USA, Canda, Europe Rs7.20
(Fixed Line),
Austalia, Singapore,
Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, new
Zealand
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), Rs.10
SAARC
Countries, Africa & Rest

56
 of the
World
Cuba, Sao tome & Rs.40
Principle,
Guinea Bissau, Diego
Garcia,
Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu,
Cook Island, Tuvalu,
Tokelau,
Norfolk Island, Sakhalin
SMS
Local 2000 messages Re.1 there after
free
National Rs.2
International Rs.6
VAS Rs.3

You also enjoy 25 FREE local mobile to mobile SMS.

Senior Citizen Plan

One Time Charges
Activation Charges Rs.250
Membership Fees Rs. 250 (Concerts into security
deposit after 24 months)
Security Deposit NA
Monthly Charges (FIXED) Rs.150
Bill Plan Charge Rs.51
Monthly Rental Rs.99
Clip NA
Cuba, Sao Tome & Principle,
Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,

57
 Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,
Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
Norfolk Island, Sakhalin
SMS
Local 2000 free messages (0.50p per message there
after)
National Rs.2
International Rs.6
VAS Rs.3

With Senior Citizen Plan

You can take 3 Friends and Family numbers:
 Airtel to Airtel (1local no.) – Rs. 0.5 / min.
 Airtel to Airtel (1 STD no.) – Rs 1.5 / min
 ISD calls to US / Canada / South East Asia / Australia / New Zealand) – Rs. 9.99 /
min
You also get FREE alert subscription worth Rs 30 / alert or 3 months on:
 News
 Astrology
 Health Tips
The SMS charges as applicable are per 160 Characters.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted Airtel cellular service will go in for repositioning of its brand
image. The new brand ethos is portrayed in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch
Tomorrow", which underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The
Good Life", which underscores a more caring, more customer centric organization. Aimed at
reengineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all out information
communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to embrace the new generation

58
of mobile communication services and the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations
that come along with it The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular
category that goes beyond the Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the
whole gamut of wireless digital broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular
services. The new campaign is in two phases - the first of which will communicate overall
brand philosophy and the second products and services. According to Mr. Jagdish Kini, Chief
Operating Officer, Bharti Mobile Limited, Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand-
platform - Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but also business
strategy". The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and White colours along with
lower case typography to convey warmth. Airtel will incorporate the latest branding in all of
its communication and will soon be going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish
the brand's presence.

LIFE TIME PLAN

PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging their coupons every month.
Company has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime
validity for a one time payment of Rs. 999. Subscribers availing themselves of this scheme
will also get full talk time for the recharge coupon they purchase and also have the option to
buy Taiwanese manufactured Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs. 1,399. The move is
aimed at stopping the churn in the pre-paid subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan,
he will always be an Airtel subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not.

MARKET SITUATION

At the time of launch

The first mover in the market was Airtel which launched its services in Delhi in Aug 1995
(Informal launch). Vodafone cell phone followed by launching its services informally in Oct
1995. At this point of time, the market was at a nascent stage, awareness level was low and
both operators independently tried to spread awareness and educate the people Once the
networks were commercially launched, it became a number game with a multitude of
schemes being offered to woo customers Initially the cell phone was perceived as a status
symbol and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi were corporate and the high
income group. The average capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with

59
the steep license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly
expanding their markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of schemes being offered
and prices crashing.

COMPETITIVE SITUATION
Airtel launched its services before Essar and skimmed the market picking up the bulk of the
high usage premium clients. This is a very competitive industry with the two companies
differentiating either on value-added services or price. Airtel is perceived as the high quality
provider and has a premium image. Essar, on the other hand, is perceived as the lower end
service provider. Airtel positions itself as the market leader on the basis of the number of
subscribers. Essar is trying to counter this by emphasising on the reach of its network and the
quality of its service. However, Essar is somewhat not been very successful largely due to the
inconsistency in advertising To promote themselves, both the players have been dependent on
tactical advertising However, they have restrained from using comparative advertising
Hoardings have been a very popular medium for carrying the advertisements Airtel has also
been advertising on television using the Bharti Telecom name.

