Vodafone and Airtel

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A comparative study on various plans and offers provided by VODAFONE and AIRTEL and consumer response towards these plans. A case study of Allahabad city MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINIATRATION

SUBMITTED TO: MRS. Monika Mehrotra FACULTY GUIDE

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SUBMITTED BY: Kuldeep Singh Enrol ol no. 8NBAH042

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CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Mr.Kuldeep Singh assigned the research project on “A comparative study on various plans and offers provided by VODAFONE and AIRTEL and consumer response towards these plans A case study of Allahabad city”. He has submitted this project report in accordance with the guide lines. To the best of my knowledge this is his original work and not submitted else where for reward of any other degree or any diploma.

DATE……

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PROJECT GUIDE MRS. Monika Meharotra

Page 3 of 59 TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO

TOPIC

1-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

4

2-

OBJECTIVE

5

3-

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

6

4-

INTRODUCTION

7-10

5-

INDUSTRY PROFILE

11-15

6-

COMPANY PROFILE

16-34

7-

LITERATURE

35-37

8-

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

38-40

9-

LIMITATION

41-41

10-

CONCLUSION

42-42

11-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

43-43

12-

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

44-

13-

FINDING

49-51

14-

DISCUSSION OF THE FINDING

52-55

15-

SUGGESTION

56-57

16-

QUESTIONNAIRE

58-59

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REVIEW

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT An individual cannot do project of this scale. I take this opportunity to express my acknowledgement and deep sense of gratitude to the individuals for rendering valuable assistance and gratitude to me. Their inputs have played a vital role in success of this project.

I express my sincere thanks to my project guide Mrs. Monika Meharotra her generous support, constant direction and mentoring at all stages of training.

I take this opportunity to thank all dealers, customers who spared their precious time to provide me with valuable inputs for project without which it would have not been possible.

I firmly believe that there is always a scope of improvement. I welcome any suggestions for further enriching the quality of this report.

Kuldeep Singh Enroll no. 8NBAH042

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

A comparative study on various plans and offers provided by VODAFONE and AIRTEL and consumer response towards these plans A case study of Allahabad city

OBJECTIVE: 1. How people of different age group respond to ADVERTISEMENT. 2. Positioning strategies use by telecom companies and their impact on customer. 3. To find out relative customer perception. 4. To find out which telecom company have good plans and what type of plans subscriber like. 5. Role of tariff plans on the buying behavior of the customer.

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INTRODUCTION Customer A customer is an individual who purchase or has the capacity to purchase goods and services offered for sale by marketing institutions in order to satisfy personal or

household needs, wants or desires. According to a statement made by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘customer refers to the following, “A consumer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour

by giving us an opportunity to do so”. So customer is like the blood of our business and also a satisfied customer is a word of mouth advertisement of a product / services.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Every human being is a consumer of different produces. If there is no consumer, there is no business. Therefore, consumer satisfaction is veryimportant to every business person. According to Philip Kotler consumer satisfaction is defined on, “personal feeling of pleasure resulting from comparing a product’s pursued performance

in relation to his /her expectations”. Consumer attitude measurements are taken on either potential buries or existing client’s buries in order to identify their characteristics. Why should the competent market engineer conduct consumer research? Consumer’s surverys can provide the researcher with a wealth of information, valuable of the

marketing function. Detailed information regarding the customer in a market will provide the basic platform for all marketing decisions. Marketing decision maker needs descriptive information about the total potential unit and dollar sales in each segment. Perhaps the most important one is that a seller need to be aware of the relevant objective and need of consumer and how their objectives might best be served by the products

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MARKET The term market is derived from Latin Word ‘Mercatus’, which means ‘to trade’ that is purchasing and selling of goods. It also means merchandise truthic place of

business. According to Pyle, “Market includes both place and region in which buyers and sellers or in free competition with one another”. MARKETING Marketing includes all the impacts involved in the exchange process of transferring the possession and ownership of goods or services from the

producer to the ultimate consumer’s.

MARKETING FORMULA

a. The foremost step is business aims at profit. b. For profit making he can sell the products. c. For selling the product he should create customers. d. For creating the customer’s, customer’s needs of preferences to be identified and satisfied. e. To satisfy the customer’s new product to be produced.

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Marketing is trying to learn,
Who buy the products or services?
How do they buy?
When do they buy?
Where do they buy?
Why do they buy?
How often they buy? It is otherwise called understand and predict human actions in their buying role. A marketer is act as consumers while them purchasing any goods /services, and try to market that product to an ultimate consumer. So, marketing is starts with consumer and ends with consumer. So, today’s market is called on consumer market. It can be defined on, “All the individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption”.So, the consumer satisfaction is get more importance in the

marketing functions.

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Importance of customer satisfaction The needs to satisfy customer for success in any commercial enterprise is very obvious. The income of all commercial enterprise is derived from the payments received for the products and services supplied to its customers. If there is no customer there is no income and there is no business. Then the core activity of any company is to attract and retain customers. It is therefore no surprise that Peter Drucker the renowned management Guru, has said “to satisfy the customers is the mission and purpose of every business”. Satisfaction of customer is essential for retention of customer’s and for continuous sales of the products and services of the company to customers. This establishes the needs for and the importance of customer satisfaction. The satisfaction of consumers is different from one to another. Became, each consumer has the different behaviour in their life. So, the marketer satisfy the consumer, he must very well know the behaviour of consumer.

