PROJECT ON TELECOM INDUSTRY A LEADING INDIAN SECTOR

SUBMITTED BY RAIHAAN ESMAIL

PROJECT GUIDANCE Prof:- SHARON MENEZES

In the fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Management Studies UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

TYBMS ACADEMIC YEAR 2012-2013

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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that RAIHAAN ESMAIL of T.Y. Bachelor of Management Studies 20122013 has successfully completed the project on Telecom Industry A Leading Indian Sector under the guidance of Ms Sharon Menezes and has submitted the same to the University of Mumbai in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the Bachelors of Management Studies Courses.

Course coordinator

Principal

Signature of the External Examiner

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DECLARATION
I, Raihaan Esmail, hereby declare that I have successfully completed the project on Telecom Industry A Leading Indian Sector for the academic year 2012-2013. The project is done under the guidance of Prof. Sharon. This project work is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Management studies. The information provided in the project is true and to the best of my knowledge.

Date:-

Signature of the Student ROLL NUMBER 112 TYBMS B

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Success can never be attained without valuable guidance. The project titled TELECOM INDUSTRY A LEADING INDIAN SECTOR is the product of the support and guidance extended by the institute. It is not just the attempt to enrich myself with the last learning experience with the institute as a part of the curriculum but to do justice to my mentors efforts in grooming me as a professional, spanning over three years of my course. During the perseverance of this project, I was supported by different people, whose names if not mentioned, it would be inconsiderate on my part. I want to grab this opportunity to acknowledge my sincere thanks to all of them while submitting this report. To start with, I would like to thank my project guide, PROF. SHARON MENEZES whose help and guidance has been of immense value throughout the completion of this project. She has helped me with all the problems I faced during the completion of the project. She also kept a constant supervision and made me available with all the sources for necessary information that would be required for the project. Last but not the least; I would like to thank my peers, colleagues, friends and all those who have helped me in bringing out my best to make this project a success.

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INDEX

SR. NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

TOPIC PAGE HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN INDIA & FIRST MEDIUM OF 7 8 COMMUNICATION THE FIRST FEW COMPANIES LIBERALIZATION & PRIVATIZATION PROGRESS IN THE SECTOR REASONS FOR GROWTH IN THIS SECTOR GOVERNMENT ROLE IN THE TELECOM INDUSTRY MAJOR COMPANIES & PERSONALITIES THE MARKETSHARE OF COMPANIES DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS THE AFFECTED BY 9 11 12 13 14 20 21 22 23 29 30 37 38 42 IS 43 46

INDUSTRY

10 11 12

FDI IN THE SECTOR INVENTION OF 3G FEW FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE SECTOR

47 48 49 54 55 56

13

INTERESTING STATISTICS OF THE INDUSTRY

57 -63

14

2G SPECTRUM SCAM CASE STUDY

64 69

15 16

MANDATORY DIGITIZATION OF CABLE TV 70 71 INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR AN INTERNATIONAL 72 78 SUCCESS STORY

17

OPPORTUNITIES & UNTAPPED MARKETS

79 82

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18 19

CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

83 84 85

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HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN INDIA & FIRST MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

The history of Indian telecom can be started with the introduction of telegraph. The Indian postal and telecom sectors are one of the worlds oldest. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department, at that time. 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 Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was established in the country. On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Kolkata, Bombay and Chennai. The exchange in Kolkata named the "Central Exchange" had a total of 93 subscribers in its early stage. Later that year, Mumbai also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange. THE TELEGRAPH Telegraph is the long-distance transmission of messages without the physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus semaphore is a method of telegraphy whereas pigeon post is not. 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines were constructed connecting Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north along with Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853.. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public. Telegraphy requires that the method used for encoding the message be known to both sender and receiver. Such methods are designed according to the limits of the signalling medium used. The use of smoke signals, beacons, reflected light signals, and flag semaphore signals are early examples. In the 19th century, the harnessing of electricity brought about the means to transmit signals via electrical telegraph. The advent of radio in the early 1900s brought about radiotelegraphy and other forms of wireless telegraphy. In the Internet age, telegraphic means developed greatly in sophistication and ease of use, with natural language interfaces that hide the underlying code, allowing such technologies as electronic mail and instant messaging.

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Telegraphs have existed in Europe from as early as 1792 in the form of semaphore lines, or optical telegraphs, that sent messages to a distant observer through line-of-sight signals. In 1837, American artist-turned inventor Samuel F. B. Morse conducted the first successful experiment with an electrical recording telegraph. A telegraph message sent by an electrical telegraph operator or telegrapher using Morse code (or a printing telegraph operator using plain text) was known as a telegram. A cablegram was a message sent by a submarine telegraph cable, often shortened to a cable or a wire. Later, a Telex was a message sent by a Telex network, a switched network of teleprinters similar to a telephone network. Optical, electrical and wireless are different types of telegraphies.

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THE FIRST FEW COMPANIES

In the year 1975 Department of Telecom (DoT) was responsible for telecom services in entire country after separation from Indian Post & Telecommunication. Decade later Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was chipped 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. In1995 TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) was setup. This reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The Government of India corporatized the operations wing of DoT in 2000 and renamed Department of Telecom as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). In last 10 years many private operators especially foreign investors successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. Globally acclaimed operators like Telenor, NTT Docomo, Vodafone, Sistema, SingTel, Maxis, Etisalat invested in India mobile operators. DEPARTMENT OF TELECOM The Department of Telecommunications (abbreviated as DoT) is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the executive branch of the Government of India. Telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socioeconomic development for a nation and hence telecom infrastructure is treated as a crucial factor to realize the socio-economic objectives in India. Accordingly, the Department of Telecom has been formulating developmental policies for the accelerated growth of the telecommunication services. The Department is also responsible for grant of licenses for various telecom services like Unified Access Service Internet and VSAT service. The Department is also responsible for frequency management in the field of radio communication in close coordination with the international bodies. It also enforces wireless regulatory measures by monitoring wireless transmission of all users in the country. BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED (BSNL) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (abbreviated BSNL) is an Indian state-owned telecommunications company headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is the largest provider of fixed telephony and fourth largest mobile telephony provider in India, and is also a provider of broadband services. However, in recent years the company's revenue and market share plunged into heavy losses due to intense competition in Indian telecommunications sector. BSNL is India's oldest and largest communication service provider (CSP). It had a customer base of 95 million as of June 2011. It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, which are managed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL). BSNL then known as the Department of Telecommunications had been a near monopoly during the socialist period of the Indian economy. During this period, BSNL was the only telecom service provider in the country. MTNL was present only in Mumbai and New Delhi. During this period BSNL operated as a typical state-run organization, inefficient, slow,
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bureaucratic, and heavily unionised. As a result subscribers had to wait for as long as five years to get a telephone connection. The corporation tasted competition for the first time after the liberalisation of Indian economy in 1991. Faced with stiff competition from the private telecom service providers, BSNL has subsequently tried to increase efficiencies itself. DoT veterans, however, put the onus for the sorry state of affairs on the Government policies, where in all state-owned service providers were required to function as mediums for achieving egalitarian growth across all segments of the society. The corporation (then DoT), however, failed to achieve this and India languished among the most poorly connected countries in the world. BSNL was born in 2000 after the corporatisation of DoT. The corporatisation of BSNL was undertaken by an external international consulting team consisting of a consortium of A.F.Ferguson & Co, JB Dadachanji and NM Rothschild - and was probably the most complex corporatisation exercise of its kind ever attempted anywhere because of the quantum of assets (said to be worth USD 50 Billion in terms of breakup value) and over half a million directly and indirectly employed staff. Satish Mehta, who led the team later confessed that one big mistake made by the consortium was to recommend the continuation of the state and circle based geographical units which may have killed the synergies across regions and may have actually made the organisation less efficient than had it been a seamless national organisation. Vinod Vaish, then Chairman of the Telecom Commission made a very bold decision to promote younger talent from within the organisation to take up a leadership role and promoted the older leaders to a role in licensing rather than in managing the operations of BSNL. The efficiency of the company has since improved, however, the performance level is nowhere near the private players. The corporation remains heavily unionised and is comparatively slow in decision making and its implementation, which largely acts at the instances of unions without bothering about outcome. Management has been reactive to the schemes of private telecom players. Though it offers services at lowest tariffs, the private players continue to notch up better numbers in all areas, years after year. BSNL has been providing connections in both urban and rural areas. Pre-activated Mobile connections are available at many places across India. BSNL has also unveiled cost-effective broadband internet access plans (DataOne) targeted at homes and small businesses. At present BSNL enjoy's around 60% of market share of ISP services. MTNL Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in the metro cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in India and in the island nation of Mauritius in Africa. The company had a monopoly in Mumbai and Delhi until 1992, when the telecom sector was opened to other service providers. "Transparency makes us different" is the motto of the company. The Government of India currently holds 56.25% stake in the company. In recent years, MTNL has been losing revenue and market share heavily due immense competition in the Indian telecom sector MTNL was set up on 1 April 1986 by the Government of India with the aim of upgrading the quality of telecom services, expanding the telecom network, introducing new services and raising revenue for the telecom development needs of India's key metros - Delhi and
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Mumbai. MTNL's history in Mumbai dates back to 1882 when a company called Bombay Telephone was founded. Bombay Telephone set up the first Telephone exchange in Mumbai (then known as Bombay) at Fort on 28 January 1882. Delhi's first telephone system with manual exchange was established in 1911.

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LIBERALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION

Liberalization of Indian telecommunication industry 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. Attempts to liberalize the telecommunication industry were continued by the following government under the prime-minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, a US based Non-resident Indian NRI and a former Rockwell International executive to set up a Centre for Development of Telematics(C-DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone exchanges in India for the first time. Sam Pitroda had a significant role as a consultant and adviser in the development of telecommunication in India. In 1985, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post & Telecommunication Department. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of metro cities (Delhi and Mumbai) and international long distance operations respectively. The demand for telephones was ever increasing and in 1990s Indian government was under increasing pressure to open up the telecom sector for private investment as a part of Liberalisation-Privatization-Globalization policies that the government had to accept to overcome the severe fiscal crisis and resultant balance of payments issue in 1991. Consequently, private investment in the sector of Value Added Services (VAS) was allowed and cellular telecom sector were opened up for competition from private investments. 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. The policy introduced the concept of telecommunication for all and its vision was to expand the telecommunication facilities to all the villages in India. Liberalization in the basic telecom sector was also envisaged in this policy. They were also successful in establishing joint ventures between state owned telecom companies and international players. 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 liberalise long distance services 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 tariffs and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead liberalised 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
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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. In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalisation policies. The government corporatized the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Department of Telecommunication Services (DTS) which was later named as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political parties 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 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. Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom 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. 56 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 million. However, after a number of proactive initiatives taken by regulators and licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012. 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

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PROGRESS IN THE SECTOR

INVENTIONS :

MOBILE PHONES: A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone and a hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only within the short range of a single, private base station. In addition to telephony, modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography. Mobile phones that offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones. All mobile phones have a number of features in common, but manufacturers also try to differentiate their own products by implementing additional functions to make them more attractive to consumers. This has led to great innovation in mobile phone development over the past 20 years. The many uses of mobile phones Innovation and growth on the mobile phones front is astonishing. The top-end phones available now have the processing power and storage available in desktop computers just 4-5 years ago. Little wonder, then, that 2004 saw 674 million phones being bought, and estimates for 2005 stand at 730 million. The mobile phone is rapidly becoming the uber device -- the one device that seems to have it all and becomes even more indispensable than it is now. Mobile phones have already started functioning as more than just communications devices. Mobiles serve as watches and alarm clocks. Even with the limited free games that come with basic phones, they are already good for "time-pass". They can also function as calculators. In unfamiliar neighbourhoods, they tell us where we are. The address book and contacts list on phones is our social interface. Without the phone, many of us would be quite lost in connecting with other people. The calendar function on the mobile phones can help us track our lives. Phones can also function as radios. For some, the mobile phone also becomes a notepad -- send an SMS to oneself and make it a reminder service. Owners also have tended to customise phones, with their own ringtones, themes and wallpapers. This is just for starters. Consider what some of the more advanced mobile phones are also doing:
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Digital camera: Point-and-click! Phones capture pictures and let us save them for posterity or transfer them to others and to computers. Audio recorder: Mobile phones can be used to record conversations or even brief notes to oneself. Video recorder: Phones are becoming video cameras also -- some of the newest cellphones can record an hour or more of video. Multimedia messaging: Everything recorded can be shared with others by using MMS. Email client: The phone can be used to connect to any POP or IMAP server and allow receiving and sending email. While most phones may not have the ease of use that a Blackberry has with email, contacts and calendar, the fact that it is on the phone itself and that there is no need for a separate device can be a big help (along with the lower total cost of ownership). Web client: Phones can also browse websites, via a WAP and/or HTML browser. Most web sites may not look great on the small screen, but it is still possible to connect to any web site. Gaming platform: Mobile games have become big business in the past couple years as people seek entertainment in the free time that they have on the device that they always carry with them. Documents viewer: It is increasingly possible to view documents on the cellphone, in the popular MS-Office file formats. Computer adjunct: For many, the cellphone has replaced the PDA as the complement to the computer. With a remote desktop application, it also becomes possible to make the mobile phone a window to one's computer. Music player: The next big thing in 2005 is reckoned to be the combining of music capabilities on the mobile phone. While phones can play MP3s, it will soon also be possible to have music streamed from the Internet. Motorola is expected to introduce a phone this year that marries the mobile with Apple's iPod. TV: In India, some operators have been promoting many TV channels on the cellphone over next-generation networks like EDGE. Wallet: The phone can also be used to pay for purchases like a credit or debit card. There is already a billing relationship that exists between the subscriber and the operator, and that can be used to make payments to merchants. Bar-code readers: Phones will also be able to read bar codes and that can have very interesting applications in commerce.

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Ramesh Jain, professor at University of California, Irivine, wrote on his weblog: "Mobile phones are becoming very powerful and are likely to become a dominant device for CCC (communication, computing and content)." So the phones of tomorrow will be the remote controls of our life. They will come with bigger, better keyboards and displays -- even though there are practical limitations on how big a device we will carry. Networks are becoming faster too. And the device that was once a replacement for the fixed-line phone will occupy an even greater role in our lives. Countries like Japan and South Korea already lead the way in having multi-purpose mobile phones.