SALES DEPARTMENT AND STRATEGY

A. Major Accounts (Direct Channel)

 Handles corporate (named and famed) accounts
 Forecasting of sales
 Mapping the accounts
 Providing after sales support to the subscribers.
 Maintaining call reports for records.
 Providing Feedback to the marketing department regarding the requirement of the
market.

B. IDC (indirect Channel)

 Handling distribution
 Maintaining records and level check of the channel partner
 Liaisoning between the channel partner and the company.

60
  Target achievement
 Training the executives of the channel

C. Distribution Support

1. Logistics
 Monitor handset and SIM card requirements of channel partners and co-ordinate with
stores
 Settle areas of concerns such as incentive claims of channel partners

2. Rental
 Provide cellular services (SIM cards) on rent.
 Provide cellular phones on rent
 Useful for people visiting Delhi for a short interval.

3. Telesales
 Call customers and generate sales lead.
 Follow up with the customers, if they need any assistance
 Pass on the sales lead to the channel department.

4. Audit
 Consultant to the Airtel showrooms.
 Monitor the operations at the Airtel distribution outlets
 Organize training.

5. Retail
 Locate shops to open retail counters.
 Monitor the retail counters.

MARKET SEGMENTATION

61
Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer group,
minimization of risk exposure, better ability to fine-tune a product / service to the
requirement of target buyer and the resultant ease in designing a proper designing marketing
mix strategy In this case segmentation is on the bade of income. In evaluating different
market segments the company looks at two factors the overall attractiveness of the segments
and the company's objectives & resources the present market for cellular phones, pagers and
conventional phones is as follows:-
Premium Middle Economy
Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower
Cellular Phones X X X - - -
Pager X X X X - -
Conventional X X X X X -
Phones
X-Market Segment Targeted

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that only
those segments should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It is also
planning to target the business tourists during their stay in the capital. About 60% of the
clientele are top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are foreign organisations and the
rest are professionals and small businessmen. During the introduction stage there was intense
pressure to get consumers across to hook up with their brand, because getting them to switch
brand loyalty later would be hard So far Airtel marketers have been concentrating totally on
the business executive class but now that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and
prices have declined to a certain extent they are planning to venture further a field.

POSITIONING
The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency tool, a lifestyle revolution and
a status symbol. The emphasis is to remove misconception that the cell phone is an expensive
means of communication and drive home the point that the cell phone is actually a day-to-day
utility.

62
 PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING
The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix. Without a product or a service
customers' needs cannot be satisfied. The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility. Airtel's
main marketing strategy is to be a first mover all the time. It has recognised the significance
of making the first move-- because in the field of Communication & Information Technology
changes occur at a tremendous pace. Effective product segmentation has to be carried on
continuously because basic services can be and will be copied and in time become expected
component of the product. Airtel seeks to carry out this segmentation through provision of
new information services and making new facilities available. The product policy and
planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle. At present the cellular phone market
has reached the maturity stage. Since, the premium segment is nearing saturation the
company targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to do so Airtel is
trying to optimise the price performance package by offering suitable "product bundling".

This involves the selection of the suitable hardware (handset) and its software (its services.)
with reasonable price in order to deliver maximum price performance to its customers. In
addition, it offers free Airtime services and other concessions to make the prices and thus the
product more attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours customer service. Only price doesn't
serve as an effective differentiator, value added services become the effective differentiator.

The "Value Added Services" provided from Airtel are:-

1). Voice Mail service

This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able to answer a call for
some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice mail box which can be later retrieved
by the user.

2). Short Message Service

The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an option of sending and
receiving text messages directly from one mobile phone to another without the intervention
of an operator.

63
3). Mobile Fax Data Service
This service helps the subscriber to send and receive faxes, access E-mail, download
computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another computer and surf the
Internet.

4). Cash Card

The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows the buyers to buy air time in
advance. All it requires is the payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people
who travel to Delhi often and those who want to control the expenses on their calls.