1.4.Consumer behaviour: The term consumer behaviour may be defined as the behaviour that consumer displays in searching for purchasing, using, evaluating, producing, services and ideas which they expect will satisfy their needs. In other words, “It is a study of physiological, social, physical, behaviours of all potential customer as they become aware of evaluation, purchase and consumption and tell other about products and services”.

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INDUSTRY PROFILEToday the Indian telecommunications network with over 375 Million subscribers is second largest network in the world after China. India is also the fastest growing telecom market in the world with an addition of 9- 10 million monthly subscribers. The Department of Telecommunications has been able to provide state of the art world-class infrastructure at globally competitive tariffs and reduce the digital divide by extending connectivity to the unconnected areas. India has emerged as a major base for the telecom industry worldwide. Thus Indian telecom sector has come a long way in achieving its dream of providing affordable and effective communication facilities to Indian citizens. As a result common man today has access to this most needed facility. The reform measures coupled with the proactive policies of the Department of Telecommunications have resulted in an unprecedented growth of the telecom sector. According to TRAI, by the end of February, the total number of subscribers had reached 413 million. Of this, 91% were mobile phone subscribers. The rising number of subscribers has pushed the tele-density to 35.62% showing a stupendous annual growth of about 50%, one of the highest in any sector of the Indian Economy. Also industry estimates show that telecom industry in India will witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% to reach 3, 44,921 crore by 2012. It is set to generate employment opportunities for close to 10 million. India’s telecom sector has shown massive upsurge in the recent years in all respects of industrial growth. From the status of state monopoly with very limited growth, it has grown in to the level of an industry. Telephone, whether fixed landline or mobile, is an essential necessity for the people of India. This changing phase was possible with the economic development that followed the process of structuring the economy in the capitalistic pattern. Removal of restrictions on foreign capital investment and industrial de-licensing resulted in fast growth of this sector.

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At present the country’s telecom industry has achieved a growth rate of 14 per cent. Till 2000, though cellular phone companies were present, fixed landlines were popular in most parts of the country, with government of India setting up the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, and measures to allow new players country, the featured products in the segment came in to prominence. Indian Telecom sector, like any other industrial sector in the country, has gone through many phases of growth and diversification. Starting from telegraphic and telephonic systems in the 19th century, the field of telephonic communication has now expanded to make use of advanced technologies like GSM, CDMA and WLL to the great 3G Technology in mobile phones. Day by day, both the Public Players and the Private Players are putting in their resources and efforts to improve the telecommunication technology so as to give the maximum to their customers. The huge potential offered by the untapped rural market will help push growth for telecom operators in the years to come. At present, rural India accounts for just 27% of the country’s cellular base, though it constitutes 70% of the population.

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Mobile Subscriber Base in India

Mobile Subscriber Growth Rate

GSM Subscriber in India

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CDMA Subscriber Base in India

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COMPANIES PROFILE AIRTEL AND VODAFONE

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BHARTI AIRTEL Bharti Airtel formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures LTD (BTVL) is the largest cellular service provider in India, with more than 110 million subscribers as of 2009. With this, Bharti is now the world's third-largest, single-country mobile operator and sixth-largest integrated telecom operator. It also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its TELECOM services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles. 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. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have always been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU's) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 95 cities and has recently launched a Direct-to-Home (DTH) service, Airtel Digital TV. Shahrukh Khan is the brand embassador of the mobile company and Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are the brand embassadors of the DTH company. The company provides end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers through its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. Globally, Bharti Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. In India, the company has a 24.6% share of the wireless services market, followed by 17.7% for Reliance Communications and 17.4% for Vodafone Essar. In January 2010, company anonced that Manoj Kohili, joint managing director and chief executive of Indian and South Asian operations, will become the chief executive of the international business group from 1st of April 2010. He will be overseeing Bharti's overseas business. Deputy Chief Executive Sanjay Kapoor will replace Mr. Kohli and will be the CEO with effective from April 1 2010

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Brands Airtel Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India, Bangladesh and in Sri Lanka owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. It is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of subscribers. Services are offered under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates). It has presence in all 23 circles of the country and covers 71% of the current population (as of Financial Year 2007). Airtel has also launched 16Mb/s broadband plans in India, making it the first ISP to do so.

Airtel Sri Lanka In December 2008, Bharti Airtel rolled out third generation services in Sri Lanka in association with Singapore Telecommunications. SingTel is a major player in the 3G space in Asia. It operates third generation networks in several markets across Asia. Airtel's operation in Sri Lanka, known as Airtel Lanka, commenced operations on the 12th of January 2009.

Airtel in Bangladesh In January 2010, it was announced that the Bangladesh Telecommuncations Regulatory Commission (BTRC) of The People's Republic of Bangladesh had given Bharti Airtel the go ahead to acquire a 70% stake in the Bangladesh business of Abu Dhabi based Warid Telcom. The latter had till date invested a total of $600 million, with plans to bring their Bangladesh investments to the $1 billion mark. Airtel's 70% stake in the company is said to be at a cost of an initial $300 million.

Touchtel Until September 18, 2004, Bharti provided fixed-line telephony and broadband services under the Touchtel brand. Bharti now provides all telecom services including fixed-line services under a common brand "Airtel".