INTERNET : The Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. According to Internet World Stats, as of December 31, 2011 there was an estimated 2,267,233,742 Internet users worldwide. This represents 32.7% of the world's population. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP). No one actually owns the Internet, and no single person or organization controls the Internet in its entirety. The Internet is more of a concept than an actual tangible entity, and it relies on a physical infrastructure that connects networks to other networks. Uses of internet : The Internet allows greater flexibility in working hours and location, especially with the spread of unmetered high-speed connections. The Internet can be accessed almost anywhere by numerous means, including through mobile Internet devices. Mobile phones, datacards, handheld game consoles and cellular routers allow users to connect to the Internet wirelessly. Within the limitations imposed by small screens and other limited facilities of such pocketsized devices, the services of the Internet, including email and the web, may be available. Service providers may restrict the services offered and mobile data charges may be significantly higher than other access methods. Educational material at all levels from pre-school to post-doctoral is available from websites. Examples range from CBeebies, through school and high-school revision guides, virtual universities, to access to top-end scholarly literature through the likes of Google Scholar. For distance education, help with homework and other assignments, self-guided learning, whiling away spare time, or just looking up more detail on an interesting fact, it has never been easier
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for people to access educational information at any level from anywhere. The Internet in general and the World Wide Web in particular are important enablers of both formal and informal education. The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge, and skills has made collaborative work dramatically easier, with the help of collaborative software. Not only can a group cheaply communicate and share ideas but the wide reach of the Internet allows such groups more easily to form. An example of this is the free software movement, which has produced, among other things, Linux, Mozilla Firefox, and OpenOffice.org. Internet chat, whether in the form of an IRC chat room or channel, via an instant messaging system, or a social networking website, allows colleagues to stay in touch in a very convenient way when working at their computers during the day. Messages can be exchanged even more quickly and conveniently than via email. These systems may allow files to be exchanged, drawings and images to be shared, or voice and video contact between team members. SET TOP BOXES: A set-top box (STB) or set-top unit (STU) is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the source signal into content in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other display device. Set-top boxes can also enhance source signal quality. They are used in cable television and satellite television systems, as well as other uses. Types of STB Cable converter Cable television represented a possible alternative to deployment of UHF converters as broadcasts could be frequency-shifted to VHF channels at the cable head-end instead of the final viewing location. However, most cable systems could not accommodate the full 54-890 MHz VHF/UHF frequency range and the twelve channels of VHF space were quickly exhausted on most systems. Adding any additional channels therefore needed to be done by inserting the extra signals into cable systems on nonstandard frequencies, typically either below VHF channel 7 (midband) or directly above VHF channel 13 (superband). These frequencies corresponded to non-television services (such as two-way radio) over-theair and were therefore not on standard TV receivers. Before cable-ready TV sets became common in the late 1980s, an electronic tuning device called a cable converter box was needed to receive the additional analog cable TV channels and transpose or convert the selected channel to analog radio frequency (RF) for viewing on a regular TV set on a single channel, usually VHF channel 3 or 4. The box allowed a non-cable-ready television set to receive cable channels, and often provided a wired or wireless remote control. While later televisions were cable-ready with a standard converter built-in, the existence of premium television (aka pay per view) and the advent of digital cable have continued the need for various forms of these devices for cable television reception. Block conversion of the entire affected frequency band onto UHF, while less common, was used by some models to provide

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full VCR compatibility and the ability to drive multiple TV sets, albeit with a somewhat nonstandard channel numbering scheme. Newer television receivers greatly reduced the need for external set-top boxes, although cable converter boxes continue to be used to descramble premium cable channels according to carrier-controlled access restrictions, and to receive digital cable channels, along with using interactive services like video on demand, pay per view, and home shopping through television. Closed captioning box Set-top boxes were also made to enable closed captioning on older sets in North America, before this became a mandated inclusion in new TV sets. Some have also been produced to mute the audio (or replace it with noise) when profanity is detected in the captioning, where the offensive word is also blocked. Some also include a V-chip that allows only programs of some television content ratings. A function that limits children's time watching TV or playing video games may also be built in, though some of these work on main electricity rather than the video signal.

Digital television adapter The transition to digital terrestrial television after the turn of the millennium left many existing television receivers unable to tune and display the new signal directly. In the United States, where analog shutdown was completed in 2009 for full-service broadcasters, a federal subsidy was offered for coupon-eligible converter boxes with deliberately-limited capability which would restore signals lost to digital transition. Professional set-top box Professional set-top boxes are referred to as IRDs or integrated receiver/decoders in the professional broadcast audio/video industry. They are designed for more robust field handling and rack mounting environments, and are also technically superior; IRDs have the distinct feature of outputting uncompressed SDI signals, unlike consumer STBs, which don't, mostly because of copyright reasons Features : Electronic Program Guide Electronic program guides and interactive program guides provide users of television, radio, and other media applications with continuously updated menus displaying broadcast programming or scheduling information for current and upcoming programming. Some guides, such as ITV, also feature backward scrolling to promote their catch-up content.

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Favorites This feature allows the user to choose favorite channels, making them easier and quicker to access; this is handy with the wide range of digital channels on offer.

TELEPHONE SERVICES : Until the New Telecom Policy was announced in 1999, only the Government-owned BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide land-line phone services through copper wire in India with MTNL operating in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL servicing all other areas of the country. Due to the rapid growth of the cellular phone industry in India, landlines are facing stiff competition from cellular operators. This has forced land-line service providers to become more efficient and improve their quality of service. Land-line connections are now also available on demand, even in high density urban areas. India has over 31 million main line customers. With a subscriber base of more than 929 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. GSM was comfortably maintaining its position as the dominant mobile technology with 80% of the mobile subscriber market, but CDMA seemed to have stabilised its market share at 20% for the time being. By May 2012 the country had 929 million mobile subscribers, up from 350 million just 40 months earlier. The mobile market was continuing to expand at an annual rate in excess of 40% coming into 2010.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 929 million subscribers as of May 2012. 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. The government allowed Mobile number portability (MNP) which enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another. India is divided into 22 telecom circles

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ELECTRONIC MAIL: Electronic mail, commonly referred to as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to an email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. Historically, the term electronic mail was used generically for any electronic document transmission. For example, several writers in the early 1970s used the term to describe fax document transmission. As a result, it is difficult to find the first citation for the use of the term with the more specific meaning it has today. An Internet email message consists of three components, the message envelope, the message header, and the message body. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's email address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually descriptive information is also added, such as a subject header field and a message submission date/time stamp. Originally a text-only (7-bit ASCII and others) communications medium, email was extended to carry multi-media content attachments, a process standardized in RFC 2045 through 2049. Collectively, these RFCs have come to be called Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME).

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REASONS FOR GROWTH IN THIS SECTOR

India has always been an attractive destination for international companies across the world. With its rapidly growing economy, India is making developments in all the sectors including the telecom. The telecom sector is gaining momentum with the advent of private players like Airtel, Reliance, Tata etc. in the field. Previously, telecom sector was monopolized by government-controlled BSNL (Bhartiya Sanchar Nigam Limited).The telecom sector has registered tremendous growth over the years. As a result, India has become the third largest telecommunication network in the world. The subscriber base is increasing manifold and the country has emerged as the fastest growing telecom market in the world. Few decades ago having a telephone was a status symbol and owning a cell phone made one wealthy, but now, the prices of cell phones have come so down that even a rickshaw-puller can easily afford it. After the Indian economy was liberalized, privatized and globalized, many private companies flooded the Indian market. The private operators not only provide cellular services but also landline. Some of the companies also provide WLL (Wireless Local Loop) services. Landline telephones have also changed their traditional nature; they are not only used for making calls but one can also send SMS or musical greetings by it. India appeals to international market because of the low penetration levels of telecom services. Though, the number of subscribers is increasing day by day, it is still low compared to other countries. Strong economic growth has resulted in increase in the average income of the consumers thereby increasing their purchasing power is also one of the major factor behind the development of telecom sector in India. Another major reason is the easy availability of cheap and skilled labour which is beneficial for its expansion. BSNL is the largest telecom company in India. BSNL and MTNL leads in the landline services while Bharati Airtel is the most important player in the cellular services. Telecom companies are facing stiff competition entering of the new players. This has led to sharp decline in the call rates and price of mobile handsets has also become cheaper. One can buy a branded handset at Rs. 1000. Companies such as Reliance, Airtel, Tata and Idea are offering several schemes to attract consumers. Some of the schemes are call rates being Re.1 per second, making calls on the same network has become free or very nominal rate is charged. The monthly rentals have also decreased. Their ads are also very innovative and creative. Who can forget the Vodafones Zoozoo ads or Ideas social message ads endorsed by Abhishek Bachchan? Mobile companies are also providing best offers on musical ring tones downloading wallpapers etc. Now a days there is a lot of news in the Industry about the newly Launch 3G enabled services and handsets. This has led not only to the significant growth of the Telecom industry but also the GDP has increased tremendously. According to the sources it was expected that countrys telecom market will grow rapidly and by 2010, telecom will likely to be a US$38 billion

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sector, contributing 5.4% to India s GDP, and above all these expected growths are coming true. The growth has been attributed to the launch of operations in new areas such as 3G and WiMAX services.3G includes Videoconferencing, Voice calls, and advanced voice services, whereas WIMAX includes wireless connectivity. As India is a developing country and has a huge population, it is seen that it is the booming domestic telecom market and has been attracting huge amounts of investment which is likely to speed up with the entry of new players and launch of other new services too. It is analyzed that the key markets and segments of Indian telecom industry to make overseas clients aware of the present and future scenario and the factors fueling the growth of Indian telecom sector which will then ultimately leads to the employment generation in the country. According to the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, India has become an advanced nation in the mobile market of the world with lakhs of consumers getting associated to the service every month. This will of course lead to the growth of the other sectors too and will make its strong place in telecommunication sector in the future time. The Indian mobile industry has stimulated for its hyper growth mode, it is said that the industry continues to grow at double-digit rates for the coming years as the operators are focusing on the rural parts of the country. According to the sources Mobile market penetration is anticipated to increase from 38.7 percent in 2009 to 63.5 percent in 2013.Due to the earlier global slowdown may have affected India as well, with news of significant job cuts across various sectors. but, one sector continues to boom The Telecom sector

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GOVERNEMNET ROLE IN THE SECTOR

Policy Initiatives by Govt. of India in the Telecommunication Sector have been one of the largest causes for the success of the telecom market in India. The national parties before the administrative unit have lifted private telecom units based on license-fee. The Government has set up the following policies and organisations for the smooth and effective functioning of the telecommunication sector National Telecom Policy 1994 In 1994, the Government announced the National Telecom Policy which defined certain important objectives, including availability of telephone on demand, provision of world class services at reasonable prices, improving Indias competitiveness in global market and promoting exports, attractive FDI and stimulating domestic investment, ensuring Indias emergence as major manufacturing / export base of telecom equipment and universal availability of basic telecom services to all villages. It also announced a series of specific targets to be achieved by 1997.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) The entry of private service providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government. TRAIs mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country in manner and at a pace, which will enable India to play a leading role in emerging global information society. One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment, which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition. In pursuance of above objective TRAI has issued from time to time a large number of regulations, orders and directives to deal with issues coming before it and provided the required direction to the evolution of Indian telecom market from a Government owned monopoly to a multi operator multi service open competitive market. The directions, orders and regulations issued cover a wide range of subjects including tariff, interconnection and quality of service as well as governance of the Authority. The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI. TDSAT was set up to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee, between two or more service providers, between a service

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provider and a group of consumers, and to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction, decision or order of TRAI.

New Telecom Policy 1999 The most important milestone and instrument of telecom reforms in India is the New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP 99). The New Telecom Policy, 1999 (NTP-99) was approved on 26th March 1999, to become effective from 1st April 1999. NTP-99 laid down a clear roadmap for future reforms, contemplating the opening up of all the segments of the telecom sector for private sector participation. It clearly recognized the need for strengthening the regulatory regime as well as restructuring the departmental telecom services to that of a public sector corporation so as to separate the licensing and policy functions of the Government from that of being an operator. It also recognized the need for resolving the prevailing problems faced by the operators so as to restore their confidence and improve the investment climate.

Key features of the NTP 99 include:

Strengthening of Regulator.

National long distance services opened to private operators.

International Long Distance Services opened to private sectors.

Private telecom operators licensed on a revenue sharing basis, plus a one-time entry fee. Resolution of problems of existing operators envisaged.

Direct interconnectivity and sharing of network with other telecom operators within the service area was permitted.

Department of Telecommunication Services (DTS) corporatised in 2000.

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Spectrum Management made transparent and more efficient.

All the commitments made under NTP 99 have been fulfilled; each one of them, in letter and spirit, some even ahead of schedule, and the reform process is now complete with all the sectors in telecommunications opened for private competition.

National Long Distance National Long Distance opened for private participation. The Government announced on 13.08.2000 the guidelines for entry of private sector in National Long Distance Services without any restriction on the number of operators. The DOT guidelines of license for the National Long Distance operations were also issued.

Highlights - NLD Guidelines

Unlimited entry for carrying both inter-circle and intra-circle calls.

Total foreign equity (including equity of NRIs and international funding agencies) must not exceed 74%. Promoters must have a combined net worth of Rs.25 million.

Private operators will have to enter into an arrangement with fixed-service providers within a circle for traffic between long-distance and short-distance charging centres.

Seven years time frame set for rollout of network, spread over four phases. Any shortfall in network coverage would result in encashment and forfeiture of bank guarantee of that phase.

Private operators to pay one-time entry fee of Rs.25 million plus a Financial Bank Guarantee (FBG) of Rs.200 million. The revenue sharing agreement would be to the extent of 6%.

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Private operators allowed to set up landing facilities that access submarine cables and use excess bandwidth available.

Licence period would be for 20 years and extendable by 10 years.

International Long Distance In the field of international telephony, India had agreed under the GATS to review its opening up in 2004. However, open competition in this sector was allowed with effect from April 2002 itself. There is now no limit on the number of service providers in this sector. The licence for ILD service is issued initially for a period of 20 years, with automatic extension of the licence by a period of 5 years. The applicant company pays one-time non-refundable entry fee of Rs.25 million plus a bank guarantee of Rs.250 million, which will be released on fulfilment of the roll out obligations. The annual licence fee including USO contribution is @ 6% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue and the fee/royalty for the use of spectrum and possession of wireless telegraphy equipment are payable separately. At present 24 ILD service providers (22 Private and 2 Public Sector Undertaking) are there. As per current roll out obligations under ILD license, the licensee undertakes to fulfil the minimum network roll out obligations for installing at least one Gateway Switch having appropriate interconnections with at least one National Long Distance service licensee. There is no bar in setting up of Point of Presence (PoP) or Gateway switches in remaining location of Level I Taxes. Preferably, these PoPs should conform to Open Network Architecture (ONA) i.e. should be based on internationally accepted standards to ensure seamless working with other Carrier Network.

Universal Service Obligation Fund

Another major step was to set up the Universal Service Obligation Fund with effect from April 1, 2002. An administrator was appointed for this purpose. Subsequently, the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 giving statutory status to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December 2003. The Fund is to be utilized exclusively for meeting the Universal Service Obligation and the balance to the credit of the Fund will not lapse at the end of the financial year. Credits to the Fund shall be through Parliamentary approvals. The Rules for administration of the Fund known as Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2004 were notified on 26.03.2004.

The resources for implementation of USO are raised through a Universal Service Levy (USL) which has presently been fixed at 5% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of all Telecom Service Providers except the pure value added service providers like Internet, Voice Mail, EPage | 26

Mail service providers etc. In addition, the Central Govt. may also give grants and loans. An Ordinance was promulgated on 30.10.2006 as the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 to amend the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 in order to enable support for mobile services, broadband connectivity, general infrastructure and pilot project for new technological developments in rural and remote areas of the country. Subsequently, an Act has been passed on 29.12.2006 as the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2006 to amend the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

USFO has initiated action to bring mobile services within the ambit of Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) activities. Under this initiative, 7387 mobile infrastructure sites are being rolled out, in the first phase, across 500 districts and 27 states of India. This scheme will provide mobile services to approximately 0.2 million villages which where hitherto deprived of the same. As on 30th June 2010, 7183 shared towers have been set up under the First Phase of the scheme. The USOF of DOT has proposed to set up about 10,128 additional towers in order to extend the mobile coverage in other uncovered areas under the Second Phase of the Scheme.

Unified Access Services Unified access license regime was introduced in November 2003. Unified Access Services operators are free to provide, within their area of operation, services, which cover collection, carriage, transmission and delivery of voice and/or non-voice messages over Licensees network by deploying circuit, and/or packet switched equipment. Further, the Licensee can also provide Voice Mail, Audiotex services, Video Conferencing, Videotex, E-Mail, Closed User Group (CUG) as Value Added Services over its network to the subscribers falling within its service area on non-discriminatory basis. The country is divided into 23 Service Areas consisting of 19 Telecom Circle and 4 Metro Service Areas for providing Unified Access Services (UAS). The licence for Unified Access Services is issued on non-exclusive basis, for a period of 20 years, extendable by 10 years at one time within the territorial jurisdiction of a licensed Service Area. The licence Fee is 10%, 8% & 6% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for Metro and Category `A, Category `B and Category `C Service Areas, respectively. Revenue and the fee/royalty for the use of spectrum and possession of wireless telegraphy equipment are payable separately. The frequencies are assigned by WPC wing of the Department of Telecommunications from the frequency bands earmarked in the applicable National Frequency Allocation Plan and in coordination with various users subject to availability of scarce spectrum.