5). Caller ID
Displays calling person's number.

6). Outgoing call restriction

To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, in peak hours. Also possible to exclude one
or several countries or any geographical region, to permit only local calls, or to limit the
outgoing calls to a listed number.

7). Call forward

Incoming calls can be forwarded to another fixed or mobile phone. Besides these some other
services provided by Airtel are – Call conferencing, Call Broadcast etc. It is in the operators -
Interest that they not only get many subscribers but also get them to use the mobile facility
frequently. In the early stages getting increases to subscribe may be easier than getting them
to talk since they will find it costlier to use the mobile phone as compared to a conventional
phone [if is believed that initially cell phones would be used buy]

8). Roaming Facility

Roaming facility is available while the subscriber is travelling. The billing is done in the
home network (Delhi). Roaming facility is available manually* as well as semi-
automatically. Once a subscriber is In any other city or country, where a GSM network is
available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator into your handset and start talking.
* Manual Roaming means a separate SIM card is provided for each city

64
** Semi automatic roaming means one card has the facility for different cities.

AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION

Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service provider has to fully take care
of the customers.
 They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for any problem faced by the
customer
 They anticipate customers' problems and take pro-active steps to prevent them
 They give answers to the questions & requests, quickly & efficiently.
 They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with customers.
 They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note making the last 30 seconds
count.
Airtel realises that attracting people 'Is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard,
hence emphasis is on maintaining a 'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain
the customer.

PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

Airtel has realised that the Indian market is price sensitive. Therefore it care of the has come
up with various innovative tariff schemes to take needs of different category of customers-
Generally, the cellular services are more expensive than the land line based telephone
services. This is due to the reason that the operating companies are required to pay a fee to
the government for using airtime.

MARKETING STRATEGY ADOPTED BY BHARTI

Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service, Airtel.
Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and
around Bangalore. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the ‗Airtel‘
services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences. It is trying to set
up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand equity for Airtel. Since the cellular phone
category itself is too restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone is a high involvement
product, price doesn't qualify as an effective differentiator.

65
The image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell phone category, it is the
network efficiency and the quality of service that becomes important. What now the buyer is
looking at is to get the optimum price-performance package. This also serves as an effective
differentiator brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand preference through
brand stature. Airtel's campaign in the capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across
the city,' bearing just the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was.

In the next phase the campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only thereafter was the Bharti
Cellular connection brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out
brochures about the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers
were sent out. When the name was well entrenched in the Bangaloreans‘ mind, the Airtel
campaign began to focus on the utility of cell phone. In the first four months alone Airtel's
advertisement expenses exceeded Rs. 4 crores.

As of today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or
knowledgeable consumers are asked to name a cellular phone service provider that is on the
top of his/her mind 60% of them would name Airtel. As for aided it -is 100% (by giving clues
and hints etc.). Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured by the
percentage score of the brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that
Airtel is a healthy and a thriving brand.

Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target and a game plan with due
regard to its competitor. Airtel‘s campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing
strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of
a market leader in terms of its market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first
mover every time" and that of a "market leader".

The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just reached the maturity stage in India.
It is still on the rising part of the product life cycle curve in the maturity stage. The diagram
on the left hand side shows the percentage of the users classified into heavy, medium and low
categories. The right hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three types of users.
Airtel, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention, values its heavy users the
most and constantly indulges in service innovation.

66
But, since heavy users comprise only 15 - 20% of the population the other segment cannot be
neglected. The population which has just realised the importance of cellular phones has to be
roped in. It is for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives and
discounts. Concerts like the "Freedom concert" are being organised by Airtel in order to
promote sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in mind.

The target segment is not very concrete but, there is an attempt to focus on those who can
afford. The print advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas which most
likely to catch the attention of those who need a cellular phone. The product promise (which
might cost different 1 higher) is an important variable in determining the target audience.
Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted are:-
 People who have booked Airtel services have been treated to exclusive premiers of
blockbuster movies. Airtel has tied up with Lufthansa to offer customer bonus miles
on the German airlines frequent flier's programs.
 There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch
advertisements, launch advertisements, congratulatory advertisements, promotional
advertisements, attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements.