BlackBerry On 19 October 2004 Airtel announced the launch of a BlackBerry Wireless Solution in India. The launch is a result of a tie-up between Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited and Research In Motion (RIM).

Digital TV On 9 October 2008, Airtel joined the DTH bandwagon in India with Airtel Digital TV, a Direct-to-Home Television service. Page 18 of 59

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iPhone 3G The Apple iPhone 3G was rolled out in India on 22 August 2008 via Airtel & Vodafone. Airtel & Vodafone have launched the newly released iPhone 3GS (16GB & 32GB) in August 2009 in India.

Merger talks In May 2008, it emerged that Bharti Airtel was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$45 billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm. However, both sides emphasize the tentative nature of the talks, while The Economist magazine noted, "If anything, Bharti would be marrying up," as MTN has more subscribers, higher revenues and broader geographic coverage. However, the talks fell apart as MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new company. In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it is in Talks with MTN and companies have now agreed discuss the potential transaction exclusively by July 31, 2009. Bharti Airtel said in a statement “Bharti Airtel Ltd is pleased to announce that it has renewed its effort for a significant partnership with MTN Group". Talks eventually ended without agreement, some sources stating that due to the South African government opposition.

Sponsorship Bharti Airtel signed a five-year deal with ESPN Star Sports to become the title sponsor of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament. The tournament itself is named "Airtel Champions League Twenty20."

Airtel 3G Airtel plans to launch the nationwide 3G services in India in the second quarter of 2010.

Subscriber base The Airtel subscriber base according to TRAI - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as of February 2009 was: Chennai - 2,133,677 Page 19 of 59

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Delhi - 4,671,177 Mumbai - 2,791,963 Kolkata - 2,456,896 Madhya Pradesh - 7,690,609 Gujarat - 3,981,660 Andhra Pradesh - 8,892,353 Karnataka - 9,820,812 Tamil Nadu - 6,003,040 Kerala - 2,169,633 Punjab - 3,754,405 Maharashtra - 6,248,906 Uttar Pradesh (West) - 2,256,862 & (East) - 5,722,386 Rajasthan - 6,704,274 West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 3,501,560 Himachal Pradesh - 951,121 Bihar - 7,152,245 Orissa - 2,811,453 Assam - 1,448,389 & Other North Eastern States - 890,054 Jammu and Kashmir - 1,590,935 The total is 101,114,971 or 24.2% of the total 375,742,592 GSM + CDMA mobile connections in India till February 2009; and presently the Number 1 operator in India. In 2009 Airtel also launched in Sri Lanka. On the 9th of May, 2009 Airtel signed a major deal with Manchester United Football Club. As a result of the deal, Airtel gets the rights to broadcast the matches played by the team to its customers.

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Andhra Pradesh Assam* Bihar Chennai Delhi Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Kolkata Mumbai Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra North East* Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamilnadu Uttar Pradesh East Uttar Pradesh West West Bengal

* Validity is 90 days

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66 21 73 64 94 58 64 64 78 64 64 64 64 64 64 21 68 94 70 64 64 64 64

67 23 74 69 99 64 65 66 79 66 67 67 69 69 69 23 69 97 71 69 69 69 67

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Turbo- Roaming Plan 98(Airtel/UE/GSM/19) • o

ONE TIME CHARGES

Pulse Rate

60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.)

98

Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.)

Nill

Incoming Calls (Rs.)

Nill while on home network; roaming IC charges 60p/min

• o

CALL CHARGES Airtel

GSM/CDMA

Landline

Local Rates

50p/min

60p/min

60p/min

STD Rates

50p/min

60p/min

60p/min

• o

ISD

For revised ISD tariffs ,click here

• o

SMS

Local

1

National

1.50

International

5

• o

OTHER DETAILS

This Plan offers, Raoming OG Rate @ 60p/min A2A and 80p/min A2M. Roaming IC @ 60p/min.The main account validity of this plan is one year. For New Customer the Price of this plan is Rs 96

o

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Call Charges - Local Airtel to Airtel Airtel to Mobile Airtel to Landline

Rs.0.01/sec Rs.0.012/sec Rs.0.012/sec

Call Charges - STD Airtel to Airtel Airtel to Mobile Airtel to Landline

Rs.0.01/sec Rs.0.012/sec Rs.0.012/sec

SMS Local (Per SMS) National (Per SMS) International (Per SMS) Free Mins Free SMS

Rs.0.5 Rs.0.6 Rs.5.00 10500 sec / Month to any Local Network 150 Local / Month

ILD / Roaming charges will continue at current tariffs and 60 sec pulse

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VODAFONE ESSAR Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16 telecom circles in India Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 licence areas. Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16 telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 licence areas.

OWNERSHIP: Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group 33%, and other Indian nationals, 15%. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion . The transaction closed on May 8, 2007.

PREVIOUS BRANDS:

In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating its services under a single identity. The Company entered into agreement with NTT DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India during 2007. The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007. Page 24 of 59

Page 25 of 59 On September 20, 2007 Hutch becomes Vodafone in one of the biggest brand transition exercises in recent times. Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on this high-profile transition being unveiled today. Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have been launched in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand. There are plans to launch cobranded handsets sourced from global vendors as well. A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from across-theworld into India." While there is no revealing the prices of the low-cost Vodafone handsets, the industry is abuzz that prices might start at Rs 666, undercutting Reliance Communications' much-hyped 'Rang Barse' with cheap handsets beginning at Rs 777. Meanwhile, Vodafone Essar sources said there would be no discounts or subsidized handset offers -- rather handset-bundled schemes for customers. Incidentally, China's ZTE, which is looking to set-up a manufacturing unit in the country, is expected to provide several Vodafone handsets in India. Earlier this year, Vodafone penned a global low-cost handset procurement deal with ZTE.