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Internet Service Providers (ISPs) Internet service was opened for private participation in 1998 with a view to encourage growth of Internet and increase its penetration. The sector has seen tremendous technological advancement for a period of time and has necessitated taking steps to facilitate technological ingenuity and provision of various services. The Government in the public interest in general, and consumer interest in particular, and for proper conduct of telegraph and telecom services has decided to issue the new guidelines (Details) for grant of licence of Internet services on non-exclusive basis. Any Indian company with a maximum foreign equity of 74% is eligible for grant of licence.

Broadband Policy 2004 Recognizing the potential of ubiquitous Broadband service in growth of GDP and enhancement in quality of life through societal applications including tele-education, telemedicine, e-governance, entertainment as well as employment generation by way of highspeed access to information and web based communication; Government has announced Broadband Policy in October 2004. The main emphasis is on the creation of infrastructure through various technologies that can contribute to the growth of broadband services. These technologies include optical fibre, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL), cable TV network; DTH etc. Broadband connectivity has been defined as Always On with the minimum speed of 256 kbps. It is estimated that the number of broadband subscribers would be 20 million by 2010. With a view to encourage Broadband Connectivity, both outdoor and indoor usage of low power Wi-Fi and Wi-Max systems in 2.4 GHz-2.4835 GHz band has been delicensed. The use of low power indoor systems in 5.15-5.35 GHz and 5.725-5.875 GHz bands has also been delicensed in January 05. The SACFA/WPC clearance has been simplified. The setting up of National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) would enable bringing down the international bandwidth cost substantially, thus making the broadband connectivity more affordable. The prime consideration guiding the Policy includes affordability and reliability of Broadband services, incentives for creation of additional infrastructure, employment opportunities, induction of latest technologies, national security and brings in competitive environment so as to reduce regulatory interventions. By this new policy, the Government intends to make available transponder capacity for VSAT services at competitive rates after taking into consideration the security requirements. The service providers permitted to enter into franchisee agreement with cable TV network operators. However, the Licensee shall be responsible for compliance of the terms and conditions of the licence. Further in the case of DTH services, the service providers permitted to provide Receive-Only-Internet Service. The role of other facilitators such as electricity authorities, Departments of ITs of various State Governments, Departments of Local Self Governments, Panchayats, Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Departments of Education is very important to carry the advantage of broadband services to the users particularly in rural areas.
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Target has been set for 20 million broadband connections by 2010 and providing Broadband connectivity to all secondary and higher secondary schools, public health institutions and panchayats by 2010. In rural areas, connectivity of 512 KBPS with ADSL 2 plus technology (on wire) will be provided from about 20,000 existing exchanges in rural areas having optical fibre connectivity. Community Service Centres, secondary schools, banks, health centres, Panchayats, police stations etc. can be provided with this connectivity in the vicinity of above-mentioned 20,000 exchanges in rural areas. DOT will be subsidizing the infrastructure cost of Broadband network through support from USO Fund to ensure that Broadband services are available to users at affordable tariffs.

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MAJOR COMPANIES & PERSONALITIES

SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL (AIRTEL) Sunil Bharti Mittal (born 23 October 1957) is an Indian telecom mogul, philanthropist and the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises. The US$8.3 billion turnover company runs India's largest GSM-based mobile phone service and world's fifth largest wireless company with over 190 million customers across 19 countries in Asia and Africa. He is the son of SatPal (former MP) and Lalita. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor. Sunil Mittal was born in Ludhiana, India. His father, Sat Pal Mittal, had been the Member of Parliament (M.P) from Ludhiana. He first joined the Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie, but later attended Scindia School at Gwalior and he graduated in 1976 from Punjab University, Chandigarh, with a Bachelor of Arts and Science for which he studied in Arya College for Boys, a local college in Ludhiana. His father died of cardiac arrest in 1992. A first generation entrepreneur, Mittal started his first business in April 1976 at the age of 18, with a capital investment of 20,000 (US$364) borrowed from his father. His first business was to make crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers. In 1980, he along with his brothers Rakesh, Rajan started an Import Enterprise named Bharti Overseas Trading Company. He sold his bicycle parts and yarn factories and moved to Mumbai. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994and he launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also brought down the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'Indiaone'. IndiaOne was Indias first private national as well as the international long-distance service provider, and, thus, became a major factor in Bharti's success by providing services cheaply.

BHARTI AIRTEL : Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian telecommunications services company headquartered at New Delhi, India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. Airtel has GSM network in all countries, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company with over 261 million subscribers across 20 countries as of August 2012. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with 186.41 million subscribers as of October 2012. Airtel is the third largest incountry mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It
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offers its telecom services under the airtel brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators.Its networkbase stations, microwave links, etc.is maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei, and business support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of 1/minute (US$0.02/minute). During the last financial year (200910), Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the tele-media business. On 31 May 2012, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access network (mobile backhaul) across the country. This would help consumers access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets.

ANIL AMBANI (RELIANCE ) Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, born on 4 June 1959, is an Indian businessman. He is the chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of the largest private conglomerates in India. Anil's elder brother Mukesh Ambani, who heads as the chairman of Reliance Industries. The Ambani family is the richest family in India and one of the richest in the world, their wealth inherited from Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of largest Indian conglomerate Reliance Group. He is a member of the Board of Overseers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur; Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Ambani joined Reliance Industries, the company founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1983 as Co-Chief Executive Officer and is credited with having pioneered many financial innovations in the Indian capital markets. For example, he led India's first forays into overseas capital markets with international public offerings of global depositary receipts, convertibles and bonds. He directed Reliance in its efforts to raise, since 1991, around US$2 billion from overseas financial markets; with a 100-year Yankee bond issue in January 1997 being the high point, after which people regarded him as a financial wizard. He along with his brother, Mukesh Ambani, has steered the Reliance Group to its current status as India's leading textiles, petroleum, petrochemicals, power, and telecom company. He is a close friend of movie star Amitabh Bachchan and Subrata Roy. One of his major achievements in the entertainment industry is the takeover of Adlabs, the movie production to distribution to
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multiplex company that owns India's only dome theatre and the recently announced joint venture worth US$ 825 million with Steven Spielberg. Anil Ambani is the head of the reliance communications group. Reliance Communications Ltd.: (commonly called RCOM) is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is the world's 15th largest mobile phone operator with over 150 million subscribers and India's 2nd largest telecom operator in India, only after Bharti Airtel. Established on 2004, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group. The company has five segments: Wireless segment includes wireless operations of the company; broadband segment includes broadband operations of the company; Global segment include national long distance and international long distance operations of the company and the wholesale operations of its subsidiaries; Investment segment includes investment activities of the Group companies, and Other segment consists of the customer care activities and direct-to-home (DTH) activities. It ranks among the top 5 telecommunications companies in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers. The company has established a pan-India, next-generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next-generation IP-enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. Reliance Communications Limited has its offices in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna and Pune. 3G and 4G On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Reliance Communications paid 5864.29 crores for spectrum in 13 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East, Jammu & Kashmir. On 11 June 2010, the broadband wireless access (BWA) or 4G spectrum auction in India ended. Infotel Broadband, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, won pan-India licence in the auction across 22 circles, the only telecom operator other than state-owned BSNL/MTNL to do so. Infotel paid the government 12847.77 crore for the licence.

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RATAN TATA (TATA DOCOMO) Ratan Naval Tata; (born 28 December 1937), is an Indian businessman who became chairman (1991 Present) of the Tata Group, a Mumbai-based conglomerate. He is a member of a prominent Tata family of Indian industrialists and philanthropists. Among many other honours accorded him during his career, Tata received the Padma Bhushan, one of Indias most distinguished civilian awards, in 2000 and Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and Lifetime Achievement Award awarded by prestigious Rockefeller Foundation in 2012. He has also been ranked as India's most powerful CEO. Ratan is the great-grandson of Tata group founder Jamshedji Tata. Ratan's parents separated in the mid-1940s, when he was seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five years old. Their mother moved out and both boys were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai. Tata started sol in Bombay at Campion School and finished at Cathedral and John Connon School. Ratan Tata completed his B.S. in architecture with structural engineering from Cornell University in 1962, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 1975. He is a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. Ratan Tata is the head of the Tata Teleservices group. TATA DOCOMO: This is an Indian cellular service provider on the GSM and platformarising out of the strategic joint venture between Tata Teleservices (subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Tata Group) and Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo (subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) in November 2008. It is the country's sixth largest operator in terms of subscribers (including both GSM and CDMA). Tata DoCoMo is part of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group. The company received licenses to operate GSM services in nineteen telecom circles and was allotted spectrum in eighteen of these circles and launched GSM services on 24 June 2009. It began operations first in South India and currently operates GSM services in eighteen of twenty two telecom circles. It has licences to operate in Delhi but has not been allocated spectrum from the Government. Docomo provides services throughout India. Tata DOCOMO offers both prepaid and postpaid cellular phone services. It has become very popular with its one second pulse especially in semi-urban and rural areas. On 5 November 2010, Tata DOCOMO became the first private sector telecom company to launch 3G services in India. Tata DOCOMO had about 42.34 million users at the end of December 2010. On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Tata Docomo ltd paid 5864.29 crores for spectrum in 12 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra & Goa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (West), Chennai, Bihar and Jharkhand.

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VENUGOPAL DHOOT (VIDEOCON) Venugopal Dhoot (born 30 Sep 1944 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian businessman. According to Forbes Magazine, his wealth in 2009 is $2.65 billion. He is said to be the eighteenth richest man in India. He is an alumnus of the College of Engineering, Pune, India. He was born in a Marwari-Maheshwary family. The Maheshwary community hail from Rajasthan, and are known for producing most of India's finest entrepreneurs and industrialists. He is married to Rama Dhoot and has two children, Anirudh and Surbhi. His father, the late Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot, was an Indian industrialist who made his earlier fortune in the sugarcane and cotton industry. Nandlal Dhoot was the founder of Videocon Corporation and other businesses ventures such as Videocon Electronics. The company's major breakthrough came when it received one of India's first licenses to manufacture color televisions. Venugopal Dhoot is an avid cricket fan and accomplished flautist. The Videocon School of Cricket launched in Kolkata, India under the guidance of former Indian Cricket Captain, Saurav Ganguly, trains and promotes young cricketers of India in the age group of 10 to 17.

VIDEOCON TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED : Videocon Mobile Service., is a GSM based cellular operator in India based in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi).Videocon Telecommunications Limited which holds a market share of 0.78% in the country, a Videocon group company offers GSM mobile services GSM service under the brand name Videocon. The Videocon Group is a $4 billion, global business conglomerate with a strong presence in Household Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas, Retail, Telecom, DTH and the Power sector. The Group has several manufacturing facilities globally and R&D centers spread across Americas, Europe and Australasia. Videocon has one of the largest distribution networks in India with a nation-wide presence. The Group makes Flat Panel Devices (LCDs) and CTVs, Washing Machines, ACs, Refrigerators, Home Theatre systems, microwave ovens, food processors, and small home appliances. Recently the group also launched a range of Mobile Handsets and next-generation Direct-to-Home television services and satellite TV. Apart from having a stronghold in the domestic market, the company has a significant market share in the global arena as well. Videocon exports consumer electronics and home appliances to markets in the Middle East and Europe, West Asia, Latin America and South East Asia.

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KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA (IDEA) Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian industrialist and the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in India. The groups is India's third largest business house. He is also the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science. Kumar Mangalam Birla is a fourth generation member of the Birla family from state of Rajasthan. He spent his childhood in Kolkata and Mumbai. A chartered accountant by profession, earned commerce degree from HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai and also has an MBA from the London Business School, where he is an Honorary Fellow. He also has several honorary doctorate degrees. Kumar Mangalam Birla took over as Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group in 1995, at the young age of 28, after sudden death of his father, Aditya Birla, after whom the group is named. Many doubts were raised about his ability to lead the group with varied interests in textile and garments, cement, aluminum, fertilizers etc. but KM Birla has not only proved his skeptics wrong, but also has grown to become one of the most respected industrialists in the country. Under his leadership the Aditya Birla group has expanded to Telecom, Software, BPO and other areas while consolidating its position in existing businesses. When Kumar Manglam Birla took over the reins of the group in 1995, the turnover was only $2 bn and overseas operations accounted for a very small part of the overall business with Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia being major centers IDEA CELLULAR : Idea Cellular, usually referred to as Idea, is an Indian mobile network operators based in Mumbai, India.In 2000, Tata Cellular was a company providing mobile services in Andhra Pradesh. When Birla-AT&T brought Maharashtra and Gujarat to the table, the merger of these two entities was a reality. Thus Birla-Tata-AT&T, popularly known as Batata, was born and was later rebranded as IDEA. Then Idea set sights on RPGs operations in Madhya Pradesh which was successfully acquired, helping Batata have a million subscribers, and the licence to be the fourth operator in Delhi was clinched.In 2004, Idea (the company had by then been rechristened) bought over the Escorts groups Escotel gaining Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Kerala and licences for three more UP (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. By the end of that year, four million Indians were on the companys network. In 2005, AT&T sold its investment in Idea, and the year after Tatas also bid good bye to pursue an independent telecom business. And Idea was left only with one promoter, the AV Birla group. Rs 2,700 crore adding Punjab and Karnataka circles. Modis joint venture partner, Telekom Malaysia, invested Rs 7,000 crore for a 14.99% stake in Idea. Just around then, Ideas subsidiary, Aditya Birla Telecom sold a 20% stake to US-based Providence Equity Partners for over Rs 2,0000 crore....

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The company has its retail outlets under the "My Idea" banner. The company has also been the first to offer flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in urban areas.Idea Cellular won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years IDEA Cellular has been recognized as the 'Most Customer Responsive Company' in the Telecom sector, at the prestigious Avaya GlobalConnect Customer Responsiveness Awards 2010 Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004, Cingular decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the Tatas and Birlas at 16.45% each. On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Idea paid 5768.59 crores for spectrum in 11 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West). On 28 March 2011, Idea launched 3G services in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The launch cities were Ahmedabad, Shimla and Indore. This makes Idea the sixth private operator (eighth overall) to launch its 3G services in the country following Tata Docomo, Reliance Communications, Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone. After Acquiring Spice Communications of Karnataka telecom circle Idea Cellular Covered More than 20,000+ Villages in Karnataka and has the wider coverage than Airtel and other operators and next to BSNL

VODAFONE INDIA (VODAFONE GROUP & HUTCHISON ESSAR) Vodafone India, formerly Vodafone Essar and Hutchison Essar, is the second largest mobile network operator in India after Airtel. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra and which operates nationally. It has approximately 146.84 million customers as of November 2011. On July 2011, Vodafone Group agreed terms for the buy-out of its partner Essar from its Indian mobile phone business. The UK firm paid $5.46 billion to its Indian counterpart to take Essar out of its 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It will leave Vodafone owning 74% of the Indian business, while the other 26% will be owned by Indian investors, in compliance with Indian law. On 11 February, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on 8 May, 2007. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metros.