DISTRIBUTION
The company whose operations are concentrated in and around Bangalore has 27 Franchisees
and 15 Distributors. They also have 8 'instant access cash card counters, each franchisee or
distributor can have any number of dealers under him as long as the person is approved by
the Airtel authority. Each franchise has to invest Rupees Ten lakhs to obtain a franchise and
should employ an officer recruited by Airtel. This person acts as a liaison between the
company and the franchises. The franchises can it any number of dealers as long as their
territories do not overlap.

But unfortunately Airtel has not been very successful in controlling territorial overlaps of
dealers. The franchises can carry out his or her own promotional strategy. For this the
company contributes 75% of the money and the franchise contributes 25% of the money. The
dealers under the franchisee receive the same commission. The franchises and the dealer
obtain the feedback from the customers and they are sent through the liaison officer on a day-
to-day basis to Airtel.

67
The dealer has to invest rupees one lakh as an initial investment. The dealer of Airtel is not
allowed to provide any other operators' service. Target set for distributors and the dealers is
100 -150 activations per month. Hence the dealers can also go for their own promotions like
banners and discounts on festivals etc. The dealer provides service promptly. The consumer
on providing the bill of purchase for the handset and proof of residence has only to wait an
hour before getting connected. The staffs of the dealers and the franchisees are provided
training by the Airtel personnel. The complaints encountered by the franchisees and dealers
are either handset being non-functional or the SIM Card not getting activated. Anything more
complicated is referred to the main Airtel office in Delhi.

WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?

With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that lets him/her be in touch,
always, but also gets a host of benefits that let him/her manage his/her time like never before.
An Airtel subscriber is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM card) - that is
the key to operating his/her cellular phone. His card activates Airtel cellular services and
contains a complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's cellular
phone thoroughly. Each SIM card contains a PIN code (Personal Identity Number) which
may be entered by one. Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN code
and it becomes 'your' personal phone'.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The pattern of cell phone subscriber growth observed elsewhere in the world reveals that the
growth in the market is initially slow followed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has not
happened in India. As far as the Product Life Cycle is concerned Indians are at the beginning
of the maturity stage.
Introduction Growth Maturity
Marketing Objectives
Create Product Maximise market Maximise profits
Awareness and Trial share whole defending
market share
Strategies
Product Offer a basic Offer value Increase in
product/ added services number of
service. value added
services.
Price Charge cost-plus Price to Price to match
penetrate or best

68
 market competitors
Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more
distribution distribution. intensive
distribution.
Advertising Build product Build Stress brand
awareness awareness and differences and
among early interest in the benefits.
adopters and mass market
dealers.
Sales Use heavy sales Increase to Increase to encourage
Promotion promotion to promotion to brand switching.
entice people entice people
to subscribe. to subscribe.

69
70
 ANALYSIS

1. For how long have you been using or used AIRTEL Product?

TABLE- 5.1
YEARS NUMBER
0-2 45
2-5 32
5-10 20
MORE THAN 10 23

Airtel was incorporated in the year 1995. Hence the customers who have been using the
service for more than 10 years are actually the customers the company managed to acquire in
the initial years of its operations. The number is not very high because airtel did not use
penetration strategy to grab more market share. Now, owing to complexities in the market
Airtel has had to reiterate its marketing strategies by introducing new services and revising
its pricing decisions to attract more customers.

GRAPH-5.1

71
2. Which service provider do you believe that is potentially one of the most exciting
mobile service providers in the world?

TABLE- 5.2
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 31
Vodafone 22
Idea 24 8
MTNL 11 4

The above table shows that it is a mixed opinion received from people. However, the number
of people who are of the opinion that Airtel is the most exciting service provider in the world
is the highest. There is evidently scope for airtel to gain more customer satisfaction. This can
be done by closely observing what the competitors in the industry are doing to satisfy their
customers. Once this has been recognized Airtel can formulate a strategy to leverage better
services with cost effectiveness of providing such services.