APPLE I PHONE 3G:

Vodafone has successfully launched the Apple iPhone 3G in India. It has been made available to its consumers from the 22nd of August. The phone's launch saw a big celebration at select Vodafone stores and Vodafone sponsored malls across the country.

GROWTH OF HUTCHISON ESSAR (1992-2005): In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a company that in 1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications services in Mumbai

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Page 26 of 59 (formerly Bombay) and launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in November 1995. Analjit Singh of Max still holds 12% in company. By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service in 13 of India's 23 licence areas and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a company that held licence applications for the seven remaining licence areas. In a country growing as fast as India, a strategic and well managed business plan is critical to success. Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India - in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to establish a robust network, well known brand and large distribution network -all vital to longterm success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-end post-paid customers which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a higher Average Revenue Per User ("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan, it was able to establish leading positions in India's largest markets providing the resources to expand its footprint nationwide. In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately US$11.1 billion or HK$87 billion. 1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group established Hutchison Max 2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations Entered Calcutta and Gujarat markets through ESSAR acquisition 2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai 2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL - Essar Subsidiary) which operated in Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and renamed it under Hutch brand 2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely 'Punjab', 'Uttar Pradesh West' and 'West Bengal' 2005: Acquired BPL, another mobile service provider in India 2008: Vodafone acquired Dishnet Wireless, a service provider in Orissa and has successfully launched its services in the following circle. 2008: Vodafone launched the Apple iPhone 3G to be used on its 17 circle 2G network. Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out visibly though it uses only white letters on red background. Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a pug named Cheeka following a boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline,

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Page 27 of 59 Wherever you go, our network follows. The simple yet powerful advertisement campaigns won it many admirers.

SUBSCRIBER BASE: The Vodafone subscriber base according to COAI - Cellular Operator Association of India as of March 2008 was: • • • •

Delhi - 3,216,769 Mumbai - 3,451,567 Chennai - 1,174,589 Kolkata - 1,974,177

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Maharashtra & Goa - 2,610,389 Gujarat - 6,010,594 Andhra Pradesh - 2,601,458 Karnataka - 2,850,346 Tamil Nadu - 3,180,820 Kerala - 2,001,133 Orissa - 520772 Punjab - 1,645,501 Haryana - 1,282,208 Uttar Pradesh (West) -2,858,429 Uttar Pradesh (East) -3,508,355 Rajasthan - 2,934,598 West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar - 2,825,310

The total is 44,126,243 or 22.93% of the total 192,355,939 GSM mobile connections in India till March 2008.

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VODAFONE IN EUROPE Majority-owned Minority-owned No Ownership

Albania

France

Austria

Belgium

Czech Republic

Poland

Bulgaria

Channel Islands

Germany

Croatia

Cyprus

Greece

Denmark

Estonia

Hungary

Finland

Faroe Islands

Ireland

Iceland

Latvia

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Macedonia Norway

Netherlands

Serbia

Slovenia

Northern Cyprus

Sweden

Switzerland

Portugal

Romania

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History: In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15% and 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985.On 29 December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110 million. In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group. In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores. In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation. On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. Trading of the new company commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.

vodafone's original logo used until the introduction of the speechmark logo in 1998. On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000. In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator.Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.

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Page 30 of 59 In 2001 the Company took over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland, and rebranded it as Vodafone Ireland. It then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan. On 17 December 2001 Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks" by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dualbrand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.) In February 2002 Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that year the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live! and on 3 December 2002 the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa. On 7 January 2003 the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia were added to the community. In April 2003 Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market and in May 2003 Vodafone Italy (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On 21 July 2003 Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bitė. In February 2004 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004 the Company purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group) and approx 1.5million customers onto its base for £405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England) to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In November 2004 Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe. In June 2005 the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99% and also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005 Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year on 17 October 2005 Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the Speechmark logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity. On 28 October 2005 Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone and on 31 October 2005 the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor for approximately €1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner Network. In December 2005 Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. In December 2005 Vodafone Spain became the second member of the group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in over the following six months in other countries.

Page 30 of 59

Page 31 of 59 In 2006 the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006 Vodafone announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006 the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. In 1 February 2006 Oskar Vodafone became Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo and on 22 February 2006 the Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria group. On 12 March 2006 former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the honorary post Chairman for Life in 2003, quits following rumours of boardroom rifts. In April 2006 the Company announced that it has signed an extension to its Partner Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of Vodafone's global partner community. Also in April 2006 Vodafone Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB and Connex-Vodafone became Vodafone Romania, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006 Vodafone announced the biggest loss in British corporate history (£14.9 billion) and plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann subsidiary. On 24 July 2006 the respected head of Vodafone Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedl and on 25 August 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus for €2 billion. After the deal, Proximus was still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006 Vodafone announced the first single brand partnership with Og Vodafone which would operate under the name Vodafone Iceland and on 19 December 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25 billion (£1.8 billion). After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the community as a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006 the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise applications systems integrator in the UK, signaling Vodafone's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in the ICT marketplace. Early in January 2007 Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone and on 1 April 2007 Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and became Vodafone Turkey. On 1 May 2007 Vodafone added Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007 the Vodafone live! mobile Internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page was now charged for and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a Walled Garden and Vodafone became the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile Internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007 Vodafone Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. On 17 April 2008 Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia as Vip mobile was added to the community as a Partner Network and on 20 May 2008 the Company added VIP Operator as a Partner Network thereby extending the global footprint to Macedonia. In May 2008 Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands.