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Vodafone India provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology. Vodafone India launched 3G services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks. On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Vodafone paid 11617.86 million (the second highest amount in the auctions) for spectrum in 10 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Delhi, Kanpur, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra & Goa, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. Vodafone also operates 3G services in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West) through an agreement with Idea and in Karnataka through an agreement with Airtel.. This gives Vodafone a 3G presence in 13 out of 22 circles in India. On 16 March, 2011, Vodafone launched 3G services in Uttar Pradesh (East) in the city of Lucknow. Vodafone had already launched limited 3G services in Chennai and Delhi earlier, but the Uttar Pradesh (East) launch counts as its first fully commercial launch. This makes Vodafone the fifth private operator (seventh overall) to launch its 3G services in the country following Tata Docomo, Reliance Communications, Airtel and Aircel.

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MARKETSHARE OF THE COMPANIES

Key data: Total wireless subscriber base decreased from 934.09 million in June 2012 to 913.49 million at the end of July 2012, registering a monthly growth of -2.21% (this decline is due to large scale disconnections by Reliance Communications). The share of urban wireless subscribers has decreased from 63.98 % to 63.37% whereas share of rural wireless subscribers has increased from 36.02% to 36.63%. The overall wireless Teledensity in India reached 75.21%. The wireless subscription in rural areas decreased from 336.51 million to 334.58 million during the same period. Private operators hold 88.60% of the wireless market share (based on subscriber base) where as BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU operators hold only 11.40% market share.

MARKETSHARE:

10. MTNL Ownership: Publically-held by Government of India Date of Establishment: 1st April 1986 Market Share: 0.6 % Brief Description: MTNL or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited is a publically-held telecom service provider which operates only in metro cities; Mumbai and Delhi and the island nation of Mauritius (Africa). Before the liberalization of the Indian economy, MTNL held a monopoly in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai which it lost after the market was opened for other service providers. The Indian government currently holds a 56.25 percent stake in the company that has a motto Transparency Makes Us Different. Though, MTNLs inability to stand the stiff competition it faced from other major telecom providers later has reduced its market share to minimal decimals.

9. Videocon Ownership: Privately held by Videocon Group

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Date of Establishment: 7th April 2010 Market Share: 0.78 % Brief Description: Videocon Telecommunications Limited is a Videocon group company owned by Venugopal Dhoot. It is headquartered in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi). Launched in April 2010, Videocon Telecommunications Limited provides GSM services in almost all parts of India including Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh among others under the brand name of Videocon. The Videocon group, an Indian Multinational company, is a global business conglomerate that has its roots spread in diverse markets and generates revenues worth $4 billion annually. The group has several manufacturing facilities and R&D departments spread all across the globe including American, Europe and Australia. Videocon has one of the strongest distribution networks in the country and enjoys a well-established reputation in the global market. The group is also involved in the manufacturing of mobile handsets under the same brand name.

8. Uninor Ownership: Privately-held by Unitech Group and Telenor Group Date of Establishment: 3rd December 2009 Market Share: 4.2 % Brief Description: Uninor is an Indian telecom service provider that is jointly held by two companies: a Norway-based telecommunication company Telenor and an Indian real-estate company Unitech. Telenor holds a major stake of 67.25 percent in the company. Uninor is headquartered in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi) and provides its services in all of Indias 22 telecom circles. It offers voice and a data service based on the GSM technology and is commercially available in the 13 circles across India. Its major target is the youth and is a pioneer in charging as per day time and geographic location. During its launch, Uninor was available in 8 circles and 6 other circles were added in the initial six months. It follows a lean operational model and its network infrastructure is outsourced to its business partners. It is targeting 8 percent market share in the coming years.

7. Aircel Ownership: Privately-held by Maxis Communications and Sindya Securities & Investments. Date of Establishment: 1999 Market Share: 6.90 % Brief Description: Aircel is an Indian telecom service provider jointely held by the Maxis Communications and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited. The Malaysian-based
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Maxis Communications hold a majority stake of 74 percent in the company. The current share-holders of Sindya Securities & Investments are the Reddy family that is famed for its Apollo Hospitals Group of India. Headquartered in Chennai, it is one of the leading telecom service providers in Tamil Nadu, North East, Assam and Chennai. With a subscriber base of nearly 51.83 million, it is ranked seventh among the Indian mobile service providers (GSM & CDMA) and fifth among the GSM mobile service providers. The company has also obtained permission from the Department of Telecom (DoT) for providing International Long Distance and National Long Distance telephony services.

6. TATA Teleservices Ownership: Privately-held by the TATA Group Date of Establishment: January 2005 Market Share: 9.20 % Brief Description: Tata Teleservices limited is a subsidiary of renowned Tata group and is headquartered in Mumbai. It provides broadband and telecommunications services across the country and operates under the name of Tata Docomo in various telecom circles across India. The Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo bought 26 percent stake in Tata Teleservices in November 2008 paying a sum of nearly 13,070 Crores. Previously in February 2008, Tata Teleservices limited announced its plan to launch a youth oriented CDMA service in association with Virgin Group. Currently, Tata Teleservices functions under the following brand names: Tata docomo, Virgin Mobile and T24 Mobile. It enjoys a subscriber base of more than 5 billion in Delhi alone and is provides tariff plans in both Postpaid and Pre-paid category. Its retail business has 3000 outlets across the country. It also became the first private sector telecom operator to launch 3G service in the country.

5. BSNL Ownership: Publically-held by Government of India Date of Establishment: Incorporated on 15th September 2000 Market Share: 10.80 % Brief Description: BSNL or Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is a publically held telecom service provider in India. With its headquarters in New Delhi, it is the largest provider of fixed-line services and subsequently provides broadband services across the nation. Before the liberalization of Indian economy BSNL held the monopoly across the country except for Delhi and Mumbai which were covered by MTNL. It is Indias oldest communication service provider and enjoys a customer base of 95 million throughout India. Among the services that BSNL provides, some are, Universal Telecom Serives, Cellular Mobile Telephone Services, WLL-CDMA Telephone services, Internet, Intelligent Network, 3G, IPTV, FTTH, Helpdesk, VVoIP, WiMax. BSNL has 24 telecom circles, 2 metro districts, 6 project circles, 4 maintenance regions, 5 telecom factories, 3 training institutions and 4 specialized telecom units.

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4. Idea Cellular Ownership: Privately-held by Aditya Birla group and others.Date of Establishment: 1995 Market Share: 11.90 % Brief Description: Idea Cellular is an Indian telecom service provider headquartered in Mumbai. Previously ran by Tata Cellular, it was bought by Birla-AT&T in 2000. This merger of Birla-Tata-AT&T was popularly known as Batata and was rebranded as IDEA. However, in the subsequent years, AT&T and Tata sold their stake in Idea and it became an entity of Aditya Birla group. The three companies held an equal stake in the company before AT&T decided to sell its stake. Both Tata and Birla bought AT&Ts stake with 16.45 percent each. Tata was still holding Idea when the company filed for a license to operate in Mumbai. For this reason, Idea could enter late in Mumbai after the intervention of the Department of Telecom. Tata left Idea but only for a major sum of money cmounting to 44 billion. Currently, Birlas hold 49.05 percent shares in Idea and the remaining is held by Axiata Group and Providence equity.

3. Vodafone Ownership: Privately-held by Vodafone group, Date of Establishment: 1994 Market Share: 16.40 % Brief Description: Vodafone India, previously known as Vodafone Essar and Hutchinson Essar is one of the well renowned telecom service providers in India headquartered in Mumbai. In 2011, Vodafone Group agreed to buy the share of its partner Essar from the Indian mobile phone business. Vodafone paid $5.46 billion to take 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It left Vodafone with 74% of the Indian business, while the other 26% is owned by Indian investors. The company is valued to be $18.8 billion. The transaction took its final shape in 2007. Vodafone offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metropolitan cities. It launched 3G services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and has plans to spend up to $500 million within the next two years on its 3G networks. 2.Reliance Communications Ownership: Privately-held by Reliance Group Date of Establishment: 2004 ,Market Share: 16.70 % Brief Description: Reliance Communications is a subsidiary of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and provides telecom services across the country. Headquartered in Navi Mumbai, it ranks 16th on the global platform in terms of mobile operations and provides 2G and 3G services in the country. RCOM also provides National Long Distance and International Long Distance operations. Its customer base touches 150 million. It ranks among the top 5 telecom companies worldwide in terms of number of customers and its clientele is not limited to the individual customers but expands to corporate as well. It has services spanning all across the country and Reliance can be credited for bringing the telecom revolution in the country with its unbeatable pricing during times when mobile phones was a luxury for the business class people. It is the only operator which provides spped up to 28 Mbit/sec with its 3G MIMO technology.

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1.Bharti Airtel Ownership: Privately-held by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Date of Establishment: 7th July 1995, Market Share: 19.50 %, Brief Description: Airtel is the largest telecom service provider in India and operates in 20 countries across south Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands and provides 2G, 3G and 4G services. Ranking third mobile telecommunications company in the world, it has nearly 261 million subscribers out of which 200 million are in India. The biggest mobile telephony provider, it is known as being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource all its business operations except marketing. It is the first telecom service provider to achieve a Cisco Gold certification. Among the countries where Airtel marks its presence, some are, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia etc. Airtel collaborated with RIM and launched its Blackberry services in October 2004. According to the annual survey conducted by brand Finance, it is the sixth most valuable brand.

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DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT THE INDUSTRY IS AFFECTED BY

SOCIO- CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT In todays times, every individual from all classes of the society possesses a phone. But according to the changing trends, newer and attractive features are being developed in phones. However, everybody cannot afford to have such phones as they are expensive. Therefore, the pricing of the phones should be reasonable and moderate and affordable by most of the sections of the society. With continuous influence from the west and changes in trends and times, it is becoming essential for people to have internet facilities at home and also when they are on the move. Hence, companies these days are facing the challenge of providing internet facilities in their products. As India is a diverse nation and many languages are spoken .. mobile phones and other communication services should be made available in different languages. The languages and appeals in the advertisements should be decided by keeping in mind the culture and traditions and languages of the target market. As the generation is keeping the past behind and moving on, the demand for telecom services is going to increase. Telecommunication provides as a medium of communication and interaction internationally. Lifestyle of people is changing continuously and because of this companies have to be on their toes throughout and come up with new innovative products. Growth rate of population also moulds the working of this sector. As there is rampant migration, demand for smartphones is increasing. People living in the rural areas are migrating to the urban areas for a better life and opportuniyies and therefore the demand is on the rise. As the life expectancy rate is increasing, the life of the products should also be substantial. The products should be strong and sturdy. The companies have to plan the design their products according to the needs of the customers, this, indirectly depends on the sex ratio.

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POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT New developments always bring with them politics. Different groups vie for money, power, the ability to bring new products to market first and alone, and the right to squash others' new ideas. A prominent characteristic of the telecommunications sector is the extent to which it is influenced by government policy and regulation. The forces these exert on the sector are inextricably tied to technological and market forces.

Because of the pervasive nature of information and communication technologies and the services that derive from them, coupled with the large prizes to be won, the telecommunications sector is subjected to a lot of attention from policymakers. Particularly over the past 20 years or so, telecommunications policy and regulation have been prominent on the agendas of governments around the world. This reflects the global trend toward liberalization, including, in many countries, privatization of the former monopoly telcos. However, interest from policymakers in telecommunications goes much deeper than this. A great deal of this interest stems from the extended reach and wide impact that information and communication technologies have. Here are some examples: Telephony, e-mail, and information services permit contact between friends and families and offer convenience to people in running their day-to-day lives. Thus, they have major economic and social implications.

In the business arena, information and communication technologies offer business efficiency and enable the creation of new business activities. Thus, they have major employment and economic implications.

Multimedia and the Internet offer new audio, video, and data services that affect entertainment and education, among other areas. These new services are overlapping with traditional radio and television broadcasting, and major cultural implications are appearing.

News delivery influences peoples' perceptions of governments and their own well-being, thereby influencing voter attitudes. Telecommunications brings attention to cultural trends. Therefore, telecommunications has major political as well as cultural implications.
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 Government applications of information and communication technologies affect the efficiency of government. Defense, national security, and crime-fighting applications are bringing with them major political implications.

Given this background of the pervasive impact that information and communication technologies have, it is hardly surprising they get heavy policy attention.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT: The gross domestic product trends in the country affect the working of the companies in the sector. The GDP is the gross annual income of the country within the national boundaries. The fluctuations in the GDP hamper this sector. The motive of the sector should be to maximize contribution towards the GDP. Companies borrow money from banks and other financial institutions in order to meet their day to day requirements and investments. It is implied that they have to pay interest in return. The prevailing interest rates are very critical in encouraging or discouraging the borrowing. The inflation rate refers to the rise in the price of the commodities in a country. The inflation rate affects the pricing of the products which ultimately affects the net profit and sales of the company and the overall success of the industry The unemployment level is another important economic factor affecting the telecommunications sector. The cost of the materials to be purchased to produce final products, the cost of running the company and other costs involved are directly related to the future of the company and its success and survival in the long run

TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT: The total government spending on research & development is connected to the overall enhancement and enrichment of the industry. The more the R&D undertaken, the better will it be for the players in the sector. Through research & development newer technologies can be discovered and put into practise. R&D practices helps to progress rapidly as innovation can be introduced in products and services regularly.
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The focus on technological efforts by the industry and government on the whole adds to the success of the sector. Continuous efforts should be put in to increase the technological advancement of the companies. If the government constantly focuses on improvement and concentrates on technology advancement then the attitude of the companies change and leads to progress and prosperity. New products in the same sector brings about a lot of competition in the market. New products should be made available on a regular basis so that the customers have a lot of variety to choose from. The working of the companies in the sector changes because of the launch of new products as they have to come up with something similar or better in order to compete and survive in the market The technology transfer from the lab to the marketplace has also led to changes in the companys profits, image and customer base. The internet availability at all times boosts the efficient working of the organisation and the industry at large. Transactions can be done online and also personal communication between the customer and company can take place. The clients can also seek solutions to their complaints over the internet. Automation leads to higher productivity as tasks become simpler and convenient. Automation of machineries, information systems and other components leads to convenience in work processes and ultimately leads to higher productivity in all departments.

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FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

WHAT IS FDI ? Foreign direct investment (FDI) is direct investment into production in a country by a company in another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country. Foreign direct investment is done for many reasons including to take advantage of cheaper wages and/or for special investment privileges such as tax exemptions offered by the country as an incentive to gain tariff-free access to the markets of the country or the region. Foreign direct investment is in contrast to portfolio investment which is a passive investment in the securities of another country such as stocks and bonds.

FDI IN TELECOM: Indian telecom industry is growing at a great pace & India is expected to become a manufacturing hub for telecom equipment. Indian telecom equipment manufacturing sector is set to become one of the largest sectors globally by 2012. Due to rising demand for a wide range of telecom equipment, particularly in the area of mobile telecommunications, has provided excellent opportunities to domestic and foreign investors in the manufacturing sector. FDI is considered to be the life blood and an important vehicle for economic development as far as the developing nations are concerned. The important effect of FDI is its contribution to the growth of the economy. FDI has an important impact on countrys trade balance, increasing labor standards and skills, transfer of technology and innovative ideas, skills and the general business climate. FDI also provides opportunity for technological transfer and up gradation, access to global managerial skills and practices, optimal utilization of human capabilities and natural resources, making industry internationally competitive, opening up export markets, access to international quality goods and services and augmenting employment opportunities.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FDI IN INDIAN MARKET: There is an immense opportunity for DTH in the Indian market which is almost 10 times compared to the developed countries like the US and Europe. For every channel there is a scope for broadcasting it in at least ten different languages. So every channel multiplied by ten that is the kind of scope for DTH in the country. Indias media players have all the ingredients to develop a successful DTH industry. So currently there is a lot of pent-up demand in the Indian market for DTH. It is expected that by the year 2010 there will be over 500 million subscribers in the Indian telecom market. Cellular subscriber base is projected to grow at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 48 per cent & expected to reach 88 million in 2012. Over 150% growth in telecom services is projected in 5 years. India will
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require large investments in network infrastructure & India expected to be fasted growing telecom market in the world. Since the project expected to reach 30-40% per year 250 subscribers by 2009- 2010.Total estimate of investment opportunity of USS 22 billion expected over the next five years. Investment opportunity of $22 billion across many areas: Telecom Devices and Software for Internet Broadband and Direct To Home Services Gateway exchange Set top box Modem Mobile handsets and consumer premise equipments Gaming devices EPABX Telecom Software Telecom Services for voice and data via a range of technologies. With the rapid growth of the telecom network, there are further opportunities to expand the telecom infrastructure and research and development.