GRAPH- 5.2

72
3. On which of the following service providers do you find that the government’s
telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service
providers?

TABLE- 5.3
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 20 10
Vodafone 21 12
Idea 15 8
MTNL 14 2

As according to the above table 70 (70%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the
above four specified Indian mobile service providers find that the government‘s telecom
policy has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers,
whereas 30 (30%) of them deny this. The general opinion received for this question has been
formed on the basis of the scams that have been appearing in the newspapers of late. It has to
be noted that nothing has been against airtel and has been the early bird to acquire 3G
licenses. Airtel has managed fairly well despite the more stringent rules introduced in the
telecom policy.

GRAPH- 5.3

25

20

15
YES
10 NO

0
AIRTEL Vodafone Idea MTNL

73
4. Which type of recharge plan do you like the most?

TABLE- 5.4
Recharge Plan Number
More Talktime 33
More Validity 34
Both(Postpaid) 33

Here we see that the number of people asking for more talktime and talktime with validity is
equal in number. While there an insignificant increase in people asking for more validity
only. Airtel may try to come up with combo plan for its prepaid users that will ensure
talktime as well as a reasonable validity period or even provide this separately for those who
require more validity than talktime and vice versa.

GRAPH- 5.4

74
5. Which service do you like the most in AIRTEL?

TABLE- 5.5
Service Number
AIRTEL Missed You Service 23
Free Ringtones 35
Free Hello Tunes 42

Here we see that people preferring Airtel Missed You Service is very less(just 23%) while
people asking for free ringtones is very high while the highest is free hello tunes(42%). The
Missed You Service may be provided to just a few niche customers. And if this service is not
proving to be profitable to the company, Airtel may decide to withdraw this service end
employ funds in the more popular services like free ring tones and free hello tunes.

GRAPH- 5.5

75
6. Which celebrity you like very much in AIRTEL?

TABLE- 5.6
Celebrity Number
Sachin 30
Sharukh 30
Kareena 27
A R Rehman 13

Here we can see that Sachin and Sharukh have both been equally effective and accepted as
brand ambassadors of AIRTEL. Kareena too has been a close competitor while number
opting for A R Rehman has been very less. A R Rehman‘s popularity grew after he won the
Oscar. This popularity spread to Airtel when they hired him as their brand ambassadors.
However fame for Airtel soon faded and Airtel had to take a call on hiring celebrities who
were constantly in the limelight and who would better appeal to its customers in all age
groups. Keeping in mind people‘s likes and dislikes airtel drew a contract with Sachin
Tendulkar and Sharukh Khan for promoting its service all over the country.

GRAPH- 5.6

76
7. Are you satisfied with these promotional activities of AIRTEL?

TABLE- 5.7
Service Very Satisfied Satisfied Acceptable Not Satisfied
Customer Care 30 32 23 15
Ad Films 32 30 22 16
Camps 22 24 26 28
Call Centre 12 24 32 32

Here we can see that customer care has been pretty accepted by people while ad films have
been a hit among public. Major concern for AIRTEL has been its camps and call centre.
Hence airtel has to ensure that this division of the company adds value to the net worth.
Training that enhances the knowledge and improves efficiency may be given to the
employees working in these departments.

GRAPH- 5.7

77
8. What are the features you look for in your service provider before making purchase
decision? Give preferences on rating basis ranging from 1 to 6 (1-Highest, 6- least)

TABLE- 5.8
Factor/Scale 1 2 3 4 5 6
Brand 25 26 24 11 8 6
Credibility
Price & 10 8 12 28 21 21
Discount
After Sales 5 5 18 25 23 24
Service
Value For 18 15 12 21 18 16
Money
Vehicle 30 25 20 15 5 5
Performance
Add On 18 16 17 20 15 14
Features

Here we can observe that people feel that AIRTEL is the best brand as it has a particular
image set in the minds of the people. Though not many are impressed with its pricing after
sales service people still go for AIRTEL since its main service i.e. telecommunication is
excellent and also its add features is making it popular. Now that it has established its brand
image in the market it may now focus on improving its after sales services and as stated
above its pricing policy needs to be revised.