Page 31 of 59

Page 32 of 59

PREPAID PLANPLAN Particulars

Prepaid Initial one time charges MRP

Rs199

Rs.25

Rs 99

Rs 49

Net Talk value

10

0

0

0

Validity

Lifetime

Lifetime

Lifetime

Lifetime

Grace Period

NA

NA

NA

NA

Monthly Rental (Rs) Details of the recharge coupons Denomination value (Rs) (inclusive of all taxes) Net Talk value (Rs)

NA

NA

NA

NA

199

25

99

49

10

0

0

0

Validity (days) Pulse rate for local calls (sec) Airtime charges per minute Outgoing composite rate

Lifetime

Lifetime

Lifetime

Lifetime

60

60

60

60

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1.5

1.5

1.5

1

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.5

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

10

10

10

10

Local calls (Rs / min) Vodafone to Vodafone To all mobiles in Uttar Pradesh / Uttarakhand** To all landlines in UP East To all landlines in UP West STD calls (Rs / min) To any GSM / WLL / Fixed ISD calls (Rs / min) US, Canada, South East Asia, Fixed landline to Australia, New Zealand & UK SAARC, Africa, Mobile phones to Europe, Australia, New Zealand Page 32 of 59

Page 33 of 59 Gulf, Middle East, UAE Rest of Africa, Rest of Europe Rest of World (excluding special countries & iridium/inmarsat calls) Inmarsat/ Iridium Calls

11

11

11

11

15

15

15

15

45

45

45

45

550

550

550

550

Incoming calls

Free

Free

Free

Free

99p

99p

99p

99p

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.5

5

5

5

5

3

3

3

3

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SMS Rates (Rs / SMS) To any local number in UP East circle To any national number outside UP East circle International All information service (like 56789, Yahoo, Indiatimes etc) Whether carry forward of unused amount allowed Other benefit

The ISD rates are applicable from 1st June 2009 * Premium countries: Sao Tome and Principe (Democratic Republic of), Guinea-Bissau Guinea (Republic of), Diego Garcia, Cuba, Australian External Territories, Nauru (Republic of), Solomon Islands, Vanuatu (Republic of), Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau.

Page 33 of 59

Page 34 of 59

All National Networks Except Airtel

All Airtel Networks

Rs / min

Rs / min

1.00

1.75

Local calls

1.00

1.4

STD calls

1.5

2.4

6.40

6.40

10.00

10.00

Middle East including UAE & Saudi Arabia

11.00

11.00

Afghanistan; Mobile numbers in New Zealand, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland; Rest Of Europe; Rest Of Africa;

15.00

15.00

Bulgaria ; Pacific Rim Countries; North Korea

45.00

45.00

Premium Destinations

100

100

Satellite Calls

550

550

SMS

Rs / SMS

Rs / SMS

Outgoing(Local / National)

1.50 on Vodafone networks 3.45 on all other networks

3.45

Outgoing(International)

3.45

3.45

Incoming

Free

Free

All Incoming calls Outgoing calls

ISD calls USA & Canada ;Landline numbers in Australia & New Zealand, UK, Germany &France; South East Asia SAARC; China; Russia; Egypt, South Africa, Kenya & Nigeria; Japan; South Korea; Mobile numbers in Australia, UK, Germany & France;

Page 34 of 59

Page 35 of 59

LITERATURE REVIEW Customer Satisfaction

The Value of Customer Satisfaction By “Andrew Mennie”, General Manager eGain Communications EMEA A brief literature would be of immense help to the researcher in gaining insight into selected problem. The researcher would gain good background knowledge of the problem by reviewing certain studies. A reference to these entire studies will be related in the contest of the shaping the present study.

Samuval, in his study found that most of the respondents consider, size, quality, price, instrument servicing are an important factors for selecting the handset of majority of the respondents are satisfied over the payment system, quality of services, coverage area, and attending the complaints.

Jha (2008), in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.

Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the attention of the service providers. They need to Page 35 of 59

Page 36 of 59

bridge the gap between the services promised and services offered. The overall customers’ attitude towards cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more services to be provided.

Kumar

(2008),

in

their

study

titled

“Customer

Satisfaction

and

Discontentment vis-a-vis BSNL Landline Service: A Study” analyzed that at present, services marketing plays a major role in the national economy. In the service sector, telecom industry is the most active and attractive. Though the telecom industry is growing rapidly, India's telecom density is less than the world's average telecom density as most of India's market is yet to be covered.

Seth et al (2008), in their study titled “Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation” analyzed that there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile services.

Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled “Promotional Strategies of Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective” analyzed that the increasing competition and changing taste and preferences of the customer’s all over the world are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The Page 36 of 59

Page 37 of 59

study revealed the customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was found that advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most of the customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are more sale oriented rather than customer oriented.