STATISTICS OF FDI FROM 2007-2012 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the important sources to meet the requirement of huge funds for rapid network expansion. The FDI policy provides an investor-friendly environment for the growth of the telecom sector. Telecom has emerged as the third major sector attracting FDI inflows after services and computer software sector. At present, 74% to 100% FDI is permitted for various telecom services. This investment has helped telecom sector to grow. The growth of FDI in Telecom Sector since 2007 is as under: Foreign Direct Investment(in million US$)

YEAR 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

FDI (IN MILLION US$) 478 1261 2558 2554 1665 1931

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INVENTION OF 3G

3G, short for 3rd Generation, is a term used to represent the 3rd generation of mobile telecommunications technology. Also called Tri-Band 3G. This is a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunication services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV. Several telecommunications companies market wireless mobile Internet services as 3G, indicating that the advertised service is provided over a 3G wireless network. Services advertised as 3G are required to meet IMT-2000 technical standards, including standards for reliability and speed (data transfer rates). To meet the IMT-2000 standards, a system is required to provide peak data rates of at least 200 kbit/s (about 0.2 Mbit/s). However, many services advertised as 3G provide higher speed than the minimum technical requirements for a 3G service. Recent 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers. 3G technology is the result of ground-breaking research and development work carried out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the early 1980s. 3G specifications and standards were developed after fifteen years of persistence and hard work. The technical specifications were made available to the public under the name IMT-2000. The communication spectrum between 400 MHz to 3 GHz was allocated for 3G. Both the government and communication companies unanimously approved the 3G standard. The first pre-commercial 3G network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 1998, branded as FOMA. It was first available in May 2001 as a pre-release (test) of W-CDMA technology. The first commercial launch of 3G was also by NTT DoCoMo in Japan on 1 October 2001, although it was initially somewhat limited in scope; broader availability of the system was delayed by apparent concerns over its reliability. The first European pre-commercial network was an UMTS network on the Isle of Man by Manx Telecom, the operator then owned by British Telecom, and the first commercial network (also UMTS based W-CDMA) in Europe was opened for business by Telenor in December 2001 with no commercial handsets and thus no paying customers. The first pre-commercial demonstration network in the southern hemisphere [dubious discuss] was built in Adelaide, South Australia by m.Net Corporation in February 2002 using UMTS on 2,100 MHz. This was a demonstration network for the 2002 IT World Congress. The first commercial 3G network was launched by Hutchison Telecommunications branded as Three or "3" in June 2003. By June 2007, the 200 millionth 3G subscriber had been connected. This is only 6.7% of the 3 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide. In the countries where 3G was launched first Japan and South Korea 3G penetration is over 70%. In Europe the leading country for 3G
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penetration is Italy with a third of its subscribers migrated to 3G. Other leading countries for 3G use include UK, Austria, Australia and Singapore at the 20% migration level.

APPLICATIONS OF 3G: Mobile TV Video on demand Video Conferencing Telemedicine Location-based services Global Positioning System (GPS)

3G USAGE IN INDIA: India has around 40 million 3G subscribers. Globally there are 1.1 billion 3G subscribers. Reliance Communications has 3.2 million (Q4 FY12), Idea has 2.6 million and Airtel has about 9 million 3G subscribers. Vodafone has 35 million data subscriptions including both 2G and 3G subscribers, and from what we hear, between 8 and 9 million are 3G. Thats about 23.8 million of them. We doubt that BSNL, MTNL, Aircel and Tata Tele would have 15 million 3G subscribers between them. Mobile Internet usage has surpassed Desktop Internet usage in India during April-May 2012. desktop Internet usage (51.29%) is slightly higher than mobile Internet usage (48.71%) on a monthly basis, as of May 2012. However if we check the daily stats, it looks like mobile Internet usage has surpassed desktop Internet usage on a few days.

ADOPTION OF 3G IN INDIA: India has 893.8 million cellphone users, according to TRAI. 3G services were launched in India nearly two years back in January 2011. These came after the 34-day long auction of 3G spectrum that took place between April and May 2010, which raised INR 677.2 billion (US$14.6 billion) for the Indian government. Initially, most consumers found the 3G coverage to be patchy and the experience to be inconsistent. However, of late, this is improving and operators are taking initiatives to enhance the 3G experience. But it's not just the patchy service which is a problem. In India, only 3 percent of cellphone users have smartphones. Moreover, the pricing of 3G continues to remain a constraint for a large chunk of users. And reports point to the fact that only 3 percent to 4 percent of mobile subscribers use their phones to access the Internet.
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Mobile is surely the best way to increase Internet penetration in India, which today stands at 10.2 percent. But, in a low ARPU (average revenue per user) market such as India, both 3G and 4G services need to become more affordable for a large chunk of people in order for them to enjoy the benefits of 3G and 4G technologies. Smartphone usage in India is quite low with even the most optimistic reports putting the numbers at 25 million amongst the 900 million plus overall mobile users. However, those users who are already using smartphones in India are getting addicted to it in a big way with over 45 per cent smartphone users saying they cannot think of going to bed without their smartphones tucked beneath the pillow. This has been found in a study by Ericsson Consumer Lab called 'The Promise of Mobile Broadband'. The study was conducted between November 2011 and January 2012, to gauge the early impact of the roll-out of 3G in India, covering 5000 smartphone users between the age group of 15-45 across the county. According to the report, the addiction is so bad that 28 per cent people claimed to forget people around them when they are engrossed in their smartphones, while a good 34 per cent said that smartphones have encroached on their quality time with their loved ones. The report also points out that while users expect more from the 3G services, there is low awareness about mobile data plans with 28 per cent buying 3G data plans thinking it included unlimited data usage. This is leading to bill shocks among the consumers and make them feel that their operators are not offering fair pricing.Other concerns like low network quality, handset battery getting drained faster is also impacting the uptake of 3G. Clearly, consumers today expect transparent data plans and want operators to devise plans, where they can control their usage. According to the report, teens between 13 to 18 years in the metros and tier 1 towns are the heaviest users of 3G data, with 82 per cent of them own their first smartphone and half of them own it since last 6 months. Only 14 per cent have a fixed broadband connection at home, which points out to a healthy growth for these services as these teens grow into workforce. The smartphones are also emerging as the preferred means of accessing internet with 1 out of 3 users reporting them as the only means to access internet. Furthermore, 3 out of every 5 users prefer using internet via a smartphone despite having multiple devices at home. The study also claims that the first time users of smartphones are more dependent than mature users with over two third (69 per cent) of all first time smartphone users said to be spending over 50 per cent of all their internet time on their smartphone. There is also significant difference between the men and woman as far as smartphone usage is concerned. While men use smartphones to find directions, women use them to socialise. Men spent thrice the time using Google Maps than women smartphone users, who instead talk and text more. Women spend nearly 3hr 38mins/month playing Angry birds, 50 per cent more than what males smartphone users spent.

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With the launch of 3G services in India, mobile broadband is seeing increased uptake with an average 44 per cent of 3G users today claim that they download apps, watch videos, share files etc at least once daily. 3G users spend as much as 46 minutes per month streaming YouTube. Smartphone shipments in India is growing at a very fast pace thanks to lowering of entry price of smartphones, and is expected to double by the end of 2012. Currently, around 3 million smartphones are shipped every month, though it is considerably lower than overall mobile shipments of around 12-15 million. Higher growth in the smartphone segment points to a bright future for mobile broadband services.

FUTURE OF 3G IN INDIA: The world is fast changing with increasing trends in the communication sector. Drastic shifts have happened in the way people used to communicate. The adoption of technology, not only in the metros but also in the rural areas is observed in todays time. This is primarily due to the growing consumer awareness and adaptability towards newer technologies. In todays scenario, the increasing use and understanding of technology is augmenting the growth of the communications market in India. The communication market in India is fairly influencing the growth, especially of the mobile handset and service providers. Following are some interesting statistics supporting the same: As of May, 2011, the mobile subscription base stands at more than 811 million in India which is the worlds second highest after China. The most interesting part about these millions of subscribers is that they are fast changing their preferences to a better mode of communication. No doubt about the fact that the 2G market in India is one of the fastestgrowing mobile services markets in the world but the change to 3G is happening. An example of how big 3G is with respect to Indian markets is, GOI expecting INR 35,000 earned INR 67,719 crores against in the 3G spectrum auctions.

Here is an analysis of the present and future of 3G market in India:

Consumer Switch:

Elite subscribers in the high-spending tech-savvy segment are likely to shift from 2G to 3G services. A variety of consumers are shifting from 2G to 3G networks primarily in the urban areas where consumers have shown a higher preference for data services and have better affordability. Currently there are around 11 million 3G users in India but the number is expected to reach 400 million by 2015.

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Pricing:

The pricing strategy adopted by various players is very competitive and cheap to start with. The current rates being offered at discounted prices for consumers to experience the service and then take a decision is being adopted. 3G is being looked at a long term investment with high returns.

Handsets Sales:

The decreasing price of 3G enabled handsets is also aiding the whole business. The increasing affordability across different demographics in India is also one of the driving factors. Thus we expect the 3G market to grow invariably.

Tariff Plans:

The tariff levels in India are among the lowest in the world, and this is the primary reason for the wide adoption of mobile services in the country. The mobile penetration rate is expected to reach 97 percent by 2015, with the rural population expected to adopt mobile services.

Communication & Entertainment:

The increasing use of applications on 3G phones is set to drive the sales and awareness as well. This in turn will also act as a revenue generation business for TSPs in the future. The growing popularity of mobile entertainment is a significant growth factor as access to mobile games and video-based content would need high speed. This would result in increased adoption of 3G services.

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Security Concerns:

The GOI has always raised a concern on the telecom handsets that is being imported in India. This has largely affected the TSPs network expansion and 3G rollout plans. However, the recent lift of the ban on importing equipment from Chinese vendors is likely to improve this situation.

On the whole, the future of 3G looks bright in India but again it clearly depends on factors such as availability of 3G handsets at affordable prices, attractive pricing schemes to suit the needs of Indian consumers and innovation & localization of mobile content. The telecom service providers will always need to deploy innovation and build a comprehensive value proposition to target consumers in India.

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FEW FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE TELECOM SECTOR

1. Available international comparisons show that India has the second largest number of telephone subscribers in the world (among 222 countries), accounting for 12 per cent of the worlds total telephone subscribers. It is also one of the fastest growing in terms of telecom subscribers.

2. Mobile tariffs in India are the second lowest in the world after Bangladesh. Countries with the highest mobile tariffs include Austria, Venezuela, Greece, Portugal, Australia, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, France, and Brazil.

3. Mobile phones accounts for nearly 96.6 per cent of the total telecom subscriptions, and more than 95 per cent of wireless connections are prepaid.

4. Around 431 million wireless subscribers in India subscribe to data services. This implies that 48.26 per cent of total wireless subscribers are capable of accessing data services/Internet on their mobile phones.

5. Wireless phones dominate the market in India and the wire-line phone segment constitutes merely 3.4 per cent of the total subscriber base.

6. The telecom sector has received on average 8.2 per cent of total inward FDI between 200001 and 201011. Most of the FDI has gone to the cellular mobile segment.

7. The share of telecom services (excluding postal and miscellaneous services), as a percentage of the total GDP of the country, has increased from 0.96 in 200001 to 3.78 in 200910.

8. From 2001 to 2011, the total number of telephone subscribers has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35 per cent. The comparable rates in the 1980s and 1990s were 9 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.

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9. GSM continues to be the dominant technology for wireless phones with an 87.9 per cent share. Bharti is the dominant player in GSM segment accounting for 22.35 per cent of the market in terms of market subscriptions followed by Vodafone (18.80 per cent), Idea (13.53 per cent) and Reliance (12.05 per cent). There are as many as 14 operators using GSM technology compared to just six using CDMA. Reliance is the leading player in the CDMA market with 51.32 per cent share.

10. Urban teledensity is approximately 4.4 times higher than rural, showing the digital divide that exists in India. There are wide variations in penetration of telecom services across states. States such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have relatively high teledensity. However, states such as Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Jammu and Kashmir and the North-Eastern states have relatively low teledensity. The numbers show that teledensity in Delhi is 5.1 times higher than that of Assam.

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INTERESTING STATISTICS ABOUT THE TELECOM SECTOR

India has the fastest growing telecom network in the world with its high population and development potential. Airtel, Idea, Reliance, Tata DoCoMo, BSNL, Aircel, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, and Loop Mobile are other major operators in India. However, rural India still lacks strong infrastructure. India's public sector telecom company BSNL is the 7th largest telecom company in world .Telephony introduced in India in 1882. The total number of telephones in the country stands at 960.9 million, while the overall teledensity has increased to 79.28% as of May 31, 2012. The total numbers of mobile phone subscribers have reached 929.37 million as of May 2012.The mobile tele-density has increased to 76.68% in May 2012. In the wireless segment, 8.35 million subscribers were added in May 2012. The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 31.53 million. Indian telecom operators added a staggering 227.27 million wireless subscribers in the 12 months between Mar 2010 and Mar 2011 averaging at 18.94 million subscribers every month. To put this into perspective, China which currently possesses the world's largest telecommunications network added 119.2 million wireless subscribers during the same period (March 2010 - March 2011) - averaging 9.93 million subscribers every month (a little over half the number India was adding every month). So, while India might currently be second to China in the TOTAL number of mobile subscribers, India has been adding nearly twice as many subscribers EVERY month until March 2011. Mobile teledensity increased by almost 18.4 percentage points from Mar 2010 and Mar 2011 (49.60% to 67.98%) while wireline subcriber numbers fell by a modest 2.2 million. This frenetic pace of monthly subscriber additions means that the Indian mobile subscriber base has shown a year on year growth of 43.23%. According to recent reports, India was purported to overtake China to become the world's largest mobile telecommunications market by the year 2013. It was also predicted that by 2013, the teledensity will shoot up to 75% and the total mobile subscriber base would be a colossal 1.159 billion.

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Monthly Mobile Subscriber Additions The following table illustrates the gradual increase in monthly mobile subscriber additions(in millions) in India since January 2002.