GRAPH- 5.8

35
30
25 1
20 2

15 3

10 4

5 5

0 6
Brand Price & After Sales Value For Vehicle Add On
Credibilty Discount Service Money Performance Features

78
9. Which source do you use to collect information?

TABLE- 5.9
Source Number
Magazine Dealers 23
Sales Executives 17
Operator’s Reference 11
Pamphlets and Catalogues 27
Reference From Friends And Relatives 16
Other Sources 6

Here we can observe that people are highest influenced by pamphlets and catalogues which
AIRTEL has been effectively doing. Other major influencing or marketing tolls have been
magazine dealer reference from friends and relatives. The media chosen to promote Airtel‘s
services have proven to be effective so far. If, in future Airtel finds that the response received
through these media are not reaching the target customers a research team may be employed
to find out or innovate a medium that has prospects of increasing Airtel‘s revenues.

GRAPH- 5.9

79
10. How would you rate the experience with your brand?

TABLE- 5.10
Company Excellent Good Average Below Average
AIRTEL 49 45 5 1
Vodafone 38 36 16 10
Idea 25 29 32 14
MTNL 14 25 29 32

This clearly indicates how popular AIRTEL is. People who are currently using AIRTEL
service and who have used other services in the past have voiced their opinion. To reach the
top position is tough but to stay there is tougher. Airtel has done the former. Now its focus
should be on maintaining the quality of service provided so far and retaining the customer‘s
satisfaction that has been achieved as yet.

GRAPH- 5.10

80
11. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the
diversity of the coverage regions?

TABLE- 5.11
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 11 19
Vodafone 12 13
Idea 18 4
MTNL 20 3

As according to the above table 61 (61%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in the
mobile service providers are of belief that one of the challenges facing mobile operations in
India is the diversity of the coverage regions, whereas interestingly another 39 (39%) of them
deny this. Having an establishment in rural regions of the country is a challenge for any firm.
This challenge is yet to be overcome not only by Airtel but also by other service providers.
Airtel may take advantage of the incentives and subsidies provided by the Indian government
and may also plead more grants if such a plea is likely to be backed by the performance of the
company in the previous years in such regions.

GRAPH- 5.11

81
12. Do you find that mobile service providers in India have met with International
Standards of service providing?
TABLE- 5.12
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 19 5
Vodafone 17 8
Idea 9 15
MTNL 5 22

This shows that all the mobile service providers in India including Airtel have a long way to
go before reaching international standards of service providing. However if Airtel manages to
provide services to its customers which is of global quality it may think of augmenting its
operations overseas which may prove to be lucrative to the company.

GRAPH- 5.12

82
13. Do you believe that mobile service providers come close to fulfilling the
requirements for a personal communication system?

TABLE- 5.13
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 25 5
Vodafone 25 5
Idea 15 7
MTNL 10 8

As the above shows 75 (75%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that mobile
service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication
system, whereas 25 (25%) of them are in no way to this belief. Personal communication
system is a generation of wireless-phone technology that combines a range of features and
services surpassing those available in analog- and digital-cellular phone systems, providing a
user with an all-in-one wireless phone, paging, messaging, and data service. However, when
spoken internationally, there is more to a personal communication system than just what has
been mentioned above. Such additions have to be taken care of to a certain extent by airtel
and to a relatively larger extent by Idea and MTNL.

GRAPH- 5.13

83
14. Which of the following mobile service providers you find as the most satisfying
mobile standard?

TABLE- 5.14
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 28 1
Vodafone 24 1
Idea 19 8
MTNL 9 10

As the above table shows 28 (28%) out of total 100 respondents find that AIRTEL service
provider as the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard, whereas the remaining 80
(80%) respondents have voiced different opinion. Few feel Vodafone also comes close to
being a very good cellular service provider. So AIRTEL needs to be more aggressive in order
to beat competition in the market.