Page 37 of 59

Page 38 of 59

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY METHODOLOGY

MARKETING RESEARCH

Definition of marketing research is approved by the board of the American

Marketing Association (AMA) is:

“Marketing research is the functions which links the customer and public To marketer through information used to identity and define marketing Opportunities and problems; generate define and evaluate, marketing Actions, monitor marketing performance, and improve understanding of

Marketing as a process”.

Simply, marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and Reporting of the data findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company. Careful planning through all stages of the research is a necessity.

A research may undertake any of three types of research investigations depending upon the problem. These three types of research included. •

Basic research

•

Applied research

•

Designated fact gathering

Page 38 of 59

Page 39 of 59 COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

Data collection phase is generally the most expensive and the most phase to error. Carry out the field work, collect data using the instruments, adjust the Problem of not at homes, replaced, refusal to co-operate, biased or dishonest answers.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

The next to last step is to extract pertinent findings from the collected data. The researcher edits, code, tabulate the collected data.

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

As the last step in marketing research the researchers present the findings. The researchers have to arrange the researched result according to an approved reporting format, get the report typed and bound, present the copies of the report to the concerned authorities.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/ DESIGN

The methodology adopted for eliciting the data required for the study was survey method. It is the overall pattern or framework of the project that will dictate as to what information is to be collected, from which sources and by what procedures.

RESEARCH METHOD

Research methodology must be classified on the basis of the major purpose of the investigation. In this problem, description studies have been undertaken, as the objective of the project is to conduct the market share study to determine the share of the market received by both the company and it’s competitors. Page 39 of 59

Page 40 of 59 DATA COLLECTION The information needed to further proceed in the project had been collected through primary data and secondary data

PRIMARY DATA Primary data consists of information collected for the specific purpose at hand for the purpose of collecting primary data, survey research was used and all the retail outlets sellers using different brands and their competitors were contacted. Survey research is the approach best suited gathering description.

SECONDARY DATA The secondary data consists of information that already exist somewhere, Having been collected for another purpose. Any researcher begins the research work by first going through the secondary data. Secondary data includes the information available with the company. It may be the findings of research previously done in the field. Secondary data can also be collected from magazines, newspapers, other surveys conducted by known research agencies etc.

Page 40 of 59

Page 41 of 59

Limitations of the Study

Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some problems, which are listed here:
The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time.
Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in responding rightly.


Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about themselves and their organization.
Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information.
Most of the respondents don’t want to disclose the information about the various other companies’ which they have experienced before.
Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they were not able to properly differentiate among their product.


Due to human behavior information may be biased. Mainly in Tata case. Page 41 of 59

Page 42 of 59

CONCLUSION
After doing that all study we can conclude that yes the Gap exist there in telecommunication industry. Consumers have a lot of expectations from their service provider that are not performed or deliver by their companies. As we know that consumer expect from Vodafone to improve its customer care service that can be found busy most of the times.
Now users of Airtel have rated it as a best company for value of money but still they are not satisfied with some of company’s strategies. So this is the Gap between Airtel users and company performance.
Then we have example of Vodafone. Users of Vodafone are not satisfied with company customer care service as it is a difficult process because one has to wait a lot or call again and again to talk with a customer care representative.
Airtel performance is good but Gap exists not just with Airtel, but with all the companies in the industry. Various VAS (Value Added Services) provided by company does not seems to be satisfying their users. Customers are not satisfied with SMS pack that is perceived costlier as compare to others companies SMS packs by Airtel users.
Airtel is to be found the best service provider of network service and customer care service as well. This is one company in the industry that can be found delivering as per their customer expectations. That’s why customers have rated it not as satisfactory but excellent. But one has to pay more for superior service and Airtel is one example of such service. Users of Airtel paying more for value added services. And they expect from company to offer some of the VAS at some of the competitive prices. Price is the only Gap exists in Airtel between company and users.

Page 42 of 59

Page 43 of 59

REFRENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books: •

Indian Telecom Industry by Mr. NasreenTaher Marketing Research – G. C. Beri

•

Research Methodology – C.R Kothari

•

Principles of Marketing – Philip Kotler

Magazines: •

Business India

Web Resources: •

www.trai.gov.in

•

http://www.vodafone.co.in/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspx

•

http://www.airtel.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/Aboutus/aboutus_home.jsp

•

www.wikipedia.org

•

www.scibad.com

• www.sheartearmpaper.com

Page 43 of 59

Page 44 of 59

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONINTERPRETATION Q1:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? Brands

Very high

High

Medium

Low

Very low

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

level

level

level

level

level

Vodafone 5

7

6

8

4

Airtel

8

6

4

0

12

15 10 5 Vodafone

0

Airtel

Interpretation: - Above table data analysis shows that the satisfaction rate of network service is leaded by Airtel. And Vodafone and others network service satisfaction rate is also good but in the rural area customer face the problem.

Page 44 of 59

Page 45 of 59

Q2:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service? Brands

Tata

Very high

High

Medium

Low

Very low

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

level

level

level

level

level

4

4

11

7

4

8

12

6

4

0

Indicom Reliance

12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Vodafone

Airtel

Interpretation:- From the above data interpretation we can conclude that Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service. But the Vodafone is not up to the mark. Some of the users said that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single time.

Page 45 of 59

Page 46 of 59

Q3:- Overall, how satisfied are you with tariff plan offered by the company?