Year

Jan

feb

Mar ch

april

may

june

Jul y

aug

Sept

oct

nov

dec

Annu al additi ons (in millio n)

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

0.28 0.64 1.58 1.76 4.69

0.35 0.6 1.6 1.67 4.28

0.41 0.96 0.91 0.73 5.03

0.28 0.64 1.37 1.46 3.88

0.29 2.26 1.33 1.72 4.25

0.35 1.42 1.43 1.98 4.78

0.3 6 2.3 1 1.7 4 2.4 5 5.2 8 8.0 6 9.2 2 14. 38 16. 92 6.6 7

0.49 1.79 1.67 2.74 5.9

0.37 1.61 1.84 2.48 6.07

0.53 1.67 1.51 2.9 6.71

0.72 1.9 1.56 3.51 6.79

0.8 1.69 1.95 4.46 6.48

5.23 17.49 19.49 27.86 64.14

Aver age mon thly addit ions (in milli on) 0.44 1.46 1.62 2.32 5.35

2007

6.81

6.21

3.53

6.11

6.57

7.34

8.31

7.79

8.05

8.32

8.17

85.27

7.11

2008 2009

8.77 15.41

8.53 13.8 2 18.7 6 20.2 0 7.44

10.1 6 15.6 4 20.5 9 20.2 1 8.00

8.21 11.9 0 16.9 15.3 4 1.85

8.62 11.5 8 16.3 1 13.3 5 8.35

8.94 12.04

9.16 15.0 8 18.1 8 7.34

10.0 7 14.9 8 17.1 7.90

10.4 2 16.6 7 18.9 8 7.79

10.3 5 17.6 5 22.8 8 2.97

10.8 1 19.1 0 22.6 2 9.47

113.2 6 178.2 5 227.1 2 148.3 2

9.44 14.8 5 18.9 3 11.8 0

2010 2011 2012

19.90 18.99 9.88

17.98 11.41

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TELEPHONE STATISTICS Telephone Subscribers (Wireless and Landline): 960.9 million (May 2012) Land Lines: 31.53 million (May 2012) Cell phones: 929.37 million (May 2012) Monthly Cell phone Addition: 8.35 million (May 2012) Teledensity: 79.28% (May 2012) Annual Cell phone Addition: 227.27 million (March 2010 - 2011) Projected Teledensity: 1.159 billion, 97% of population by 2013. Telephone System: The telecommunications system in India is the 2nd largest in the world. The country is divided into several zones, called circles (roughly along state boundaries). Government and several private operators run local and long distance telephone services. It was thrown open to private operators in the 1990s. 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. Landlines: In India landline service is firstly run by BSNL/MTNL and after there are several other private players too, such as Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices and Touchtel. Landlines are facing stiff competition from mobile telephones. The competition has forced the landline services to become more efficient. The landline network quality has improved and landline connections are now usually available on demand, even in high density urban areas. Mobile Cellular: The mobile telephone network has aggrandized greatly since 2000. The number of mobile phone connections crossed fixed-line connections in Sept 2004 and currently there are an estimated 929.37 million mobile phone users in India compared to 31.53 million fixed line subscribers. 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 Aircel, Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Indicom, Tata Teleservices, MTS, Uninor, Reliance Infocomm, 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. Dialing System: On landlines system, intra circle calls are considered local calls while inter circle are considered long distance calls. Government is now working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls, you dial the area code prefixed with a zero (e.g. for Delhi, you would dial 011-XXXX XXXX). For international calls, you would dial "00" or + and the country code+area code+number. The country code for India is 91. Call Rates Cutting Blows: The rates of Communication in India were one of the highest in the world, till a few years back. The rates could not be justified by the fact that rupee is
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cheaper. In fact the Indian sub-continent had shown a calm tolerance towards the high rate in even in telecom. The rates were also justified as the government has to feel the high cost involved in the one-time developments like satellite and telephone tower related charges. But now owing to better technologies the telecom rates in India are on the verge of becoming cheaper. Internet Users: Number of Internet users in India is the 3rd largest in the world next only to China and the United States of America. Though the number of internet users is high, internet penetration is still much lower than most countries across the globe. It must also be noted that 40% of all internet users in India are connected to the net only via their mobile phones. Broadband Subscribers: Broadband in India is defined as 256kbit/s and above by the government regulator. Total subscribers were 14.31 million (May 2012).

BROADCASTING STATISTICS IN INDIA Radios: 116 million (1997) Radio broadcast stations: 153- AM (Amplitude Modulation), 91- FM (Frequency Modulation), 68 (1998) - Shortwave Televisions: 116,490,000 In India, only the government owned Doordarshan (Door = Distant = Tele, Darshan == Vision) is allowed to broadcast terrestrial television signals. It initially had one major National channel (also known as DD1) and a Metro channel in some of the larger cities (also known as DD2). Satellite/Cable television took off during the first Gulf War with CNN. There are no regulations against ownership of satellite dish antennas, or operation of cable television systems, which led to an explosion of viewer ship and channels, led by the Star TV group and Zee TV. Initially restricted to music and entertainment channels, viewer ship grew, giving rise to several channels in regional languages and many in the national language, Hindi. The main news channels available were CNN and BBC World. In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are Aaj Tak that means Till Today, owned by the India Today group and Star News, initially run by the NDTV group and their charismatic lead anchor, Prannoy Roy (NDTV now has its own channels, NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit and NDTV India). Also Sahara (like Sahara Rastriya & some regional channel),Sun network,E nadu India TV & IBN 7(the TV 18 group) are some most popular channel.

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INTERNET STATS: India has been identified as the fastest growing online market with a 41% rise. This is much higher than China (5%), Brazil(6%) and Russia (20%). With most online categories in Indian exhibiting an average reach below the global figures, the potential seems to be high. Indias audience is getting younger. ComScore has found 75% of the internet audience in India to be aged 35 years and below, promising to make it the youngest online population in the coming years. In the webcast, Kedar emphasized that the audience is only going to get younger in the future. Females formed 39.3% of the total audience, and the sharpest growth was observed among male and female segments in the age-group 15 to 24. The Top Ten Sites Over the survey period, Google and Facebook topped the growth charts, at 59.7 and 52.1 million users respectively. An interesting point to note is that the data shows a rise of over 10 to 40% in the frequency of user visits for the top ten sites.

Rise in News Consumption The news category appears to be one of the most engaged, with up to 5 minutes spent on it by each unique visitor.

A growth of 54% has been noted in this category, with multiple means of accessing the news, including mobile devices. This is lesser than the global average of 80% but is catching up. Yahoo-ABC News Network leads from the front with a July 2012 reach of 20.4%, followed closely by The Times Of India at 18.7%. Other key players include New York Times Digital (11.3), HT Media Limited (11.1%), oneindia (9.6%), India Today Group (8.5%), IBN Live (7.9%) and NDTV (7%).

NRI Visits to Local Website Another interesting set of data revolves around the non-resident Indian (NRI) unique visitors to some of the leading Indian websites. These are the key sites that NRIs visit, along with the percentage of the total unique visitors that they make up: 1.NDTV (35%) 2.IBNLive (22%) 3.The Times of India (36%)
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4.Manorama (53%) 5.Rediff (17%) 6.In.com (32%) 7.Cricbuzz (55%) 8.ICICI Bank (12%) comScore also concludes that the regional newspapers have the highest share of non-resident audiences and are the best way to connect with them.

The Online Retail Boom As many as 3 in 5 internet users in India visit retail sites, which have registered a growth of 43% over the last year. The statistics indicate a close contest between Snapdeal and Flipkart in horizontal retail, and Jabong and Myntra in the lifestyle category, all of them fueled by aggressive marketing and growing demand. July saw a total of 37.5 million unique visitors from India coming to retail sites, with the apparel sub-category being the fastest growing sub-category at a year-on-year growth of 362%. Consumer goods, sports equipment and home furnishing have shown promising signs of growth as well. Vertical retail segments are expected to grow the fastest in the coming months.

Growth in the Travel Segment Indias online reach in the travel segment has crossed the worldwide averages, according to the ComScore statistics. Indian Railways tops the charts with a 19.2% reach in July 2012, followed by MakeMyTrip at 11.6% and Yatra Online at 8.3% With a rise in people using private buses, redbus.in shows a reach of 2% during July.

e-Commerce Transactions in India Direct debit or Net banking is the most popular payment method as per figures from the second quarter of 2012, with a 58% share. Visa and MasterCard follow at 21% and 12% respectively.IRCTC averages at $17 (INR 935) per transaction, while Flipkart indicates $35 (INR 1925) per transaction.

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Facebook and its Continued Dominance In the social networking space, Facebook has risen 47% in terms of unique visitors between the twelve-month survey period. Around 52 million users are indicated to have signed up. LinkedIns unique visitor count has risen 36%, a reflection of the decent show put up by the job market. Orkut, which once used to be widely popular, has had its unique visitor count plunge by 69% an indication of little attention from its parent company Google. Twitter use in India continues to be low, and the number of unique visits has risen just 5% to 3.8 million in July 2012.

The Rise of Entertainment The unique visitor count for entertainment sites is indicated to have touched nearly 56 million in July 2012, up from nearly 41 million a year before. YouTube is a runaway leader in this category, with a reach of 53.7% at the end of July 2012. They are followed by CBS Interactive (14.8%) and Songs.pk (8.8%).In spite of a fairly high reach of 89% in India, the entertainment category is still behind the worldwide figure of 94.1%.

Mixed Growth Witnessed in Other Categories Business and finance has grown at 35%, with SBI being the most popular bank. ICICI Bank follows at the second position, and HDFC at the third. Real estate has grown 38%, career services have grown 30% and the automotive category has shown a growth of 18%.

Online Video This category has shown a growth of over 37.3% and the engagement figure is indicated to be 3.4 billion videos each month. 52% of all the videos belong to the entertainment category, and the soaring viewership in the video category has resulted in a corresponding boom in video advertising.

Growth in Mobile Engagement Over the last year, the number of pages viewed on mobile devices has grown from 3% in July 2011 to 7% in July 2012. Information covering food and travel, and online trading are the most popular subjects among tablet users. As for the operating systems used in tablets, iOS controls 80% of that market share.
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2G SCAM - CASE STUDY

2G SPECTRUM SCAM :

The 2G Spectrum Scandal involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephone companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones. The shortfall between the money collected & the money which the law mandated to be collected is estimated to be 1.76 lakh crore (1.763 trillion) rupees (roughly equivalent to 39 billion US dollars) based on 3G auction prices. The issuing of licenses occurred in 2008, but the scam came to public notice when the Indian Income Tax Department was investigating political lobbyist Nira Radia. The governments investigation & reactions to the findings were the subject of debate, as were the nature of the Indian medias reactions. The discussion around the reactions to the 2G spectrum scam became known in the media as the Nira Radia Tapes Controversy. Much of the credit of bringing this whole scam into the public light (by pursuing it in the court of law) goes to Subramanian Swamy who is the chief petitioner for this case in the court of law. Also there is a national security angle where Telenor & Etisalat was allowed to operate in India even after severe objections from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

PARTIES ACCUSED OF INVOLVEMENT :

Politicians involved: 1) A. Raja - Minister of Communications and Information Technology 2) M. K. Kanimozhi - Rajya Sabha MP 3) P. Chidambaram - Minister of Home Affairs. Bureaucrats involved: 1) Siddharth Behura - Former Telecom Secretary 2) R. K. Chandolia - Rajas private secretary. Corporate Executives involved: 1) Gautam Doshi - Managing Director of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group 2) Surendra Pipara - Vice-President of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group & Reliance Telecom 3) Hari Nair - senior vice-president of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group 4) Sanjay Chandra Managing Director of Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd 5) Shahid Balwa - Swan Telecom promoter 6) Vinod Goenka - Swan Telecom promoter 7) Sharath Kumar Managing Director of Kalaignar TV 8) Rajiv Agarwal & Asif Balwa - Chief Executives of Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetable. Film and Entertainment persons involved: 1) Karim Morani - Cineyug Media and Entertainment Ltds Director. Corporations accused: 1) Unitech 2) Swan Telecom 3) Videocon Telecommunications Limited 4) S Tel 5) Reliance Communications. Businessmen accused: 1) Ratan Tata Chairman of Tata Sons 2) Anil Ambani Chairman of Reliance Telecommunications. Journalists accused: 1) Barkha Dutt - Group editor, English news, NDTV 2) M.K. Venu - senior business journalist 3) Vir Sanghvi - a Hindustan Times editor 4) Prabhu Chawla - editor of India Today magazine 5) Shankar Aiyar - then with India Today Group. Media persons accused: 1) Nira Radia - a corporate lobbyist whose conversations with politicians and

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corporate entities were recorded by the government and leaked, creating the Nira Radia Tapes Controversy

THE ROLE OF MR. A. RAJA :

The 2G spectrum financial scandal in the Telecommunications and IT Ministry under A. Raja is noteworthy as the largest political corruption case in modern Indian history. The alleged modus operandi was telecom bandwidth being grossly undervalued and offered to a chosen few with vested interests, on a dubious First-Come-First-Served basis. It is alleged that it should have been put under a transparent auction system, purportedly advised by higher office. The financial scam eventually led to Rajas resignation on the 14th of November, 2010. There will be further criminal investigation and action on Raja with reports being filed by the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On February 2, 2011, the CBI arrested Raja. The CBI also arrested R. K. Chandolia, Rajas personal aide, and Siddharth Behura, the former Telecom Secretary. Both Raja and R. K. Chandolia are heard in conversation with Nira Radia in the released Radia tapes.

THE ROLE OF MS. M.K. KANIMOZHI :

In November 2010 Outlook published transcripts of six conversations between lobbyist Nira Radia and Kanimozhi from May 2009. India Today claims that these conversations reveal that Kanimozhi filtered the information flowing to her father (the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) and thereby "tipped the scales in favour of" A. Raja. Following the Income Tax Departments raid on Tamil Maiyam, an NGO of which she is a director, Kanimozhi said the DMK party will come out clean in the CBI probe, stating The law has to take its own course. It is a process to prove us not guilty. On May 20, 2011, the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in New Delhi ordered the arrest of Kanimozhi along with Kalaignar TV CEO Sharad Kumar after rejecting their bail pleas. Kanimozhi was arrested and sent to Tihar Jail. Kanimozhi appealed for bail but it got rejected considering the enormity of the crime commited which is likely to affect the economy of the country. On Nov 28, 2011, Kanimozhi was granted bail by the Delhi high court in the 2G case.

THE ROLE OF UNITECH :

Unitech Wireless, charged in the 2G telecom spectrum scam, on Monday defended itself in the trial court, arguing there was no evidence to suggest it had influenced the controversial change in the cut-off date for license applications in 2007 to September 25. The companys counsel, S. S. Gandhi, said the allegation that the cut-off date was changed so that no other company could apply for licenses after Unitech did was factually incorrect. Applications for around 40 licenses were made on September 25, a
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day after Unitech applied, he said, Unitech got into a joint venture with Norways Telenor to bring in funds for setting up the infrastructure, Gandhi said. All investment from Telenor got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, said Gandhi.

THE ROLE OF SWAN TELECOM :

Swan Telecom sought its discharge from the 2G case by claiming in a Delhi court that it cannot be held a co-conspirator with former Telecom Minister A Raja as besides it, many firms, including Tata Teleservices and Datacom, were also ready with demand drafts of Rs. 1659 crore to get licenses. "There is nothing sinister in CBIs allegations that only Swan Telecom had a prior knowledge about the requirement of a DD of Rs. 1659 crore to get the 2G licenses. Many companies such as Tata, Idea Cellular, Spice and Unitech were also ready with the drafts on January 10, 2008. The real estate tycoon-turned-telecom czar told the court that it was in March 2007 that Raja got a report from the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing (WPC) saying no spectrum was available in Delhi circle. "In November 2007, however, all of a sudden 15 MHz spectrum appeared in Delhi circle and nobody knew how did it appear," he said, adding that as per the DoT website, even today 12 MHz Spectrum is available in the Delhi circle.

THE ROLE OF VIDEOCON TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED :

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday questioned promoters of the Videocon group, Venugopal Dhoot and his brother and Rajya Sabha member Rajkumar Dhoot, over their alleged links with the so-called second-generation (2G) spectrum allocation scam. Indias top investigating agency, which has also interrogated Reliance Group Chairman, Anil Ambani and Essar Group chief executive Prashant Ruia in the alleged scandal, quizzed the Dhoot brothers until late in the evening at its headquarters in New Delhi, a CBI official said on condition of anonymity. The brothers were questioned about the shareholding pattern of Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which was awarded 21 licences during spectrum allocation in 2008, the official said. Datacom was initially owned by Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL), but was renamed Videocon Telecommunications Ltd after the owners sold an equity stake to the Videocon group. It is now jointly owned by the Dhoots and HFCL promoter Mahendra Nahata. Videocon group owns a 64% stake in Datacom and the rest is held by Nahata.