GRAPH- 5.14

84
15. According to you is AIRTEL is #1 in India? If no, does it have the potential to
become #1?

TABLE- 5.15
Opinion Number
Yes it is #1 63
No it is not #1 37
Yes it has the potential to be #1 85
No it does not have the potential to be #1 15

A whopping 63% of people believe that AIRTEL is #1 and 85% are of the belief that it can
sustain itself to be in that spot for a long time. While a meagre 37% say its not and just 15%
are of the belief that it can be beaten in a short span of time. The opinion of the respondents
for this question has to be seriously considered. The negative response i.e. the belief that it
can be beaten in a short span of time has to be given more weightage. The factors threatening
the firm either within the industry (competitors) or from the economy (trade cycle) have to be
detected and ways to prevent these from affecting the firm have to be found.

GRAPH- 5.15

85
16. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a
modern and efficient communications?

TABLE- 5.16
Company Yes No
AIRTEL 30 -
Vodafone 30 -
Idea 15 5

MTNL 15 5

As the above table shows 90 (90%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that their
service providers have a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient
communications whereas the remaining 10 (10%) respondents deny this. The 10% of the
customers who have denied this have in fact provided scope for improvement of the
company. Their opinion may be sought by the company through several open ended
questions that will act as a valuable feedback to the company.

GRAPH- 5.16

86
 SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths
 Cost advantage
 Current leaders in quality service
 Largest distribution network
 Ability to constantly innovate
 Highly skilled workforce
 Airtel‘s increased equity and market cap.

Weakness
 To prove credibility
 Price pressures
 Need for Government support
 Awareness
 Sales and Marketing

Opportunities
 To sustain passion and commitment
 Airtel‘s market share is increasing at other service provider expense. Thus it is an
opportunity to wipe others out.
 Attain higher value services
 Collaborative business needs to be explored
 Vertical, repeatable solutions.
 Low penetration level in rural markets.

Threats
 Foreign investment
 Global trends moving from GPS to WLL.
 Lack of global parity in telecom tariff
 Other competition

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 FINDINGS
 Airtel holds number one position in India with 30.86% market share.
 Same as in Bangalore zone Airtel is on 1st position with 34.5% market share.
 In Bangalore zone Airtel having 20 distributers
 Airtel launches every month a new FRC scheme.
 Earlier Airtel provided SIM cards at very low price or free. But this method was not
so effective because consumers started making it use and throw kind of stuff. By this
way company was being unable to make such stable and long last consumers.
 Now Airtel launches some FRC schemes. So the customer has to pay an amount
for new sim activation. By this way now consumer age is started being long.
 Vodafone is the biggest competitor of Airtel in telecom industry.
 The distributer gives different scheme to different shopkeepers.
 Mostly retailers are satisfied with Airtel service.
 Some retailers reported that they do not get time to time Airtel products.
 Some retailers are not satisfied with margin policy of Airtel.
 Earlier the FRC plan 61 launched that time some light retailers were facing problem
to convince the customers. Because competitors were providing same plan at low
cost.
 Some outlets owners are very angry with the company‘s performance because they
did well in Airtel mobile connection but they were not appreciated by the company.
 Some retailers are facing problem in ID verification policy of Airtel because the
company had made this procedure very strict.
 Many customers are diverted to other network due to strictness in id verification.

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 SUGGESTIONS
Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market share and image of
the products concerned.

1. Product
 Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand
should be increased.

2. Place
 The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores.

3. Promotion
 Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must
be released in different Medias to create brand awareness.
 Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like
gifts, contests and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and
prospects.
 Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

4. Price
 Price should be as competitive as other company maintains
 Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket

RECOMMENDATIONS
I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the research there:
 The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash paying
customers who are not easy to trace.
 The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals Products it
was mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from company doesn‘t
matches with the sample‘s quality shown before giving orders.
 The company should make its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to face
competition.