Brands

Very high

High

Medium

Low

Very low

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

satisfaction

level

level

level

level

level

Vodafone 5

5

6

9

5

Airtel

8

6

4

1

11 12 10 8 6 4 2

Vodafone

0

Airtel

Interpretation: - Above data and chart analysis depicts that Airtel has the highest rating of Value for money and excellent and good service provider but Vodafone is not up to the mark.

Page 46 of 59

Page 47 of 59

Q4- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service: a) SMS pack

1

2 3 4 5 Excellent --11 2 3 4 5 -- Poor

b) Concession Call Rates

1 2 3

4 5

c) Internet Service

1 3 3

4 5

d) Full Talk Time Brand

1 2 3

4 5

Sms Pack Concession call rates Internet service Full talktime

Vodafone 8

6

7

9

Airtel

10

6

8

6

10 8 6 4 2

vodafone

Airtel

0

Interpretation:- From the graphs it depict that call rates and full talktime of Airtel attract most of the customers whereas sms pack full talktime and internet services attract most of the Vodafone customer.

Page 47 of 59

Page 48 of 59

OVERALL GRADING OF VODAFONE AS PER LIKERT ISD RATES SCALE STD RATES LOCAL RATES MSG SERVICE NETWORK 1 1

3

BILLING

3 3 1

3

VOICE CLARITY

1 QUICK SMS FOR BAL 3

4 2

3

INTERNET

3 CALL PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY VAS TALK TIME & VALIDITY BRAND IMAGE & ADS

Page 48 of 59

Page 49 of 59

(9) OVERALL GRADING OF RATES AIRTEL AS PER LIKERTISD SCLAE STD RATES

LOCAL RATES

MSG SERVICE

1

NETWORK 3

2 3

5

BILLING

3 4

3 2

VOICE CLARITY 1

2

5 5

QUICK SMS FOR BAL INTERNET

CALL PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY VAS

TALK TIME & VALIDITY

Page 49 of 59

Page 50 of 59

Analysis on the basis of these factors

S.No.

Factors

Very High

High

Medium

Low

Very Low

Satisfaction Satisfactio

Satisfaction Satisfacti

Satisfactio

Level

Level

on Level

n Level

n Level

A

Services

5

4

3

2

1

1

Price

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

Medium

Low

( price of the card which Has validity period of 30 days)

2

Tariff ( Which provides free calls and reduces the call rate )

3

Network Connectivity ( Conjunction free network)

4

Coverage (Quality of Network coverage in rural and urban areas)

5

Value Added Service (which provides the function like GPRS, MMS, Caller Tune)

6

Roaming facility (provides the good connectivity in other states)

S.No.

B

Factors

CONVENIENC E Page 50 of 59

Very High

High

Very Low

Satisfaction Satisfactio

Satisfaction Satisfacti

Satisfactio

Level

Level

on Level

n Level

3

2

5

n Level

4

1

Page 51 of 59 1

Availability of Company Outlets for payments of Bills

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

( E.g.- Reliance Web world)

2

Availability of Recharge Coupons

C

Customer Care Services

5

4

3

2

1

1

Grievance Handling

5

4

3

2

1

5

4

3

2

1

( Handling product related queries)

2

Inter-personal skills of the Executive (Humble and Soft Spoken)

Important: -

To know the view of customer about its satisfaction level for Vodafone

and Airtel. Please tick the attributes according to your knowledge and belief. Different attributes regarding their preference number are:-

Attributes

Number

Very high satisfaction level

5

High satisfaction level

4

Medium satisfaction level

3

Low satisfaction level

2

Very low satisfaction level

1

Page 51 of 59

Page 52 of 59

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION: This chapter is allocated to express the findings and conclusions in this study. Statistical tools are applied to analyze the data. It includes the result of each and every tables, charts and tests. FINDINGS FROM PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS: →
On the basis of consumer preference, majority of the peoples

are preferred AIRTEL. →
On the bases of age group, most of the respondents (60%), are

using AIRTEL, who are in the category of up to 20 years. →
On the basis of educational qualification, most of the graduates are using

cell phones. →
Majority of the peoples buy the cell phones by influencing their family

member →
3.8% of respondents are only influenced by advertisements. →
Majority of the peoples are using cell phones for personal usage. →
Majority of the peoples are using prepaid scheme. →
Majority of the peoples are using cell phones for both incoming

and outgoing. →
Less than 20% of the peoples are only less aware about

Page 52 of 59

Page 53 of 59

services provided by the services provider. →
Majority of the respondents are highly satisfied about the price of

AIRTEL.

→
On the bases of after sales service, the majority of the respondents are highly satisfied in AIRTEL.

→
No peoples are highly satisfied about the after sales Service in VODAFONE. →
Minority (5%) people are only dissatisfied about the after sales services of

AIRTEL. →
On the basis of schemes at the time of the service, 55% of peoples are

highly satisfied in AIRTEL. →
On the basis of periodical offers, majority of the peoples highly

satisfied in AIRTEL. →
On the basis of outgoing call charges, majority of people are highly

satisfied in AIRTEL. →
No people are highly satisfied about the outgoing call charges of

VODAFONE. →
On the basis of consumer’s attitude, majority of the people are states that

cell phones are necessity to all. →
8% of the respondents are only states that cell phones are

luxury Page 53 of 59

Page 54 of 59 DISCUSSIONS OF THE FINDINGS Some discussions on the key antecedents and consequences are presented below: •

To reach out to new consumers in rural and remote areas, the sharing of infrastructure must be encouraged by the government. It would, indeed, be wasteful for every operator to duplicate costly infrastructure. Infrastructure sharing on fair, transparent and commercial terms will ensure that consumers in rural areas get choice of service, quality as well as affordability. While the nation achieves aggressive rollout and improved tele-density, the operators get an attractive commercial proposition and an opportunity to expand the coverage and reach of their services.