THE ROLE OF S TEL :

S Tel Private Limited (S Tel) is a joint venture between Siva Group (formerly Sterling Infotech Group) (51%) and Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) (49%). It is to be noted that S Tel Private Limited was the Company which got spectrum during
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former telecom minister A. Rajas tenure is owned by Mr. Sivasankaran. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking into the security related issues regarding S Tel and DB Group as part of its probe into the 2G telecom spectrum scam, the agency told the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) earlier this week. This was one of the many points made in CBIs 47- page presentation to the JPC. The investigative agency is also looking at the alleged breach of security by the Dynamix Balwas (DB) Group-held airplanes, the CBI told the the JPC. Eon Aviation, a subsidiary of the DB Group, has also been under the scanner over security concerns. While CBI officials did not elaborate on the matter, the agency is learnt to have taken up the matter in the light of the Foreign Investment Promotion Boards (FIPB) observation a few years ago.

THE ROLE OF RATAN TATA :

Tata first has been shown as a victim of DMK leader, A. Raja in the CBI first charge sheet. Surprisingly, in the same charge sheet, CBI estimated loss of Rs. 8,448.95 crores to the exchequer from Tatas dual technology licenses. Tata not only got 19 dual technology licenses but also got 3 new licenses in 2008 at 2001 price for which loss to the exchequer is estimated to Rs .22,535.6 crores. Till recently, two senior DMK leaders (P. V. Kalyanasundaram & V. R. S. Sampath) were helping Tata by acting as director in Tata Communications. A. Raja considered Tata applications for dual technology licenses even though these applications were filed after last date. It shows, Tata was the biggest beneficiary of A. Raja policies and major contributor of loss to the exchequer claimed by CBI in its charge sheet. Tatas hand-written letter of November 13, 2007 (delivered personally through Nira Radia) to the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister praising A. Rajas action defies the CBI story of Tata as victim. In this letter, Tata had complained about some powerful vested interest groups in the telecom industry but Tata had forgotten that he is also part of the same class.

THE ROLE OF ANIL AMBANI:

Anil Ambani, chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is now a suspect in the 2G scam. The investigators are not satisfied with his responses during the questioning session in the CBI headquarters. As part of the CBI plan to question the bosses of all the companies that got UAS licences during former telecom minister A Rajas regime, the agency called Prashant Ruia, CEO and MD of Essar group. When Ambani was brought face-to-face with Raja and Balwa during the questioning, he claimed that his group had exited Swan Telecom when it got the UAS licence on January 10, 2008. The sources also disclosed that Ambani was asked more than 50 questions on Wednesday on the shareholding pattern since the incorporation of Swan Capital later renamed Swan Telecom and the ownership transfer of the company to Balwa and Goenka.

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THE ROLE OF NIRA RADIA:

After getting authorization from the Home Ministry, the Indian Income Tax department tapped Radias phone lines for 300 days in 2008-2009 as part of their investigations into possible money laundering, restricted financial practices, and tax evasion. In November 2010, OPEN magazine carried a story which reported transcripts of some of the telephone conversations of Nira Radia with senior journalists, politicians, and corporate houses, many of whom have denied the allegations. The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced that they have 5,851 recordings of phone conversations by Radia, some of which outline Radias attempts to broker deals in relation to the 2G spectrum sale. The tapes appear to demonstrate how Radia attempted to use some media persons to influence the decision to appoint A. Raja as telecom minister.

THE ROLE OF MEDIA:

The news gained prominence following sustained pressure on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook against an attempted blackout orchestrated by many prominent Indian TV channels and newspapers. Initially, only a handful of the mainstream newspapers in India, like The Deccan Herald,Indian Express had openly written about the tapes. Some newspapers like HT Media, Mint and NDTV said "the authenticity of these transcripts cannot be ascertained".* CNN-IBNs Sagarika Ghose discussed with a panel of experts, if the corporate lobbying is undermining democracy, on the Face the Nation programme on the channel. The Radia tapes is seen to have also made a dent in the image of the media in the country. "The complete blackout of the Nira Radia tapes by the entire broadcast media and most of the major English newspapers paints a truer picture of corruption in the country," wrote G Sampath, the deputy editor of the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) newspaper. After it became an international news, more and more media houses covered the story. The largest circulated english newspaper in the India and the world, The Times of India finally opened up on November 25, 2010, commenting "The people are showing who the boss is. The weapon in their hands is the internet, ... has seen frantic activism against "power brokering" by journalists in collusion with corporate groups and top government politicians...

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IN CONCLUSION:

It was the media who should have exposed the big people involved in the scam. It was their responsibility to be transparent and impartial to the society. When it comes to the issue of National Security, the media had the onus of creating awareness about the scam and the different parties involved. The media should be treating Tata as an equally responsible & accountable participant in the scam which has cheated honest tax-payers & the government of India of their money. In spite of the benevolent nature of the Tata Group or the global appeal of the Ambanis, none of them should be treated by the media as anything other than frauds. As for the media strategy of the Tatas, they should be promoting & marketing all their forays into the public welfare domain. As for the telecommunication part of their group, they should just focus on providing better service & increased levels of maintenance.

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MANDATORY DIGITIZATION OF CABLE TV

A ordinance has been passed by the Govt. of India on the mandatory digitization of the Cable Services. According to this amendment made in the section 9 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 1995, the I&B ministry will make Digital Addressable System mandatory. This measure will empower consumers to an increased number of channels and high quality viewing. The concept of a prime band will be pass after introduction of digitization. Viewers will be able to access digital services only through a set top box (STB). Eventually, you will be facing a black out of analog signals in major metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai post October 31st 2012. The process of Digitization will definitely benefit the television viewers in India. Digitization will lead TV viewers to more qualitative viewing with access to digital picture and High Definition Digital (HDD) Sound Quality. The real advantage for TV viewers will be when they opt for a DTH Service provider like Videocon d2h. TV viewing services in India is currently provided mainly by three mediums Analogue Cable Services, Digital Cable Services and Digital DTH Services. Analogue cable services have been existing in India for more than two decades in India, however, analogue cable services have limited number of channels and do not have extra features and value added services. Digital DTH services in India have been started less than a decade back and are gaining popularity and acceptance in India mainly because of their superior picture and sound quality. A DETAILED NOTE ON DIGITIZATION: The cable operators transmit the channels in analog signal mode which is very hazy. The common problems associated with the analog transmission include ghosting of images or even hazy and noisy signal. You will notice that after a particular number, the quality of channels become very poor. In high end televisions, cable is more distorted and one will not be able to watch the programs clearly. You need to switch over to the Digital signals provided by a DTH service provider to reap the full benefits of a high end television and its superior features. In a digital signal, the receptivity is much clearer and all the channels have the same reception quality. As both the signals are received at the same time, there are no issues with the synchronization of sound with video. Cable operators are currently providing analog signals. There is a huge cost involved in digitization of cable signals and many cable operators are shying away from this kind of investment, barring few organized and large scale cable operators. DTH means, Direct to Home Service. Through this service, the recipient will receive the signals directly from the satellite on his Set Top Box. The viewer gets a wider range of
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channels to choose from which can be activated through packages. The picture quality is much superior and the sound is crystal clear. The viewers are also able to watch High Definition content which is set to make television viewing even more superlative. HD Channels is one of the major advantages for a DTH Service subscriber along with other features mentioned below. One can now watch his favorite sports action or travel & adventure series in high definition; he can now also see all the movie action with higher clarity. There is upto 5 times picture quality over normal or standard definition picture quality and the images carry 16: 9 aspect ratios. THE DEADLINE : October 31 was the last date for Phase I of TV digitization in India where all four metros switch to digital TV. As of November 1, all television in the metros is digital, and you will not be able to watch TV without digital equipment (barring Chennai, till November 5). This deadline was earlier March, then pushed to June, and finally October. In Phase II, 35 cities including Bangalore, Chandigarh and Pune, will switch over by March 2013. Phase III covers all other towns and cities (November 2014), and the rest of India is Phase IV (March 2015). THE COST INVOLVED : if you have a satellite TV service its already digital. If you have cable TV, the new digital set-top box is in the Rs. 600-800 range. Thats a one-time cost. The service cost may go up at first reports are coming in of a Rs. 200 monthly cost going up to as much as Rs. 300 but you will likely save some month by selecting the specific channels you need, which was not possible on the older system. HOMES HAVING MORE THAN ONE TELEVISION: For two TVs, your cost doubles two set-top boxes, two subscriptions. This is where digital might cost you more, because cable operators might earlier have given you cheaper or flexible pricing in the same situation. With digital, every TV requires a set-top box. Some companies like Tata Sky offer a ''multi-room'' option with reduced monthly fees for additional connections in the same house. But that does not really save you much. (The only other option is to use a ''parallel'' RF link to display the same picture on the second TV. No hardware or monthly cost for the second TV then. However, you cant watch separate channels on the two linked TVs.)

DIGITIZATION OVERSEAS: India is late. Many countries have already moved from analog to digital. Some European countries made the transition earlier, between 2006 and 2011. The US made the move to digital TV in 2009, allowing only some low-power TV stations to continue with analog till 2015.

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INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR AN INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORY

The Indian Telecom sector has proved to be an international success story. The sector has witnessed a commendable growth over the past two years. With an overall subscriber base of 914.60 million and a teledensity of 76.03%, the sector continues to grow from strength to strength. With the urban teledensity reaching 166.54%, the market has been showing signs of maturity. Rural India is the key target market likely to drive the next round of growth, particularly for voice based services. It is envisaged that rural teledensity of 40% would be reached by end of 2014. 3G and BWA are expected to reinvigorate the maturing urban markets and help in bringing balanced growth of economy. The aggressive growth observed by mobile services is yet to be replicated in case of broadband service, where the subscriber base currently stands at more than 12 million. The Government has a vision to provide telephone connection and broadband facilities on demand across the country at an affordable price and it strives to achieve the same.

The growth of telecom sector since 2007:

Subscribers March07 Wireline Wireless Total phones Internet Broadband Data services or wireless internet 40.77 165.09 205.87 9.21 2.29 31.3 March08 39.41 261.08 300.49 11.05 3.81 65.5

Subscribers base (in million) March09 37.96 391.76 429.73 13.65 6.22 117.82

March10 March11 36.96 584.32 621.28 16.10 8.77 177.87 34.73 811.60 846.33 19.69 11.79 381.40

March12 34.19 891.41 925.6 21.71 13.17 425.05

Wireless vs. Wireline:

The preference for use of wireless phones has also been predominant in the sector. This is confirmed from the rising share of wireless phones, which increased from 80.19% (165.09 million) at the end of March, 2007 to 96.37% (881.41 million) at the end of October, 2011.

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Teledensity:

Teledensity in the country is steadily increasing from 18.22% as on 31.3.07 to 70.89% as on 31.03.11 and currently stands at 76.03% as on 31.10.11. However, there is a wide gap between urban teledensity (166.54%) and rural teledensity (36.81%).

Rural Telephony:

97.09% of the villages in India have been covered by the Village Public Telephones (VPTs). Apart from the 308.87 million connections provided in the rural areas, 576350 VPTs have been provided till 31.10.2011.

Policy Reforms and New Initiatives

For a dynamic sector, reforms are necessitated by dynamics of changes including technological innovations. The telecom sector in India has been witnessing a continuous process of reforms since 1991. During the recent years, various policy initiatives have been carried out to give boost to the sector. Major policy initiatives and milestones achieved in Telecom Sector include: A Mobile Number Portability (MNP):

MNP was launched by the Prime Minister on January 20, 2011. The MNP service allows subscribers to retain their existing mobile telephone number even when they switch from one access service provider to another irrespective of mobile technology or from one technology to another technology of the same or any other access service provider within the same service area. Implementation of MNP has not only given wider choices to the Indian subscribers but has also induced service providers to offer innovative, affordable and competitive traffic plans for the benefit of the masses. As on November 30, 2011, 19 million mobile customers have successfully ported their mobile numbers to the service providers of their choice.

Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2010:

Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2010 came into force on September 27, 2011. TCCCPR 2010 gives options to customers to exercise their preference, separate number for telemarketers starting with 140, easy registration of the telemarketers, sharing of database, blacklisting provisions, filtering of calls and SMS by service providers, effective complaint redressal system and financial disincentive on access providers.
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In order to curb unsolicited commercial communication, which were a major cause of disturbance and inconvenience for telecom users, TRAI notified Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communication Regulations in 2007, putting in place a framework for controlling unsolicited commercial communications. This regulation was further improved through two amendments in 2008. As a result of this regulation, the number of unsolicited calls decreased but the number of unsolicited SMS increased. The Indian telecom customer demanded more from TRAI, which led to enforcement of TCCCPR 2010.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the important sources to meet the requirement of huge funds for rapid network expansion. The FDI policy provides an investorfriendly environment for the growth of the telecom sector. Telecom has emerged as the third major sector attracting FDI inflows after services and computer software sector. At present, 74% to 100% FDI is permitted for various telecom services. This investment has helped telecom sector to grow. The growth of FDI in Telecom Sector since 2007 is as under: Foreign Direct Investment(in million US$) YEAR 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 FDI (IN MILLION US$) 478 1261 2558 2554 1665 1931

Declining Tariff:

The telephone tariffs have declined dramatically over the last two years making the mobile telephone affordable to the common man. There are a large number of options available for the subscribers to choose from the market depending upon their usage profile. The prepaid tariffs have gone as low as paise per second.

Manufacturing of Telecom Equipment:

The exponential growth witnessed by the telecom sector in the past decade has led to the development of the telecom equipment manufacturing and other supporting industries. With the advent of next-generation technologies and operators looking to roll out 3G and broadband wireless access services, the demand for telecom equipment has increased rapidly. In an attempt to capitalize on this opportunity, the Government is focusing on developing the
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domestic manufacturing industry. The Indian equipment manufacturing sector has come a long way in the past few years. From being an import-centric industry, it is slowly but steadily moving towards becoming a global telecom equipment manufacturing hub. In 200203, India produced telecom equipment worth Rs 144 billion, which increased to Rs 520 billion in 2010-11, making a growth of 265 per cent. One of the key reasons for this trend is the setting up of domestic manufacturing facilities by Indian companies along with multinational companies. The market is currently dominated by multinational companies like Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola, LG Electronics, Samsung etc. which have set up their production facilities in the country over the past decade and many more are planning to set up. Also, with Indian as well as multinational companies setting up base in India, the country is not only emerging as a manufacturing hub but is also planning to increase its telecom exports. In the year 2006-07, India exported equipment worth Rs 18.98 billion, which increased by over 730 per cent to Rs 158 billion in 2010-11. Indian mobile handset companies increased their share in the domestic market to 14 per cent in 2009-10 from 3-4 per cent in 2008-09. Domestic brands have established themselves in the market and are competing with international handset vendors. The Government is supporting the domestic equipment manufacturing industry and the growth of indigenous technology. With efforts from both the Government and the industry, India can build a conducive ecosystem to boost the equipment manufacturing sector, which can lead to the creation of an industry that will compete with the best in the world. With above initiatives India is expected to be a manufacturing hub for telecom equipment. F Draft National Telecom Policy(NTP 2011):

Draft NTP 2011 was announced on October 10, 2011. NTP2011 proposes to provide stable, rationale and objective policy regime over next decade or so:

To make available secure, reliable and affordable voice telephony and high speed broadband services to every citizen in India with special focus on rural and remote areas.

To improve the broadband experience by enhancing the speed of delivery.