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  The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to exporter on
time, as it has been recommended by exporters to make the delivery on time.
 The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers because if
company offers lower price to a new customer then he may continue buy the goods and
can be a permanent customer for the company.
 The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to catch a
bigger market share and it should be able to compete with the local traders and
commission agents while having a brand name.
 Few outlets are unaware about scheme so proper communication is necessary between
distributor and retailers.
 Number of hoarding should be increased.
 Company should be lenient in ID verification procedure.
 To increase the consumer as on network, company should make change in its FRC
plan for example the talk value should be divided in two parts.
 50% of talk value should provide at the time of activation and rest T.T. provide after
gap of some days.
 Company should make understand its retailers about the benefits of consumer as on
network.
 Company should give extra return and other bonus, gifts to its retailers so they put
their full efforts to increase the Airtel sales.
 Company should motivate its sales staff so they will pay more concentration in sales
and activation of new connections.
 Company should make some necessary change in its FRC plan. For example company
should divide the talk time in to two times {50% at the time of activation 50% after 15
days.}

The company should take the opinion of exporters from time to time to know what problems
they are facing from the company‘s side. And if any change they require in present supplying
condition?

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 CONCLUSION
From above the details I conclude that 70% Airtel users preferred to remain with Airtel. Also
good number of users who were willing to switch from their respective subscribers showed
interest in Airtel. Hence, these statistics imply a bright future for the company. Also the
company is now providing more services like the door to door services which is you dial the
Airtel customer care and would like to send someone flowers the Airtel Company delivers
those flowers to the person concerned. Also Airtel is providing free text messaging service
and free voice mail service. Call conferencing is also another feature Airtel provides.

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel lagged behind its
competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned. The maximum number
of people who use the mobile is in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most popular
type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly and recharging the connection is
not a problem.

Maximum no. of people spends RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the only company
having the maximum no. of mobile connections it must seriously look into the loop holes of
the existing customer service department.

As we know that now Airtel has already launched its product with logo ―‘ Aisi azaadi aur
kahan‖‘ has already became popular in market. So we can say that in spite of so many
competitors in the market Airtel is having a good position just because every time, it tries its
best to understand the need of its important customers.

From the comparison and deep analysis of every aspect of business of all the companies we
can conclude that Bharti Airtel has to work more in every field of communication business. It
is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long time. For this Airtel has
to work on its all marketing strategies, promotion, and brand image.etc. Airtel has to take its
competitors. Very seriously and update its own strategies from time to time and when the
need arises.

With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as 70% of population of
India live in these areas. The other segment may be consumers of all age groups. Every thing
in this world is made to utilize properly but it should be reach at the proper person or to the
proper utilized areas. Otherwise the value added to those things became in vein. Thus

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promotion role plays a very important role in achieving the objectives of a company.
Undoubtly, value utility is created by the manufacture of product or service but time and
place utilities are created by marketing role. The various finding and befitting
recommendation have been made to increase the market share of each product (postpaid,
prepaid) of Airtel thereby increasing the market share of Airtel as a whole. Various facts and
data have been enclosed for better perusal and various graphs have been provided for better
comprehension. Sales Promotion techniques yield results that many other marketing
communication elements cannot achieve.

Sales promotion that is used in with the overall long-turn communication strategy of the
brand is said to use strategically. A promotion should not be used for the sole purpose of
altering sales in the short run .Sales promotion is used as a very strategic tool to introduce a
new product. Although advertising plays a large role towards creating awareness and attitude
information, sales promotion used to make new product launch easier and more effective.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Internet Sources

1. www.google.com

2. www.airtel.in

3. Wikipedia

 Books Referred
1. Kotler Philip ―Marketing Management‖ 10th Ed. Prentice Hall: NJ. 2004

2. F Buttle "Customer Relationship Management" 2nd Ed. Francis Buttle

Publications – 2008

3. V Kumar "Customer Relationship Management" Published Online: 15 DEC 2010

Wiley Online Library

4. Business World

5. The Times Of India , "News by Industry", 21 October 2010

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