•

In essence only 34.5 million mobile customers are active in the mobile industry. The challenges for the industry to make the balance 10 million customers also actively use their mobile, connection, which is not easy, considering that several of these customers have shifted to another mobile connection during the grace period, due to better scenes/tariffs. However, thorough concerted efforts, at least a third of the 10 million customers can be brought back to the active and paying customers list. In the post-paid category, “Zero” usage billing customers (only rental paid) exist to the extent of 5% of the total base, thus adding limited revenue to operators.

•

The new mobile companies, especially the GSM operators, have learnt a bitter lesson from this experience and tightened the controls from January 2004. Tighter control over documentation, customer profile

Page 54 of 59

Page 55 of 59

verification, payment capacity and transferring most of the customers to the pre-paid segment have reduced the possibility of “junk” customers coming in to the network. •

All the activities are focused on tariff charges, launch of value added services to enhance usage and revenue, increase or decrease of various charges/tariff, instead of working towards market expansion. The next revolution in the mobile industry can happen only when the telecom companies work towards market expansion rather than price/tariff changes. However, in the pursuit to beat each other, the focus of each operator is only on price/tariff changes instead of working collectively to acquire more new customers, who are confused due to the constant changes and delay in entry. •

Opportunistic behaviour is measured by attributes like distortion of information and violation of rules and regulations influence users’ trust. It plays most significant role because of intense competition. Coherence is required in formulating their strategic intentions so as to minimize their perceived opportunistic behaviour, and to get a share of the mind of the customers.

Page 55 of 59

Page 56 of 59

SUGGESTIONS: To ensure that every youth has a mobile, service providers have to offer services like SMS/MMS at low cost/free and ensure that the total mobile bill for the youth does not cross Rs.300-400 per month, which is the maximum this segment of customers can afford from their pocket money; To ensure that every household has a mobile connection, it is essential that the utility of mobile phones is increased through better STD and ISD rates vis-à-vis landline, friends and family offers, special rates to landlines etc., with easy/low deposit schemes to acquire these facilities. To ensure that the penetration targeted in towns and villages is achieved, service providers have to invest in network expansion and reach out on priority; to exploit the untapped potential in these markets. The construct of trust is important for cellular users of telecom industry. As such, it has implications for value added services, market segmentation,

and customer

retention strategies. Theoretically,

conceptualising and modelling trust in telecom sector help to expand scholars’ knowledge of interactive consumer behaviour in this emerging discipline. This study also shows that technology orientation is a significant factor of mobile users’ trust. Therefore, telecom service provider needs to ensure that it provides the best network quality and value added services

Airtel, Vodafone should try to expand their customer’s network. Vodafone should try to attract the young peoples. (upto 20 years)

Airtel should try to attract old peoples also. All the service providers are made good advertisements for their service. Because, advertisements are take little part for influencing the consumers.

All the service providers are try to increase post paid users.

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75% of the peoples are unaware about the various services rendered by their service provider. So the service providers try to make awareness of their customers services to their customers. Airtel, Vodafone should attract the customers by reducing their price. Vodafone are highly dissatisfied about the performance of the service provider. So they should try to add some advanced features towards their services.

Vodafone should decreased their dissatisfied customers by providing

good after sales services. Vodafone should give periodical offers to their customers. Vodafone should decrease their outgoing call charges

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QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sir/Madam I am the student of MBA-4rd Semester at INC, Allahabad doing a project “A comparative study on various plans and offers provided by VODAFONE and AIRTEL and consumer response towards these plans” Please co-operate to fill this questionnaire. 1. Name _________________________________________

2. Sex:

(a) Male

(b) Female

3. Age:

(a) 15-25

(b) 25-35

(c) 35-45

4. Education:

(d) Above 45

(a) Matriculate

(b) Intermediate

(C) Graduation

(d) Postgraduate

5. Who is your current service provider? a) Airtel

b) Vodafone

c) Any other

6) For how long you are using this mobile connection? a) less than 6 months. b) 6 to 12 months. c) Above 12 months. 7. What were the reasons for choosing this mobile connection? a) b) c) d)

Recommended by friends or relatives. Recommended by retailers. Brand image Tariff plans

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Page 59 of 59 8. While purchasing a connection tariff plans plays any role? a) Yes

b) No

9. From where you watch the advertisement most? a) Television b) Radio c) Newspaper d) Magazines 10. Which telecommunication have good advertising? a) Air Tel b) Vodafone c) Any other 11. How well did advertisement of the Air Tel catch your attention? a) Very well b) Somewhat well c) Undecided d) Not at all. 12.How well did the advertisement of the Vodafone catch your attention? a) Very well b) somewhat well c) undecided d) Not at all 13. Do you think that advertisement made by company informs you about there products? .a) Yes b) No c) Undecided 14) Based on advertisements made by company , would you like to go for more connection for you or your family in future? a) Yes. b) No. c) Not decided. Address __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Phone no. _________________________________“Thanks for your valuable time and cooperation”

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