To make India a global hub of manufacturing for all electronic products including telecom equipment with substantial value addition within the country and safeguard security concerns of the nation.

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For simplification and rationalisation of licensing regime, transparent system for allocation of spectrum and enable efficient usage of spectrum.

For discovery of price of spectrum through market related processes.

To achieve One Nation- Full Mobile Number Portability

To enable free roaming throughout the country.

To harness full potential of mobile phones for enabling provision of citizen centric services related to education, health, employment, agriculture, entertainment, banking & insurance services, skill upgradation, vocational training etc.

To encourage indigenous manufacture of cost effective mobile devices.

The faster roll out of high speed and reliable broadband in rural and urban areas will enable decentralised governance, participative democracy and delivery of basic services such as health and education to every citizen of the country. The thrust on manufacturing will promote entrepreneurship, create more job opportunities, reduce imports and improve security. Efficient usage of scarce resources like spectrum will result in better quality of service to the customers at affordable cost. The new policy regime will be beneficial to end consumers/citizens, Telecom Service Providers, Value Added Service Providers, Government and Manufacturers

G.

National frequency Allocation Plan:

The National Frequency Allocation Plan-2011 (NAFP) came into effect from October 1, 2011 to ensure its efficient and effective management. Radio spectrum is becoming increasingly important for all walks of life and needs to be managed rationally. NAFP-2011 is a policy document which contains spectrum allocation for various radio communication services/applications in different frequency bands. This document provides the basis for development, manufacturing and spectrum utilization activities in the country, both for Government and private sectors.

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Implementation of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN):

All village Panchayats are to be connected through NOFN to enable delivery of public and private electronic services to citizens in urban and rural areas. Broadband is a tool for improving the life of people by providing affordable and equitable access to information and knowledge. For individual, broadband has direct impact on their day to day life style and behaviour. For State, it enormously contributes towards trade and generation of employment.

Many Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applications such as ecommerce, e-banking, e-governance, e-education and tele-medicine require high speed Internet connectivity.

Government has approved National Optical Fiber Network in October 2011 for providing Broadband connectivity to all Panchayats at a cost of approx 20,000 Crore.

The plan is to extend the existing optical fiber network up to Panchayats. The Network will be available to telecom service providers for providing various services to the citizens in non-discriminatory manner. As per the approval of the Cabinet, the action for establishing and operationalising Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been initiated for management and operation of the NOFN and ensuring non-discriminatory access to all service providers. In economic terms, the benefits from the scheme are expected through additional employment, e-education, e-health, e-agriculture etc. and reduction in migration of rural population to urban areas. As per a study conducted by the World Bank, with every 10% increase in broadband penetration, there is an increase in GDP growth by 1.4%.

NOFN will also facilitate implementation of various e-governance initiatives such as e-health, e-banking, e-education etc. thereby facilitating inclusive growth. The Network will provide a highway for transmission of voice, data and video in rural areas. It will enable the broadband connectivity upto 2 Mbps, capable of providing various electronic services like education, health, entertainment, commerce etc; to people and businesses.
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The people in rural areas, student, entrepreneurs, various Government Departments providing services under e-gov projects will be benefitted. It will also provide connectivity to various public institutions like Gram Panchayats, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), schools etc. in rural areas. It will also result in investment from the private sector both for providing different services and manufacturing of broadband related telecom equipment.

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OPPORTUNITIES & UNTAPPED MARKETS

OPPORTUNITIES India offers an unprecedented opportunity for telecom service operators, infrastructure vendors, manufacturers and associated services companies. A host of factors are contributing to enlarged opportunities for growth and investment in telecom sector:

An expanding Indian economy with increased focus on the services sector

Population mix moving favorably towards a younger age profile

Urbanization with increasing incomes

Investors can look to capture the gains of the Indian telecom boom and diversify their operations outside developed economies that are marked by saturated telecom markets and lower GDP growth rates.Inflow of FDI into Indias telecom sector during April 2000 to Feb. 2010 was about Rs 405,460 million. Also, more than 8 per cent of the approved FDI in the country is related to the telecom sector. India has proven its dominance as a technology solution provider. Efforts are being continuously made to develop affordable technology for masses, as also comprehensive security infrastructure for telecom network. Research is on for the preparation of tested infrastructure for enabling interoperability in Next Generation Network. It is expected that the telecom equipment R & D shall be doubled by 2010 from present level of 15%. Modern technologies inductions are being promoted. Pilot projects on the existing and emerging technologies have been undertaken including WiMax, 3G etc. Emphasis is being given to technologies having potential to improve rural connectivity. Also to beef up R&D infrastructure in the telecom sector and bridge the digital divide, cellular operators, top academic institutes and the Government of India together set up the Telecom Centres of Excellence (COEs). The main objectives of the COEs are as follows: Achieve Telecom Vision 2010 that stipulates a definite growth model and take it beyond. Secure Information Infrastructure that is vital for countrys security. Capacity Building through Knowledge for a sustained growth.
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Support Planned Predictive Growth for stability. Reduce Rural Urban Digital Divide to reach out to masses. Utilize available talent pool and create environment for innovation. Management of National Information Infrastructure (NII) during Disaster. Cater the requirement of South East Asia as Regional Telecom Leader

To achieve these objectives seven Centre of Excellences in various field of Telecom have been set up with the support of Government and the participation of private/public telecom operators as sponsors, at the selected academic institutions of India.

UNTAPPED MARKETS: Indian market has still not reached to its saturation point. The telecom sector has to still make inroads in the rural areas. Companies should divert their attention to the rural areas to cater to the rural market. Government should also provide the companies secure environment so that they invest in India. This will ultimately benefit the consumers. Rural Markets : The Indian rural market has gained significance in the recent times as the overall economic growth of the country has led to an improvement in the living standards of the rural people. The boon of the Green Revolution combined with government initiatives such as subsidies, loan waivers, minimum support prices (MSP) and employment schemes (MGREGS) have caused an increase in purchasing power. The real income of rural households is projected to rise from 2.8% in the past two decades to 3.6% in the next two. Higher incomes and exposure to urban lifestyles have also raised the aspirations of the rural populace, as they strive to improve their quality of life by gaining access to new technologies, products and services. Rural India consists of 638596 villages that house 742,490,639 people. This figure represents around 70% of the total population of India and 12% of the globes population. In fact, as per Mckinsey, despite rising urbanisation, 63% of Indias population will continue to live in the rural areas even in 2025. Further, the number of consumers earning over $5 a day is projected to catapult from 50 million today to 150 million by 2020. Cut throat competition in urban areas has compelled many companies to look for new, unexploited markets. Rural India has emerged as an answer, owing to lack of strong presence by brands in most sectors as well as a high growth potential. Further, improvement in infrastructure prompted by government initiatives seems to have lowered entry barriers for many companies. Also, rural India is insulated against global economic downturns, which adds to its attractiveness. For companies looking to tap this market, the 4Ps of the Marketing mix have given way to the 4 As of Rural Market Mix: Affordability, Awareness, Availability and Acceptability.

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Telecom and network connectivity have widely been seen as enablers of a nations socioeconomic growth; a McKinsey study cites that a 10% increase in teledensity contributes to 0.6% of GDP growth. Though urban India is reaping the benefits of the telecom revolution, rural teledensity is still low, at only 8%. The Internet is without a doubt the superhighway on which economies surge ahead, and apart from the apparent benefits to the economy and a modern workforce, there is also immense opportunity for agriculture as well as other traditional industries. Imagine if rural communities had access to information that could improve their livelihoods. Initiatives such as e-Choupal have successfully been able to leverage the Internet to empower small and marginal farmers. The program provides farmers with know-how, services, timely and relevant weather information, transparent price discovery and access to wider markets all through a mobile device that feeds off a wider network. This has helped roughly 4 million farmers to better manage risk. India would be well on its way to minimizing the digital divide if similar models were replicated across other sectors in rural areas - cottage industries, fisheries, and others. The true benefits of technology are in its application, and if an effective deployment of a network that enables academic information to flow to rural areas brought millions of children access to better education, we should be able to improve our scores on literacy and employability. A recent effort towards this has been made by several IT majors who have come together for a District Learning Centre initiative at Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, to provide learning opportunities and IT training to the youth of the district. Access to high-speed internet services could make rural BPOs a viable option, offering attractive employment opportunities to village youth. This in turn would decrease the current migration rates of rural population to urban areas, reduce rural India's dependency on agriculture, and contribute towards inclusive growth. The government has also been advocating the use of technology to enable efficient delivery of public services. State Govt. endeavours to use technology include forays into wide area networks, setting up systems for processing information and delivering services to enable the citizen-state interface for various services like electronic file handling, public grievance systems, and routine transactions such as payment of bills and tax dues. But all is not hunky dory - for rural areas to truly benefit, PC penetration will have to increase and affordable PCs or suitable alternatives will have to be made available to the masses. Additionally, if inclusive growth is our goal, India needs to treat the Internet and telecom connectivity as critical infrastructure, just like roads, airports and power. The winds of change are blowing in that direction - the Indian government has recently announced its 3G policy which will make available 3G, HSPA and WiMAX technologies that are expected to bridge the last mile and drive mobile broadband in rural areas. Moreover, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recent Internet telephony decision, permitting ISPs to terminate local, STD and ISD calls from computers to mobiles and
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landlines or vice versa, is likely to reduce both local and long distance call rates and boost rural connectivity in a relatively price-sensitive market like India. Once differences over policy issues and spectrum allocation are resolved the country could see 3G HSPA and Net telephony rollouts, throwing open a world of possibilities. In addition to all the benefits cited earlier on in this article, other potential applications could include introduction of customised services in regional languages via Live TV, webcasts and streaming audio/video applications, e-healthcare and infotainment, to mention a few. India can then look to adopt models that have been tried and tested in other markets or even export some of our learnings to other markets, and are likely to delay services. Rural India is expected to account for 40% of the 250 million new wireless users as per a recent study conducted by FICCI and Ernst and Young. If these subscribers had access to broadband and high-speed Internet, every citizen would truly be able to participate in - and benefit from - the global information revolution and contribute to a balanced growth of the nation. RNCOS, a research agency, states that as penetration in the urban region has saturated, operators are vying for rural India and estimates that the subscribers base in rural markets will grow at a CAGR of 35% during 2011-12 to 2013-14. Mobile device manufacturers are also tailoring their products to this market. Nokia had earlier launched Nokia 1100 with a torch (large parts of rural India don't have electricity) and an alarm clock. In December 2008, it went one step further with the launch of Nokia Life Tools, which is a range of agriculture, education and entertainment services designed especially for the consumers in rural areas. Reliance Communications in a JV with Handygo Tech Pvt Ltd has introduced a Value Added Service, Behtar Zindagi, providing the people with weather reports, livestock information, mandi prices, fisheries, finance and wealth scheme advisories.

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CONCLUSION
The telecommunication sector in India is the leading sector amongst the others. It also has high potential for further progress and growth. In the last 10 years or so, this sector has taken huge strides. The customer base is constantly increasing as there is huge demand for telecom equipments. More and more new players are entering into the market, thereby, offering the customers more variety and large choice. There is substantial assistance from the government, leading to encouraged and motivated companies. The government is also increasing its expenditure in the field of research & development which will ultimately lead to technological advancement and economic growth and development. The foreign direct investment is on the rise every year as the foreign investors have the vision of india progressing rapidly in the telecom sector. There have been debates and suggestions and recommendations from successful personalities in the field of business to increase the FDI in telecom from 74% to 100%. Due to the mandatory digitization of cable tv, the demand for set top boxes will only rise in future. The internet user base is also increasing at a rapid pace. People are now buying and selling their products online, purchasing air and rail tickets, booking movie tickets and a lot more, online. The internet provides for the convenience of its users and is also going down well with the customers . As there is a lot of money flow in this industry because of its high-scale functioning, the government should appoint some regulatory authority to control the working and take measures to make the activities as transparent as possible. The rural markets are still to be completely exploited by the companies. The majority of the population of our country still lives in the rural areas. This market has large potential for growth and development and should not be left untapped. The scams and scandals should be looked into and solved by the necessary authorities and should build the trust of the people in this industry. The culprits should be severely punished.

Many companies like Tata Docomo and Aircel are involved in CSR activities and are contributing towards the sustaining and development of the environment.
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As there is constant influence from the west, the demand for smart phones is increasing and also phones which have many features are being demanded more. Due to cut-throat competition, phones are being sold at very low prices, this enables all people from all sections of the society to possess a mobile phone. The day is not far when every individual in the country will possess a phone. The sector would generate employment opportunities for about 10 million people direct employment for 2.8 million people and indirect employment for about 7 million. The total revenue of the Indian telecom sector grew by 7% to 283,207crore (US$ 56. 5 billion) in 2011, while revenues from telecom equipment segment stood at 117,039 crore (US$ 23. 35 billion). With an ambition to be diesel free by 2020, telecom companies are retrofitting their towers every year. Many telecom tower companies currently use renewable energy sources such as solar, biogas and wind besides hydroelectric power, for individual towers. Bharti Airtel, one of the largest telecom service providers in India, has been testing and implementing various energy saving options for the last two-three years. Additionally, the e-bill initiative is estimated to save as many as 24,000 trees a year. The metro cities and the urban markets are quite saturated in terms of tele-density and thus, leaving very little scope in terms of new customer acquisition. Lack of proper telecom infrastructure, power shortage and lack of trained manpower are some of the challenges which telecom companies have to cope with. Telecom Industry in India is out of its nascent stage and the government together with the private sector initiatives is on the path of making India the electronics manufacturing hub of the world. 10 years ago subscribers were made to pay for an incoming call; today they have the liberty to pay for per second of their usage. We, definitely, have come a long way!

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.telecomindiaonline.com/telecom-main-bodies-websites.html http://www.dot.gov.in/osp/Brochure/Brochure.htm http://www.scribd.com/doc/27121254/Pest-Analysis-Indian-Telecom-Industry http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=79183 www.trai.in THE HINDU THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIA TODAY ECONOMIC TIMES ARTICLES FROM TELEWORLD TELECOM SECTOR REPORT BY KALWINDHAR SINGH. TELECOM INDUSTRY ANALYSIS BY RAJEEV VERMA. GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE WWW.DOT.GOV.IN WWW.VIDEOCOND2H.COM

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project report outlines the concept of Telecommunication in India. In India, telecommunication plays an important role as it has a widespread of areas where people live. These people can get a greater advantage of telecommunication as there is a massive competition of service providers. Similarly the service providers in India can get a great opportunity to earn higher profits by serving the masses. Telecommunication has risen in last few years in India. But Indians have taken greater advantage of these services, as these services are more conveniently distributed across the country. Similarly, the government in India is really co-operative and also interestingly taking part in developing this industry at its peak. Indian workforce in telecommunication industry is becoming really strengthened as Indian workforce is really skilled and also hardworking. Globally Indian telecom employees are really preferred as they work with great inspiration and enthusiasm. This results in higher growth of telecommunication industry in India. Entrepreneurs in India are also really passionate and enthusiastic in making this industry a well growing industry in the world. And they are really getting the ripen fruits of their hard work. The service providing companies in Indian telecom sector like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Aditya Birla group, etc are highly competitive in the world telecom markets.

Objectives of the project: The project topic of TELECOM INDUSTRY A LEADING INDIAN SECTOR has given me a wide knowledge regarding the overall knowledge of Indian telecommunication markets, their strategies to win more customers and profits as well. To understand the Indian telecommunication industry. Comparative study of the different telecommunication service providers. Awareness about telecommunication terms. Government role in telecom industry in India. To understand the role and relevance of the telecom for economy. To study the changes brought about by the invention of 3G and other discoveries. To study the opportunities in store for this sector and also the untapped markets. Position of telecommunication in India.

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